In order to get more exposure to the Korean language and culture, I chose to read one Korean proverb every two days and try to understand the context behind it. I’ve picked out a few of the proverbs which helped me learn a lot about Korean culture. A proverb that I found fascinating is ‘개천에서 용 난다’ (a dragon rises from a small stream). Mythological stories always have dragons rising from the depths of the sea; therefore, it is unexpected and astonishing to have one rising from a shallow stream. Hence, this proverb is used when referring to a great person who arose from humble beginnings. In Korea, one of the things that can play a role in whether you’re a great person of not is your appearance as noted in the proverb ‘옷이 날개다’ (clothes are wings).This proverb is used to emphasize the importance of dressing well. Its English equivalent is ‘clothes make the man’. Another proverb which I thought was interesting because it references a staple dish in Korea is ‘남의 떡이 더 커 보인다’ (other’s rice cakes always look bigger). It means that anything that you do not have always looks better than what you do, even when it really is not. Its English equivalent would be ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’. Since rice cakes are a staple food item in Korea, they showed up in a quite a few of a proverbs that I read. One other example for a proverb as such is ‘누워서 떡 먹기’ (eating rice cakes while lying down). Rice cakes are easy to make, and can be held in the hand and eaten by themselves, so eating them while lying down is considered to be easy. Hence, this proverb is used to refer to something that is very easy to do. Its English equivalent would be ‘piece of cake’. While it makes sense that rice cakes keep popping up in proverbs because they’re considered staple food in Korean, there are other proverbs that involve other Korean food items. ‘콩 심은데 콩나고, 팥 심은데 팥난다’ (beans come out from where beans are planted, and red beans come out from where red beans are planted) is a proverb that uses beans as a metaphor to say that you are what you surround yourself with and what you put your time towards. Its closest English equivalent is ‘you reap what you sow’. Another proverb that references Korean food is ‘김치국부터 마시지 말라’ (don’t drink the kimchi soup first). Apparently, kimchi soup is had at the end of a meal to aid digestion, so you should wait till the end of your meal to have it. The proverb uses this fact to imply that you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. Its English equivalent is ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch’. The use of food items in so many proverbs gives me a sense of the importance of food in Korean culture. I’ve seen a couple of videos which involved making Korean food that hinted at how making food is a joyous process. Even in a conversation with Professor Kim a few days ago, she told us about how eating food is an intimate activity. I would like to dive deeper into Korean food next time.
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Current sources for proverbs (picked up from random google results):
https://seoulistic.com/korean-culture/wise-korean-proverbs-to-live-by/
Comments
I think that learning new Korean proverbs is a great way to not only learn the language, but also become more familiar with the culture! I have friends from Korea and there have been times when they can only communicate their thoughts through a proverb, which shows how common they are. Can you share where you read the Korean proverbs and their explanations?
These proverbs are amazing, Sreya! I believe the Global Studio and the LJKC possess several books that provide illustrations and explanations for these kinds of expressions. Keep up the good work!