Korean Job Discussion Forums

[helly]

Has anyone ever tried to explain to you the concept of "Han" and then followed up with, "Well, you're not Korean so you wouldn't understand."?

Has anyone ever said, "that is just Korean culture?"

Ring in and tell us what's your favorite essentially Korean concept. I personally favorite "skinship" (and not in a leery way). I find it so sweet that people actually feel they can develop a stronger emotional tie through "skinship."

[Dan]

you left out my favorite:

bun we gi

meaning atmosphere, or ambiance.

[Son Deureo!]

Face (as in saving face, or avoiding embarrassment) and jeong (affection based on being part of the same community), what do the others mean?

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

If you think "jeong" is difficult to explain to a foreigner in Korea, just go try explaining "camp" or "kitsch" to a Korean.

Trust me, you'll get a lot of screwy looks

Sparkles*_* (likes Celebrity Boxing not because it's altogether interesting, but because the unintentional comedy is through the roof. Same goes for Bbong Jak music.)

[weatherman]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

And...

(Please don't take this as a troll)

I do get a bit annoyed when people try (not that that has been done here) to praise concepts like "jeong" and "hyo", and hint that English is somehow inferior because we don't have similar one word definitions for these concepts.

For the record, there's a plethora (I would estimate in the thousands, actually) of English words that are very long winded when translated into Korean. And even with a long winded definition, most students still can't comprehend the meaning.

Then again, I really like the concept of nun-bit, or 'eye sparkle'. Did you notice how hot Goh So Young is? She's got great eye sparkle.

Sparkles*_*

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[gang ah jee]

jeong - having to hang out with people you don't like

han - feeling sorry for oneself because one is korean

[helly]

Hey, pretty good response so far, cool!

Sorry for leaving a couple off. I tried to add an "other, please specify" but didn't come through. Obviously, I can't include all so I used those the popped to mind first.

Hyo and Bunwigi: Never heard of them before; now I have. Can someone explain Hyo?

Nun-bit: Never thought of it as a concept but I guess it could work. Have to say that many Korean women have nun-bit, love it!!

I guess one of the reasons for this poll was to find out some other concepts unknown to me. Got two so far.....keep 'em coming!

[weatherman]

Not really a concept, but I like the term and I hope my romanization is close, but the term na-la-li is a good one. It is used to refer to somebody who likes to play and goofs off by ignoring work and other duties. It can also refer to the way somebody dresses, men or women, which would be geared to attracting the opposite sex. It is a good term, I like na-la-li people, often find them pretty real and honest about life. The image is just that, and image that works for them.

[Cthulhu]

Hey what about "Gi-bon" (good mood or atmosphere). Without it, the mood at the party is flat, and people aren't having fun.

In practical terms it means: pay W30,000* won up front for a couple of warm beers and some fruit or you aint getting into this nightclub.

*Busan rate. May vary according to location

[katydid]

I always thought (well not always, as I only recently bought a book of Korean idioms) that han meant injustice, or something needed to be taken care of, or a feeling of loss or sorrow due to unrequited love. The book talked of this one saying "A woman harboring 'han' can make it frost in May"... and they also said that when people eat something they have been craving, or when they take revenge on someone who has wronged them, they say "I have resolved my han."

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Bural chingu. Testicle friends. Friends since you were babies.

[sid]

[Cthulhu]