Wednesday, July 31, 2019

#130. Six more words with Japanese origin that you shouldn't use in Korea

It looks like the trade war is getting worse and worse, and it looks like the Koreans are really planning to make the Japanese boycott a long-term thing! I figured that I should also do my part by completing the second part of the blog post on the Korean words of Japanese origin. Without further ado, here they are: 6. 쇼부(勝負, しょうぶ) --> 승부, 흥정 (to decide the winner for once and for all; to negotiate) As I reflect on the correct...

Monday, July 29, 2019

#129. 손절 -- no longer friends

A few months ago, I had a huge fight with a close friend of mine named Anna. Anna and I have known each other since we were about 15 years old, and we knew everything about each other. As the Koreans say: "우리는 서로의 집에 숟가락이 몇개인지까지 아는 사이였다." (Our relationship was such that we even knew how many spoons were in each others' houses.) We were always aware that we were polar opposites, and we were always amazed that we somehow made our friendship work for...

Sunday, July 28, 2019

#128. Korea vs. Japan -- five words you shouldn't use in Korea right now (or ever)

Disclaimer: I tried to be as fair as possible in this post, but of course, I do have Korean heritage, nor do I speak Japanese, so I imagine that my post leans towards the Koreans. I welcome any corrections or debates from those who are more familiar with Japan's point of view via comments, but please, let's stay civil! Over the past couple of weeks, the tension between Korea and Japan has risen to an all-time high since the conclusion of the WWII....