Questions tagged [korean-culture]
For use on questions pertaining specifically to Korean culture and how it affects Korean language.
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Happiness, Love, and Death
I have to translate this sentence.
사람은 죽을 만큼 사랑하는 사람을 만나거나 죽을 만큼 사랑하는 일을 만날 때 행복합니다.
Note that the translation is preparatory for a live translation; and as such, leading with the same word as the ...
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Installed Korean fonts in Apple Font Book all have "동" where in English we would have "Aa"—why?
Installed Korean fonts in Apple Font Book all have "동" where in English we would have "Aa"—why? And is the meaning here "east" or something else?
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So, I found this word (한 ) / HAN / HANN. I first encountered it on a KPOP song ((G)-IDLE). Can I use it?
I wanted to use the (한 ) / HAN / HANN word as the title of my story. But, when I searched the meaning of that word I got the results that it is rooted in Korean culture, I wanted to ask if it's okay ...
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Gifts in Korean culture
Not exactly a language question, but a cultural confusion: I have recently made friends with two Korean women in my area (Catholic nuns--I'm Catholic too; I met them at church). They are immigrants ...
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What is earliest known usage of 불교의 만자 in Korea?
There are many Buddhist temples with the usage of 불교의 만자, but I can't find any informaiton about where the oldest symbol is.
The book by Thomas Wilson addresses the history (pre-history) but does not ...
user3777
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words about korean mythological creatures
I would like to know whats the word for "korean mythological creatures" in general and
what groups are they divided into (such as ghosts, yokai, deities) and the korean words for that.
Thank ...
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What does 수면풍 and 자연풍 mean on my Korean fan settings?
Living in Korea, I’ve never really changed my standing fan setting other than the fan speed but I keep accidentally pressing the 바람모드 button and turning on “수면풍”, “자연풍” or “off”.
I couldn’t really ...
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Historical Text: how to translate domesticated animals 謂牛馬雞犬
Sources of old Korean history tell the story of a monk named Won Gwang Beopsa who was approached by two youth, Gwisan and Chwihang. They ask him for advice, and he gives them five rules. Gwisan is ...
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NEED HELP WITH FINDING A KOREAN SONG
I heard this song in a Korean drama- prison playbook. But literally can't find it anywhere!! Googled the lyrics both in English and Korean. Even shazam didn't work! Here's the link hoping someone ...
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Meaning and grammar of 매달리다 and hand gestures
In this song lyrics there is the phrase "이제와 울고불고 매달리지마". What I can get from the sentence is something on the lines of "quit crying around", but I am not sure. Also, what role does the particle 와 ...
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Choral version of Pachelbel Canon in Korean tv
Possibly more about culture than language. Many tv shows use a short segment for choir based on the Pachelbel Canon, usually to underscore moments of epiphany by characters or participants in studio ...
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Is Hongik Ingan Eumdok 음독 or Hundok 훈독?
Hongik Ingan is the unofficial motto of Korea. I think it must be Eumdok 음독 (phonetic) rather than Hundok 훈독 (semantic), because it is so short (4 characters just like the Hanja "弘益人間"), and because ...
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What does this North Korean woman mean by joking about "ear wax" when they are about to eat?
Reference point: https://youtu.be/cAFzX16uGls?t=245
A bunch of North Koreans are sitting around a table with a male guest from Singapore, who is filming in first person.
One of the North Korean ...
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Are both these sentences correct?
'벌써 추운 겨울이 가고 따뜻한 봄이 왔습니다' and '벌써 추운 겨울이 갔고 따뜻한 봄이 벌써 추운 겨울이 가고 따뜻한 봄이 왔습니다'
In an example the first sentence was givem.. However when 오다 is in past form shouldn't we be using the past form of 가다?
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How practical is it to live in Korea without a "Korean name"?
I got to a portion of my Korean homework that asked me to write my name "in Korean". I thought that was really dumb, considering the widespread use of Roman letters in Korea. But lo and behold, ...
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What is the meaning of 캐러들 and 물차고 in this famous children's song?
The song I am referring to is 봄 by 윤석중, a well-known writer of Korean children's poetry. This poem was later composed into a song in 1990.
니나니 나니나 니나니나 버들피리 소리가 들려온다
니나니 나니나 니나니나 버들피리 소리가 들려온다
...
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Is there a saying in Korean that "tall people are dull", or something like that?
There is a children's song in Korea called 맞아 맞아. It begins like this:
키크면 싱겁다는 옛날얘기가
맞아맞아 정말맞아 꼭맞아
(See here for the full lyrics.) I was struggling to figure out its meaning and this is what I ...
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Why does the honey bee have to go away (in this song)?
I mean the children's song 어느 봄날 (One spring day). The lyrics goes as follows:
돌배 꽃 꽃잎에 싸여
어느새 잠이 든 낮달
잠깨워 데려 갈 구름 없어
꽃 속에 낮잠을 잔다.
꿀벌아 멀리, 멀리 가거라.
선잠 깬 낮달이 울면서
멀리 떠날라.
What I am ...
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Korean Subway help please!
I have an urgent question about the subway
route
From green line, I want to transfer at Sindorim station. From there I want to go to Guil. Now I know the subway travels from Sindorim and then Guro, ...
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How exactly is 호롱호롱 an onomatopoeic word for the sound of mountain birds?
This has been on my mind for quite a while. 호롱호롱 seems to be the "default" word of choice for imitating the sound of mountain birds in many Korean children's songs, for instance,
in 이슬 , 호롱호롱호롱 산새소리에....
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How does A Korean Odyssey (화유기) derive the character names?
I am currently watching this Korean drama, A Korean Odyssey (화유기), on Netflix. I found the Hanja of the movie title: 和遊記.
Other than English, I also speak Chinese as a first language, so I mostly ...
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How precisely can one define what "trot/ 트로트 / 트롯" music is?
Music genres can be defined in all sorts of ways. Some genre names refer to something quite precise; some genres are harder to pin down.
How precisely can one define what "trot/ 트로트 / 트롯" music is? I ...
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Five-colored strings on a fishing boat?
Well, this might not exactly be a language question but here is what I am talking about: there is a Korean children's song entitled “island village” (섬마을), and the lyrics can be viewed here. The ...
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Korean dialogue in a comic
I'm brazilian, and reading a comic in english. It's named "Shortcomings", by Adrian Tomine. This comic is about problems of some asian-american young adults. At some point, the main character (Ben ...
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What is being said in this audio clip?
Here is the audio. The translation I have available for now is this one:
Do you want that kind of money?
Anyone there?
There is still a public relations section.
Give me special reporting policy!
...
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Addressing someone on the street you have never met and who is of ambiguous age
I was visiting Korea (강원도 춘천시) recently and needed to ask directions to a building on a college campus. (강원대학교 for those who are interested). I was on foot and I did not immediately see a campus map ...
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Peace of parents vs Gaming
When I watch youtube videos related to games, I encounter several
comments where people relate the peace of parents to the reason that
Koreans are good at gaming.
" 한국에서는 게임 못하면 부모님 안부를 물어 보거든 (1) "...
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When learning Korean, is it better to learn formal only?
I am starting to learn Korean (A course on Coursera, I have purchased a course on Udemy, and am also listening to podcasts from "Talk to me in Korean".
In the podcasts, they suggest learning the ...
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Korean child was not accepted to college, what's next for her?
My native Korean brother-in-law living in Seoul has what I would call a "star" child/pupil. She won piano competitions, she is always studying, and she graduated #1 in her high school class (not an ...
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What is the hashtag #다들_첫뮤_뭐보셨나요?
다들_첫뮤_뭐보셨나요
is trending on twitter...but why? what does it mean?
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What does "가가가가가." (the sentence) mean?
I heard tale of a sentence which is odd but grammatically correct where every word is 가, but each 가 is a different part of speech. I'm also not sure if it's five or six 가s, but I would love to ...
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How do you say "None of your business" in Korean?
Is there a Korean equivalent phrase if there is no exact translation?
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Manners: chopsticks and spoon simultaneously
At 연세어학당, I learned a sentence with an implied subject, an object, a conjunction in the object, an adverb, and a verb. I will never forget it, because it was the first "big sentence" that I ...
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Does ~ 스럽다 mean "worthy of ~"?
Does ~ 스럽다 mean "worthy of ~"?
I'm familiar with and use with some frequency the verb ending 스럽다.
I'm trying to contend with and understand the English sentence "I am proud of you" ...
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The way to respond to 안녕하세요?
In South Korea, when you eat at a cheap eating establishment (in "cheap" I mean such establishments where one menu costs about 5,000 KRW to 12,000 KRW and usually in a bit old establishment) and ...
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Types/classes of meat 고기 종류
In English, there is a pretty well understood division between "white meat" and "red meat". Likewise, people will talk about "light/dark meat" when eating certain meats.
What sorts of meaningful ...
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한국어로 "Koreaboos"
Are there any well-known Korean terms or phrases to talk about (foreign) fans of Korea/Korean things?
The great 한류 "Korean Wave" of this age has certainly stirred up attitudes of both admiration ("...
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How are 선배 and 후배 classified in Korean (age, position or both)?
could anyone especially Korean native speakers have a look at this excerpt and tell me whether it is correct or not?
As the book said 선배 and 후배 are classified based on two criteria, age and position. ...
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Dating and Valentine practice, do only "friends" get valentines too?
This question has to do with non-verbal cultural communication.
My understanding is that in Korea dating is conducted by girls selecting boys and that the interest is indicated by a gift on Valentine'...
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Easy Korean Poems for Beginners
I just wonder if anyone could help me find few poems in Korean that are not too hard for a beginner like me. I believe it could help me improving my vocabulary and grammar usage.
(I've been learning ...
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Apart from 새배 (new year's bow), when is it appropriate to do a '절' (deep bow)?
As it was (Western) new year, I suggested that my wife and I did the deep bow or '절' to our Korean parents (Though it's not us in the picture!). I think this was seen as appropriate and well-received! ...
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What is the appropriate way to ask for a spot while weightlifting?
Let's say this is for benchpressing. How would I ask someone at the gym if they wouldn't mind spotting me for a set?
Also, is this common and/or appropriate?
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Why is the Korean name 이 often Romanised as 'Lee'?
This was a question from the definition stage of this proposal
Why is the Korean name 이 written as Lee in English?
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What is the natural way to refer to in-laws of an unexpected gender?
If my father's sister has a husband, I call him 고모부.
If my father's younger brother has a wife, I call her 숙모.
If my father's sister has a wife, what do I call her? If my father's younger brother ...
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How do you count Korean age
Koreans count their age in a different way from Western people.
What are the exact rules to count your Korean age?
Is it just Western age + 2?
A person born on Feb. 10, 1986 is 30 years old in ...
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