By Michael Breen

Whether you're a Korean or an alien, if you've been here for a while and lived among the top-knots, i.e., not in a foreigner-dense dong, you'll know what a pyeong is.

In fact, the pyeong may mean more to you than square meters. It does to me. I've no idea what 60 or 100 square meters means in apartment terms, but I can both visualize the space and slot you straight into a socio-economic folder in my mental desktop if you tell me how many pyeong your (or your parents') apartment is.

I don't know the history of this unit, which is also used in Japan, but according to the entry in Wikipedia (the all-knowing, praise be to its name), it may have come from a guess at the space your average chap would take up if spread-eagled on the floor like Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

For those new in town, a pyeong corresponds to 3.31 square meters or 3.954 square yards or 35.586 square feet. It is most commonly used to refer to the size of rooms and buildings. So your officetel will be about 10 to 15 pyeong, while your bigger apartment may be 75 pyeong or more.

If you're a real expert, you'll be aware of the concept of sil-pyeong, or real pyeong. That is the actual size of the apartment as opposed to the size you get quoted, and pay for, which includes common space, like elevators and corridors.

So why am I writing about this and not the re-start of the six-party talks?

Well, believe it or not, the pyeong is being retired. It's time to say farewell. This reminds me of when I was a student and Britain retired its old money, the shilling and the penny.

We're going to have to sharpen our square meter skills. Yes, it's true. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) announced the plan on Sunday.

In typical fashion, the government is introducing this policy without any of the public debate or forewarning you would expect in a democratic society.

The news report where I read this quoted an unnamed MOCIE official arguing that, ``A spacecraft worth $125 million exploded due to the use of non-legal units.'' He also said, ``A third of Korea's GDP (is) based on measurements and an error of a single percent could generate a consumer loss worth 2.7 trillion won.''

I think you just heard the whole debate.

Anyway, the pyeong is out on the street from next week.

Also being banned are other obscure measurements, including the don, used for the weight of gold. (Don't ask me any more. On Wikidepia, the all-knowing, praise be to its name, there are 12 general entries for ``don,'' plus five rivers and four movies of the same name, but no mention of it as a Korean unit of measurement.)

They'll be forbidden in contracts and advertisements. Real-estate contracts must be in square meters and gold measured in grams.

Also in the firing line is the inbun, which means portion and is used in restaurants. You know, like when there are three of you and you ask for bulgogi sam(3)-inbun. The new standard is to be 100g.

Other unofficial units, such as the yard and the pound, which are used in golf and bowling, are being given a reprieve because they are used by foreigners. But the ministry will encourage developers to measure new golf courses in meters.

In case you're not taking this seriously, violators may be fined up to 500,000 won. I tell you, these people mean business. The pyeong is as good as dead.

Michael Breen is the president of the public relations agency, Insight Communications Consultants, and author of ``The Koreans.''