The 瓜 (과) in 과년 (瓜年) can mean "melon," "gourd," or "cucumber," depending on which Chinese characters are used with it. For example, the Sino-Korean word for "cucumber" is 호과 (胡瓜), which can literally translate as "barbarian (胡) melon (瓜)," and the Sino-Korean word for "watermelon" is 서과 (西瓜)," which literally translates as "Western (西) melon (瓜)." So, since the Chinese character 年 (년) means "year," the word 과년 (瓜年) literally means "melon (瓜) year (年)." But what was the "melon year" (瓜年)?
The "melon year" (과년 瓜年) was the year a girl turned 16 years old, which used to be considered a good age for a girl to get married. But why would "melon year" (瓜年) mean "16 years old"?
Because the word "melon year" (과년) comes from the phrase 파과지년 (破瓜之年), which literally translates as "the year [a girl] breaks [her] melon," and that refers to "puberty." The Chinese character 破 (파) means "to break," so 파과 (破瓜) literally means "to break (破) a melon (瓜)," which in China can also mean "(of a girl) to lose one's virginity." So, in China, it seems they break melons instead of cherries.
Anyway, since the Chinese character for "melon" (瓜) looks similar to the Chinese character for "eight" (八)," when you "break a melon" (破瓜) in half, you essentially have "two (이 二) melons (과 瓜)," which look similar to "two (이 二) eights (팔 八))," or 이팔 (二八), and that means "sixteen" (8 + 8).
"The year [a man] breaks [his] melon" (파과지년 破瓜之年) is the year he turns "sixty-four." Because for men, you multiply (八 x 八) instead of add (八 + 八). I do not know exactly what happens when a man "breaks [his] melon" (破瓜), but it may have something to do with sex. Maybe, in the past, when men turned 64 (八 + 八) in China and Korea, people thought they started to lose their desire "to break melons"? So, when referring to men, maybe we should translate 파과지년 (破瓜之年) as "the year [a man] breaks [his] cucumber" instead of "the year [a man] breaks [his] melon"?
As for the word 과년 (過年), since the Chinese character 過 (과) means "to pass" and the character 年 (년) can also mean "age," the word 과년 (過年) literally means "past (過) the age (年) [to get married]." These days, when Koreans say, 과년한 처녀," they usually mean "an old maid" (過年한 처녀) instead of "a sweet 16-year-old virgin" (瓜年한 처녀).
Anyway, since the Chinese character for "melon" (瓜) looks similar to the Chinese character for "eight" (八)," when you "break a melon" (破瓜) in half, you essentially have "two (이 二) melons (과 瓜)," which look similar to "two (이 二) eights (팔 八))," or 이팔 (二八), and that means "sixteen" (8 + 8).
"The year [a man] breaks [his] melon" (파과지년 破瓜之年) is the year he turns "sixty-four." Because for men, you multiply (八 x 八) instead of add (八 + 八). I do not know exactly what happens when a man "breaks [his] melon" (破瓜), but it may have something to do with sex. Maybe, in the past, when men turned 64 (八 + 八) in China and Korea, people thought they started to lose their desire "to break melons"? So, when referring to men, maybe we should translate 파과지년 (破瓜之年) as "the year [a man] breaks [his] cucumber" instead of "the year [a man] breaks [his] melon"?
As for the word 과년 (過年), since the Chinese character 過 (과) means "to pass" and the character 年 (년) can also mean "age," the word 과년 (過年) literally means "past (過) the age (年) [to get married]." These days, when Koreans say, 과년한 처녀," they usually mean "an old maid" (過年한 처녀) instead of "a sweet 16-year-old virgin" (瓜年한 처녀).
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