Korean Job Discussion Forums

Seon-bee · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: ROK

In the K Times and K Herald and even on this site these days, "hagwon" is being used as an uncountable noun.

e.g.
institutions for teaching are called ``hagwon'' in Korea
There are over 32,000 such schools, commonly known as ``hagwon,'' across the country.
but English academies (a.k.a. hagwon) have come a long way.

I've always referred to them as "hagwons," with an S.

e.g. HagwonS employ teachers. HagwonS sometimes don't pay teachers.

Why? Because financial institutions are called bankS. Public facilities supporting education are called schoolS, places to borrow books are called librarieS. Incarceration centers are jailS. Food establishments are restaurantS. We view films at movie theaterS.

Why the missing S????

Is this a British peculiarity?

From the BC: "Briefly, the difference countable and uncountable nouns can be explained as follows:

Countable nouns are things we can count, and have both singular and plural forms:

A boy; two boys; a car; two cars

You can use a/an before countable nouns.

Uncountable nouns are things that we cannot count. They do not have a plural form:

Air, sand, ice, wisdom (NOT airs, sands, ices, wisdoms)."

Regards,

Steven Pinker Friendship Society

VanIslander · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:52 am Post subject:

I work in a hagwon.

I've worked in two hagwons over the last five years.

Who are you to say I'm wrong?

CasperTheFriendlyGhost · Joined: 28 Feb 2007

It's a Korean word. Koreans don't put the little s at the end of plurals.

ajuma · Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

faster · Joined: 03 Sep 2006

Standard is not to "s"-pluralize non-English words that don't take s-pluralization in their native context. Once they've entered common English parlance, on the other hand, that standard no longer applies It could be argued that in the dialect of this board "hagwon" has been appropriated as an English word, I guess.

paquebot · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Location: Northern Gyeonggi-do

Seon-bee · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: ROK

Why can I find "PC roomS" and "PC BangS," both in plural, in a search?
Seems to me hagwonS ought to be countable, too.

CasperTheFriendlyGhost · Joined: 28 Feb 2007

CasperTheFriendlyGhost · Joined: 28 Feb 2007

regicide · Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Location: United States

CasperTheFriendlyGhost · Joined: 28 Feb 2007

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

One hagwon, two hagwon, three hagwon ..
One hagwon, two hagwons, three hagwons ..

Either way, its countable.

Intrepid · Joined: 13 May 2004 Location: Yongin

And that coinage particular to Dave's ESL? "unigwon"? I'd also say countable, although I don't think I've ever said the word.

dogshed · Joined: 28 Apr 2006

billybrobby · Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Hagwon is certainly countable, but I don't think they are being incorrect in this context because they are introducing the word. Imagine if you had no knowledge of Korean and you saw "hagwons". How would you know that the S is not part of the original word? Sure, you'd probably assume it, but for maximum clarity, it's best to leave it off.