Is Puberty a Good Time to Start Learning Korean?

A seventh grade girl is attracted to a Korean-American boy and starts learning Korean. Four years later, she becomes the first "non-Korean" to win second place in a Korean speech contest hosted by the U.S. National Association for Korean Schools. Then, after a phone interview with a Korean reporter, the girl is described by the reporter as being able to speak Korean as if it were her mother tongue.

Four years may seem like a long time to learn a language, but when learning Korean, it is not that long, especially if you are trying to learn it outside Korea.

Link to Article

And she is very good.

"If I were a leaf," by Gerry Bevers

If I were a leaf, I'd want to be

One of a sprawling sycamore tree.
Then under my soulful, silent shade,
Young and old could drink pink lemonade.

Summer showers go splitter splatter,
But under me it would not matter.
My friends and I would be broad and green,
Stopping the raindrops while staying clean.

How do Koreans say "to pass the buck"?

The American idiom "to pass the buck" is translated in Korean as 책임을 전가하다. 책임(責任) means "responsibility," and 전가(轉嫁) means "to impute" or "to attribute."

What I find interesting about the Korean expression is that 전가(轉嫁) also means "to remarry" on the part of a woman. The Chinese characters literally mean "transfer the wife's marriage."

Unloading your wife onto the back of another man seems like a perfect example of "passing the buck."

Are you a Hypocrite or a Good Deed Doer?

Confucius wrote:

Heaven repays a person who does good with blessings and a person who does bad with calamity. 

 爲善者天報之 以福,  爲不善者天報之 以禍 (위선자천보지이복, 위불선자천보지이화)

爲善者(a do good person) 天報之(Heaven repays him) 以福 (with blessings),  爲不善者(a do no good person) 天報之(Heaven repays him) 以禍 (with calamity).

Based on the above Confucian saying, 위선자(爲善者) can be translated as "a good deed doer," so why do modern day Koreans use 위선자(僞善者) to mean "hypocrite"?

The answer lies with the Chinese characters for 위. Notice that the Chinese character for the 위(爲) in "good deed doer" is slightly different than the 위(僞) in "hypocrite." 爲(위) means "do," but 僞(위) means "lie, pretend" The other two characters are exactly the same: 善 (선 - good), 者(자 - person). Therefore, the Korean word for "hyprocrite," 위선자(僞善者), literally means "a pretend good person."

The next time someone calls you a 위선자, you can reply, "Really? I guess that means I can expect blessings from Heaven."

"The Cycle of Life," by Gerry Bevers

At Seventy-two or fifty-three,
The Angel of Death is eyeing me.
I do not fear him for I know,
Like flowers and trees, we all must go.

Back to the earth from which we came,
Your dirt and my dirt will be the same.
Our lives as humans may come to an end,
But another awaits just ‘round the bend.

I may come back as a tomato plant,
Or if I’m lucky, a giant elephant.
Life eternal would be a bore,
Nature offers much, much more.

How would you translate 란/이란 in English?

란/이란 is a topic marker similar to 은/는 that attaches to nouns, but is more emphatic than 은/는. It is an abbreviation of (이)라는 것은. The marker 란 attaches to nouns that end in a vowel (eg. 친구란), and the marker 이란 attaches to nouns that end in a consonant (eg. 가족이란).

The marker essentially announces that you are about to define or explain the noun to which it is attached, as the following example shows.

친구란 어려울 때 도와줄 수 있는 사람이에요.

A friend is someone who helps you in difficult times.

Dictionaries often show "as for" as an English equivalent of 란/이란, but normally we would not translate it in English. However, in spoken English, we usually show the emphatic nature of the marker by stressing the noun to which 란/이란 is attached and then pausing before continuing on with the definition or explanation of the noun, as demonstrated below:

A friend--is someone who helps you in difficult times.

In the above example, the boldface type is meant to indicate stress, and the hyphens (dash) are meant to indicate a pause.

Normally, Koreans also pause after the marker 란/이란 before continuing on with the definition or explanation of the word or phrase to which it is attached.

"Raising Boys," by Gerry Bevers

Twelve year old boys can surprise,
Not as innocent as some surmise.
To a young boy in the spring,
Girls can be a curious thing.

Discarded magazines were the way,
We learned of girls back in my day.
Now the Internet is the teacher,
The female body, the main feature.

Don't trust your son with a computer,
For it can be a mind polluter.
The female body is quite beautiful,
But some sites are just not suitable.

"Genesis" -- by Gerry Bevers

Our God is the Sun,
the creator of life,
the sustainer of life.

His essence is Hydrogen,
the smallest of seeds,
the source of all matter.

Hydrogen begets Helium,
and Helium begets Carbon,
with whom Hydrogen bonds
to give birth to all living things.

The God of our God is Gravity,
the unseen Force of the universe
that brings it all together.

"Snowy Night" by Gerry Bevers

Just beyond my window pane,
Gently falls white winter rain.
Fluffy flakes floating down,
Softly landing without sound.

As my world waxes winter white
Reflecting stars and soft moonlight,
The silent sadness of the lonely night
Fades away into soft delight.

"Please" by Gerry Bevers

I'm battening down the hatches.
And fastening all the sashes.
I just want to be left alone.

Please ask me no questions.
Please make no suggestions.
I just want to be left alone.

No need to worry,
Or to feel sorry.
I just want to be left alone.

I'm not at all bitter,
Just things to consider.
So, please just leave me alone.

"Safety First," by Gerry Bevers

‎"Safety First"

Feel my groin,
Give it a squeeze.
Just don't snicker, please.

Feel her breasts,
And check the rest.
Please do not caress.

Let's fly safe;
Rather be late,
Then the news at eight.

by Gerry Bevers

"Young Heroes," by Gerry Bevers

"Young Heroes"

Young, patriotic, and full of life, 

They join to fight for what is right. 

With a big smile, a hug and a kiss, 

They say "Goodbye" and then say this: 

 "Don't worry about me. I'll take care." 

"I'll return to you from over there." 

When the sad news comes, it makes us cry. 

Now with God, they never meant to lie. 

 by Gerry Bevers

A snake 40 to 50 feet long in Korea?

Did you know the Japanese supposedly found and killed a snake between forty and fifty feet long (4, 5 jang – 丈) in Hamheung, Korea in 1906? One jang (丈) is supposed to be ten cheok (척 - 尺), and one cheok is supposed to be about one foot. In pure Korean, cheok (척 - 尺) is written as 자.

The Japanese supposedly burned the snake, which caused a stench so bad that seven Japanese soldiers died that night after vomiting up blood.

Do you always wear your seat belt?

좌석(안전) 벨트를 항상 매세요?

Korean Phychologist Suggests Apolo Ohno "Abnormal" and "Immature"

The Dong Ilbo, which is one of Korea's big three newspapers, has posted an article entitled, "Ohno's Spiteful Actions, Result of Immaturity and Lack of Love?," in which a Korean phychologist suggests that Ohno's "spiteful actions is a result of immature and excessive self devotion and a lack of love."

I will translate the article when I have more time.

Korean Media Distorts Apolo Ohno's Statements

Ever since Apolo Ohno won the silver medal in men's 1,500 short-track on February 13 at the 2010 Vacouver Winter Olympics, the Korean media has been conducting a vicious, unfair smear campaign against Ohno. The Korean media is not only describing Ohno in hateful, unfair language, but they are misquoting and distorting his statements to the English media.

The following is a February 16, 2010 SBS News report on Ohno. It is typical of what is being said in much of the Korean media. SBS NEWS is one of the three big news organizations in Korea.
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Anchor: Apolo Ohno, who was the “undeserving” (implied – 어부지리) winner of a silver medal in Men’s 1,500-meter short-track, has made another ridiculous claim that has aggitated our athletes.

Even though he had clearly committed an illegal action, he has made the ridiculous claim that he lost the gold medal because of the interferrence of our athletes.

Reporter Jeong Gyu-jin covers it in Vancouver.

[Reporter]

This is a scene from the men’s 1,500 meter race.

A scene of Ohno grabbing and tugging on the left arm of Seong Si-Baek, as Ohno wedged his way in at the inside corner, has been clearly captured on camera by the SBS crew. The situation lasted close to three seconds.

During the semi-finals, he also used his arm to push Lee Jeong-su, which caused Lee Jeong-su to show an expression of surprise.

Even though these are the facts, in an interview with American media, he said if Korean athletes had not impeded my way, the results could have been a lot different. He also claimed that he had never once grabbed another competitor.

After having said immediately after the race that he had hoped Korean athletes would be disqualified, he is once again aggravating our team.

However, it has become known that he has acknowledged the thoughtlessness of the irratating hand gesture he made after winning the race as a result of our athletes crashing into each other.

[American Short-track Team Coach Jeon Jae-su: It was extremely unsportsmanlike behavior, so I angrily scolded him immediately after the race. And, actually, Ohno has been greatly reflecting on that part, and said he does not know why he did it.]

After causing waves with his statements, Ohno has refused interviews while showing a consistent, hardened expression throughout practice.

Analysts think Ohno’s statement shows that he intends to use scuffles during the remaining races to get favorable judgements.

Notice that SBS News did not use any quotation marks in their report, but other news outlets reporting on the SBS report did. For example, Newsway quoted Ohno as saying the following:

I have never interfered with another athlete by grabbing his arm or leg and holding on for so long.

“나는 한번도 어떤 선수의 팔이나 다리를 이처럼 오랫동안 붙잡아 방해한 적이 없다”

First, both news reports are misquoting Ohno. Ohno did not say he had never "held another athlete's arm or leg"; he said his arm or leg had never been held by another athlete for so long. HERE is what Ohno said:

I definitely don’t think it’s typical, not in my sport. I’ve never had anyone hold onto my leg or arm that long. If it weren’t for that, the outcome would have been much different.

I started to pass one of the Korean skaters on the inside, and he put his left hand over and blocked me. That’s when I lost a lot of my speed.

The (earlier) bump allowed the others to catch up. That’s short track. When I saw those two guys lining up to pass on the final lap, I knew something was going to happen. It was a mistake on their part, and worked in my favor.

Everyone wants to win, and gets caught up in the emotions. All three of those Korean skaters are tough and strong. It was one of the hardest races I’ve skated in.

I do not know what Ohno meant by his hand gesture, but I know it to mean “stop,” as in “stop doing something.”

I do not know why Ohno’s Korean coach said what he did to the Korean media, but since the Korean coach did not make a similar declaration to the English media, I am suspicious. Ohno’s Korean coach seemed to be feeding Korea’s hatred for Ohno, not appeasing it. I wonder if Ohno even knows what his coach told the Korean media?

SBS News was trying to make Koreans believe that Ohno had cheated by grabbing the Korean skater's arm, but it you watch the SBS VIDEO, you will see that it was the Korean who grabbed and held on to Ohno's knee until Ohno finally knocked his arm away. That allowed the Korean skater's teammate to skate around on the outside. Watch the video and judge for yourselves.

How do you say "Uh-oh" in Korean?

Picture from Sports Illustrated site.

How do you say "elk" in Korean?

My dictionary says elk is 말코손바닥사슴. A deer with a horse's nose and hoofs? UPDATE: 말코손바닥사슴 is the Korean word for "moose," not elk. The word is descriptive since 말코 means "horse nose" and 손바닥 means "palm," which most likely refers to the palm-shaped antlers of the moose. 사슴 means "deer."

Photo of a moose from Wikipedia

The Korean word for elk seems to be 와피티사슴, which comes from the Korean transliteration of "wapiti" (와피티), another name for "elk."

Photo of an elk from Wikipedia

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By the way, can anyone count how many elk are in the following video?

When do Korean children learn to swear and hate Japan?

I am not sure, but the kids using vulgar language to spew hate on Japan in the Gangneung (강릉) dialect in the video below are supposedly in the second grade at the Wansan Elementary School (왕산초등학교) in Gangneung.

민경:	오늘 여게 사람들이 이리 마니 모였으니 내가 가슴에 담아 도던 얘기를 한 마디 할게요. 내가 이 얘기를 안하면요 살아도 산기 아니고요. 내가 쌔가 빠져 죽어도요 눈을 못 감을 정도로 한이 될기래요.
성령:	이런 진생 같은 간나가 꼴깝하고 자빠졌네. 지 나이가 몇 살이라고, 뭔 놈의 한이 우째고 우쨌다고?
민경:	이런 씨 니처럼 맨재기중에서도 찰 맨재기 같은 인간이 우트게 내속을 알겠나? 시상이 우트 돌아 가는 지 알기나 하고 그래 찌꺼래 되나?
성령:	벨희얀한 소릴 다듣겠네야 내 참 그래 뭔 누무 한이 그래 맺혔는지 어디 한 번 니 힘 가지껀 찌꺼래 봐라.
민경:	이런 쿵하면 담 배락에서 호박 떨어지는 소리고 뽕하면 니 똥구영서 똥가루 날리는 소리는 소리라고, 어. 내가 지금부터 얘기해 줄 테니 귓구영을 후비고 똑띠기 들아. 알았싸어.
성령:	알았다.
민경:	저짜 바다 건너 일본놈들이 요새 독도가 지들 땅이라고 복날 개훌기 듯이 우겨된다는데 니는 테레비도 안 보나 이런 판진생 같은 인간아!
성령:	뭐이 우째.
민경:	우째긴 뭘 우째 가들이 그 날리를 치는 바람에 여게 저게서 열통이 터져서 복장을 치는 사람들이 울매나 많은데.
성령:	그 놈의 종자들이 날은 더와 죽겠는데 왜 그 지랄들겠나? 어, 그 전에도 그 난리를 볶아 때리더니 요새 또 그런다 말이야.
민경:	야 그럴 내가 이래 열을 내는게 아니나? 그것들이 아직 된변을 못 봐서 그렇치 내인데 한 번 걷아들리기만 하면 내가 아주 쌕딜가 뭐나 쌕딜을 잡아 빼놀 낄되, 뭐.
민경:	어니야라 뭔 간나가 말을 해도 억쎄 빠지기 시래 쌕딜가, 남사 시럽지도 안나. 여게 사람들이 이래 많은데 그래갔구 시집이나 겠나?
민경:	뭐이 이런 판진생 같은 인간아. 이 판국에 지금 시집이 문제야? 이거는 뭐 똥인지 된장지 천지를 모르고 찌꺼래 되네야. 아이 내가 여복 부애가 났음 거러겠나? 그런 인날 임진왜란 때 말이야. 그것들이 사람들을 마큰다 아주 씰몰살 시킬려고 쳐들어왔던 걸 뭐이 벌써 까먹었부랬나?
설령:	내가 그럴 우트 까먹겠나? 가들이 그 조총이란 걸 갔구 들이 쏴단 걸 내가 까먹을 리가 있나?
민경:	말도마라. 말도마 우리 할머어이가 그러는데 그 총알이란 게 날아가지고 대가빠리에 정통으로 들이 맞으면 뇌진탕으로 히떡가고, 또 그게 누까리에 들이 걸리면 눈까리가 다 박살이 나고 그 뭐나어 배때기에 들이 걸리면 창지가 마카 게 나와 가지고 하이고 뭣이 대뜨번에 쌔싸리가 빠진다더라.
성령:	야, 말이 싹다 마자요. 나도 우리 할아버한테 들었는데요 자들이요 생각하는 것까지도요 울매나 얍쌉한지요 우리들 같지 안타니까요.
민경:	마자요, 마자. 자들이 울매나 얍삽한지요. 뙈놈보다 더 하다니까요. 요새 이 독도문제도요 시시하게 대처해서는 되지도 않아요. 그저 순순히 우리가 대해 주시깐 저것들이 우릴 만만보고 저 지랄들이지 우리가 빡쎄게 나가면 찍소리도 못 할기래요. 아이 내 말이 맞으면 박수를 한 번 쳐주야.
성령:	뭔 간나가 참 억쌔게도 지꺼려 되네야 이 좋은 날 우째 그리서럽그리 둘어대나 여기 앉아 있는 사람들도 그놈의 독도 얘기만 나오면 복장이 터질낀데 왜 그다타나 아이 내 말일 맞아요 안 맞아요.
민경:	알았다 내가 이 얘기 한 마디만 더 하고 내겨갈 끼네.
설령:	뭐이? 여태 찌거려 놓고 뭘 또 지꺼린다고 알았다 알았다 정 그러면 지꺼려 봐 얼른 지끄리고 내려가자 내 배때기 고파 죽겠다.
민경:	아이 시끄루와 그놈의 배때기 고프단 소리는 몸썰나게 해 대내야. 여 앉아 있는 사람들요 내 말을 마저 들어봐요, 야. 그렇다고요. 그짝 나라 사람들이 다 그리 얍삽하다는 게 아니래요. 모르긴 몰라도요 여 강릉에 해마다을 사람들도 있다든데 그 양반들은 안 얍삽해요. 여기 강릉교육관 한마음 축제 오신 여러분들도 그 양반들 만나면 괘찮으니 그 사람들 만나면 반갑게 맞아줘요 알았지요.

I may translate it later.

Have you read "Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar"?

It cost me an arm and a leg (72,000 won), but I bought Edwin G. Pulleyblank's book, "Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar." When it first arrived, I thought I had been ripped off because it was only a flimsy, little 206-page book, including Contents and Index pages. It did not look like it was worth 72,000 won, which is the most I have ever paid for any book, but after reading the first forty pages, I have changed my mind. It was a good investment.

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Though the book is not that well written or organized, it is crammed full of short-and-sweet grammar rules with one or two example sentences for each rule. There is little or no fluff in the book. It seems like Mr. Pulleyblank just gathered up his teaching notes and made a book out of them, which might explain why it is only about 200 pages.

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The book's 597 example sentences, which are numbered, have Chinese pronunciations and English translations, but, except for the grammar point being focused on, there are few if any detailed explanations of the sentences. The reader is pretty much expected to match, on his own, the English translation with the Chinese.

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I wish the book were better organized and had Korean pronunciations instead of Chinese, and I wish that Mr. Pulleyblank had used more punctuation in his English explanations, but the book gives so much insight into classical Chinese grammar that such complaints seem trivial. I am a happy man.