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Ekaia
Joined: 31 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:40 am Post subject: How would you explain/define this concept? |
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정 or Joeng
What's does it mean?
This word has surfaced too many times recently for me to just ignore it. However, when asked to explain what it means all of my Korean friends say the same thing: there's no such thing or concept in your home country....
Anyone else heard about Jeong? |
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Jane
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: |
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Jeong is a bond between two people.
Perhaps Koreans define 'bond' a little differently than we do. For example, in Korea, two people could hate each other, but nonetheless will stick by each other, because of their history together. It's a kind of steadfast loyalty, even when rationality would say otherwise. It's like stoically standing by someone, when in the West we would have told the person to get lost a long time ago!
This is my interpretation of joeng anyway from what I can gather.
A quick check of the Naver dictionary says (in the instance of a couple):
conjugal affection. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 8:44 am Post subject: |
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| Jeong is my wife's name! |
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Ekaia
Joined: 31 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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A "bond" between people? Ok, makes a bit more sense.
Still don't understand why "jeong" is a Korean thing. Cuz of their history? |
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MrRogers
Joined: 29 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, in the negative sense
it is termed "symbiotic" and/or "dysfunctional" in the western psche. |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Ekaia wrote: |
| Still don't understand why "jeong" is a Korean thing. Cuz of their history? |
Naw. The problem is that the word 정 covers a whole range, while the English terms cover smaller areas of the same concept.
Words in English that cover parts of 정:
intimate
wistfulness
nostalgic
warmhearted
familiar
accustomed
cozy (with)
sentiment
passion
sympathy
compassion
affection
yearning
Slap all of those together and you have 정, the catch-all phrase. If anybody ever tells you, no matter what their language, that there's no such concept in your language (or home country), they are most likely wrong. |
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