What does 자장면 (炸醬麵) literally mean?

 ANSWER: exploding (炸) soy sauce (醬) noodles (麵)?

The Chinese character 炸 (작) can mean "explode," as in the Sino-Korean word 작렬 (炸裂), which means "explosion," but the character can also mean "to fry." So, since 醬 (장) means "soy sauce," or "fermented soybean paste," and 麵 (면) means "noodles," 자장면 (炸醬麵) can literally translate as "fried (炸) soy sauce (醬) noodles (麵)."

Some may wonder why the noodle dish is called 자장면 (炸醬麵) instead of 작장면, given that the character 炸 is pronounced 작 in Korean. I wondered that, too. Well, since 자장면 is a Chinese dish, it seems that Koreans have decided to use the Chinese pronunciation of the character 炸, which is /ja/ (자).

By the way, the Chinese word 炸鷄 (작계) means "fried (炸) chicken (鷄)," not "exploding chicken."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

Taken from an article on Wikipedia

What does 자기작착 (自己作錯), 자기인착 (自己認錯) mean?

 ANSWER: [If] one (自己) makes (作) a mistake (錯), one (自己) [should] admit (認) the mistake (錯).

Lately, I have been trying to teach myself to read modern Chinese, but with Korean pronunciations. Why? Because learning Chinese characters (한자) in sentences and phrases is much more fun than learning them individually. 

I do not think 작착 (作錯) and 인착 (認錯) are phrases that Koreans use because the phrases are not in my Korean dictionary, but the individual Chinese characters are still characters that Koreans use, so even though Koreans may not be able to understand the above Chinese sentence when spoken, they should be able to understand its meaning when read, if they can read Chinese characters. Personally, I think the sentence sounds great when spoken in Korean: 자기작착, 자기인착.

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

How important is marriage (결혼 結婚), which literally means "to join (結) in marriage (婚)"?

 ANSWER: I think it is at least a "3-thought" (삼사 三思) decision.

The Chinese character 三 (삼) means "three," and 思 (사) means "think" or "thought," so 삼사 (三思) can literally translate as "three (三) thoughts (思)" or "three times (三) think (思)," which means "to think carefully [about something]."

So, since the decision to get married is so important, one should give it more than just "a thought" (일사 一思) or even "a second thought" (이사 二思).

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

The Barberettes, again?

ANSWER: Sure! Why not?

 

Why do I like The Barberettes (바버렛츠)?

ANSWER: Because I like their honest style. They seem real, not fake.

What's my favorite Christmas song?

ANSWER: This one.

 

Can a sweet dream be sad?

ANSWER: Yes!

A disciple wakes up crying one late autumn night. His Buddhist master sees him crying and asks,

"Did you have a scary dream?"

"No."

"Did you have a sad dream?"
"No, it was a sweet dream."

"Then, why are you crying so sadly?"

"Because it was a dream I will never be able to realize."

 

The following two videos are from a 2019 interview with 이어령:

 

What does 문장 (文章) mean besides "sentence"?

 ANSWER: an essay or an article

My Korean-English dictionary shows that the first definition for 문장 (文章) is "a writing," "a composition," "an article," or "an essay," but I normally associate 문장 with "sentence," 기사 (記事) with "article," and "수필 (隨筆) with "essay," so I wonder why "an article" or "an essay" is listed as the first definition for 문장 in my dictionary? I don't think I have ever heard or seen Koreans use 문장 to mean "article" or "essay." Can anyone point to an example where Koreans have used 문장 to mean "article" or "essay"?

The Chinese, however, do seem to use 文章 (문장) to mean "article" or "essay," which made me wonder what word the Chinese use to mean "sentence" since they do not appear to use 文章 (문장) with that definition. From what I have found, the Chinese word for "sentence" seems to be 句子 (구자), a word that Koreans do not seem to use, and a word that literally means "a phrase (句) child (子)" or "a child of phrases."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

Does 汽車 (기차) mean "train" or "car"?

 ANSWER: In Korea, 汽車 (기차) means "train," but in China it means "car."

汽車 (기차) literally means "steam (汽) car (車)," which seems to be a good description of the early steam locomotives, so I wonder why in China a "steam car" refers to an automobile instead of a train? Instead, the Chinese word for "train" is 火車 (화차), which literally means "fire (火) car (車)."

By the way, the Chinese word for "taxi" is 計程汽車 (계정기차), which can literally translate as "journey calculating (計程) steam (汽) car (車).

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

Is it possible to watch the following 최정원 performance without tearing up?

ANSWER: No! It's impossible.

"Hymne a l'amour" is a French love song that translates into Korean as "사랑의 찬가" ("Hymn of Love"). The French lyrics were written by the late French singer Édith Piaf after her lover, French boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash in 1949. The song is a testament to how devastated the French singer was by her lover's death. 

There are different Korean translations of the French song: literal translations and translations that are meant to be sung. The following is my translation of the Korean version sung by Korean goddess Choi Jung-won (최정원):

"사랑의 찬가"
"Hymn of Love"

하늘이 무너져 내리고

땅이 꺼져 버린다 해도
Even though the sky comes crashing down,

Even though the earth collapses beneath me,

당신만 날 사랑한다면

내겐 두려움 없네
If you just say you love me,
I will have no fear.

사랑이 아침을 채우고

그 사랑 내 몸을 감싸면
If love fills my mornings,
If that love shields my body,

아무것도 두렵지 않아

당신이 날 사랑하니까
I will fear nothing
Because you love me.

"MARCEL"

하늘이 무너져 내리고

땅이 꺼져 버린다 해도

Even though the sky comes crashing down,

Even though the earth collapses beneath me,

당신만 날 사랑한다면
If you just say you love me, .  . .

세상 끝이라도

나는 갈거야

당신 원한다면

I will go to the ends of the earth

If that is what you want.

하늘에 달이라도

눈 부신 해라도

따다 바치겠어요.
Though it be the moon or the blinding sun,

I will pluck them from the sky and give them to you.

친구도 버리고

모든 걸 버리고

당신 원한다면

I will forsake even my friends,

I will forsake everything,

If that is want you want.

사람들 비웃어도 

뭐든 할 수 있어요

당신이 원한다면

Even though people ridicule me,

I can do it all,

If that is what you want.

운명이 우리를 갈라놓고

신께서 날 버린다 해도

Even though Fate divides us,

Even though God forsakes me,

당신만 날 사랑한다면

당신을 따를게요

If you just say you love me,

I will follow you.

우리 영원히 함께해요

We will be together forever.

끝없는 푸르름 속에서

행복뿐인 하늘에서

다시 만날 것을 믿어요.

In the endless blue,

In the pure happiness of heaven,

I believe we will meet again.

행복뿐인 하늘에서
다시 만날 것을 

In the pure happiness of heaven,

We will meet again.

다시 만날 것을

믿어요

I believe we will meet again.

 

How much does 짝사랑 (one-sided love) weigh?

 ANSWER: 2.4 kilograms

When you are near someone you are secretly in love with (짝사랑), your heart tends to throb or palpitate, which means your heart tends to beat faster. The pure Korean word for "palpitating," "pitapat," or "throbbing" is 두근두근.

Since 두 is also the pure Korean word for "two," and 근 (斤) is a unit of weight measure that equals 600 grams, then 두근 + 두근 = 4 근, which adds up to 2.4 kilograms (600g x 4), right? So, if you are trying to lose weight, don't fall in love.

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

The following was written as an introduction to a story by 공선옥 entitled "일가," in a book entitled "국어교과서 작품 읽기 (중2 소설)."

Introduction to a 공선옥 story entitled "일가"

Who is 최정원-69?

ANSWER: A goddess

 

How well could Korean actors do the "Naughty" (노티) song from the musical "Matilda" (마틸다)?

ANSWER: VERY well.