ed Let's avoid 'Konglish'

By Lee Chang-sup

A Korean student was denied a scholarship at an American university because his address contained the word “villa.” University admissions officers thought the student lived in a huge estate or a mini village his parents own, which is what “villa” means in the United States, according to his father. However, this was not the case — he came from a modest family that lives in a villa, which in Korea refers to a small condominium where working class people live.

Konglish puzzles many native English speakers but embarrasses Koreans. For example, “pension” means a fixed regular payment to retired people in English but means a motel in Korean. The term “condominium” is also misused here. A condominium is a room or set of rooms people own, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but in Korean, it means a motel in a resort.

There are also many confusing Konglish expressions for food and clothing. To “overeat” means to eat too much, but Koreans use the word to mean to vomit. “Diet” refers to what you eat and drink regularly, but Koreans use it to mean to lose weight through exercise. “Burberry” is a high-end clothing brand known for its light, waterproof and stylish trench coats, but in Korea, a “Burberry man” refers to a man who only wears a trench coat and exposes himself to schoolgirls. “Combi” may be short for “combination” but means wearing a sports coat and a pair of trousers to Koreans. Koreans and Japanese say “pants” when Americans and Britons say “underpants.”

Serious misunderstanding arises when Koreans say “mind control” to mean self-improvement or calming down, when in fact, the word means brainwashing or manipulation. Although “feminism” refers to “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Koreans use it to denote women’s liberation. “Benchmarking” is used here to mean to copy best practices, but it means “a measurement of the quality of an organization’s policies, products, programs and strategies and their comparison with standard measurements or similar measurements of its peers,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Business terms are not exempt from Konglish. “Name card” is widely used here instead of “business card.” “After-service” is wrongly used here to denote warranty service. “Booking” in Korean means introducing a woman at a night club to a male client even through it simply means “reservation” in English.

Carmaker Kia should have known that the acronym “KIA” stands for “killed in action.” It also called its latest sedan model K9, which is pronounced as“canine” — a dog or a fox — in English.

Konglish also includes words that Koreans have made up. For instance, “spolex” means sports complex, while “leports” means leisure sports. “Officetel,” which is a combination of the words “office” and “hotel,” refers to a one-room studio apartment in Korea.

Korean-language newspapers are not free from misusing English words. For example, journalists use the term “transgender” (“people who have a sexual identity that is not clearly male or clearly female”) when they mean “transsexual” (“someone who medically changes himself or herself into a member of the opposite sex”).

They also misuse “syndrome” (symptoms that occur together and characterize a disease or disorder) to describe sensational events involving celebrities and other famous people. For example, the media say “Kim Yu-na syndrome” rather than “Kim Yu-na phenomenon” or “Kim Yu-na fever.” (Kim Yu-na is a South Korean Olympic medalist in figure skating.) TV talk show hosts use the acronym “AI” to mean avian flu, when AI stands for “artificial intelligence” in English. Many journalists falsely assume that most Westerners know what “White Day” is. Instead of saying “ballroom dance,” they say “sports dance” here. TV talk show hosts refer to panelists as “panels.”

Koreans also have a tendency to use plural words when singular ones would be more appropriate. For example, they are famous for using “our” when Westerners say “my.” A man once said, “Let me introduce ‘our’ wife,” making foreigners wonder whether his wife has more than one husband. This habit comes from the fact that Koreans are group-oriented while Westerners are individualistic. Koreans say “our” country, “our” company and “our” family, when foreigners say “my” country, “my” company and “my” family.” In this hierarchy-oriented Confucian society, office workers introduce their co-workers as either their “seniors” or “juniors.” In the United States, they generally introduce people they work with simply as “co-workers.”

Koreans also tend to use collective nouns to refer to individual persons or things. For example, they say “I have four families” instead of “I have four family members.”

Many Koreans, from President Park Geun-hye to children, raise their hands and say “fighting” in public photo sessions to express their unity and shared goals. This usage is also part of Konglish.

People have different views about Konglish. Former Korea Times editor Ahn Jung-hyo said “the use of Konglish embarrasses Korea.” However, former Korea Times columnist Jon Huer noted that “Konglish is one of the 10 most wonderful things about Korea” because it reflects Koreans’ creativity and cleverness.

Like foreigners, North Korean defectors are struggling to learn Konglish, which they have never used in the North. In a way, this also impedes their integration into the capitalistic society.

English language variations are not bad in themselves nor unique to Korea. Japan, Singapore and most other non-English speaking countries worldwide have coined English words and expressions that they understand but outsiders don’t.

However, people should avoid them because they are somewhat informal and often cause misunderstanding. The media, government and schools should seek professional advice from native speakers to set an example.

Lee Chang-sup is The Korea Times executive managing director. Contact him at editorial@koreatimes.co.kr.