Life & Struggles

Highlights from this collection

• 출출하다 (chul-chul-ha-da) — You aren't starving. You didn't miss dinner. It's 11 PM, you are watching Netflix, and your stomach gives a tiny rumble indicating it requires precisely one bowl of instant ramen. That specific 11 PM hunger is '출출하다'.
• 지루하다 (ji-ru-ha-da) — A 3-hour lecture on the history of dirt is '지루하다'. It implies a sense of time passing unbearably slowly. You feel sleepy and desperate to escape.
• 찌뿌둥하다 (jji-ppu-dung-ha-da) — When it's about to rain, or when you slept in a really bad posture, your entire body feels like lead. You aren't officially sick yet, but you feel completely '찌뿌둥하다'. Only a Korean bathhouse (Jjimjilbang) can cure this.
• 뻐근하다 (ppeo-geun-ha-da) — How your neck and shoulders feel after staring at a computer screen for 10 hours straight. It's a dull, heavy stiffness that desperately requires a massage or a hot bath to fix.
• 따분하다 (tta-bun-ha-da) — Very similar to '지루하다', but '따분하다' often refers to your internal state of lacking stimulation. When it's a Sunday afternoon, you've watched everything on Netflix, and you have nothing to do, you feel '따분하다'.
• 악착같이 (ak-chak-ga-chi) — The core spirit of Korea's rapid economic growth. Surviving no matter how ugly it gets.
• 발버둥(치다) (bal-beo-dung) — The pitiful but desperate flailing of someone trying not to drown in debt or failure.
• 기(를) 쓰다 (gi-reul-sseu-da) — Pushing oneself to the absolute physical and mental limit.
• 고군분투(하다) (go-gun-bun-tu) — Often used to describe a tragic hero or an underdog startup trying to survive.
• 이(를) 악물다 (i-reul-ang-mul-da) — Swallowing your tears, anger, or pain and pushing forward anyway.
• 맨땅에 헤딩(하다) (maen-ttang-e-he-ding) — A reckless but brave challenge. Taking on an impossible task with no preparation.
• 뼈 빠지게 (ppyeo-ppa-ji-ge) — The classic complaint of Korean parents who worked their whole lives to raise kids.
• 산전수전(다 겪다) (san-jeon-su-jeon) — Literally 'mountain battles and water battles'. Someone who has seen and survived everything.
• 요령(을 피우다) (yo-ryeong) — Can mean 'knack/know-how', but often means being lazy by taking clever shortcuts.
• 번거롭다 (beon-geo-rop-da) — Used when a process has too many unnecessary steps. If you have to fill out five different forms just to cancel a $5 subscription, the process is incredibly '번거롭다'. It makes you want to give up out of sheer annoyance.
• 귀찮다 (gwi-chan-ta) — The absolute core of modern human existence. It's not that the task is hard; you just do not have the energy to care. When you are lying in bed and the remote is too far away, getting up is '귀찮다'. It is the sworn enemy of productivity.
• 액땜(하다) (aek-ttaem-ha-da) — A mental coping mechanism. If you break your phone, you say 'Well, that was my 액땜 for the year.'
• 악연 (ak-yeon) — The terrible, inescapable opposite of a good In-yeon. You are fated to torture each other.
• 천생연분 (cheon-saeng-yeon-bun) — The ultimate goal of every romantic relationship in Korea. Destined to be together.
• 업보 (eop-bo) — Used heavily in dramas when a villain finally meets their downfall.
• 길몽 / 흉몽 (gil-mong-hyung-mong) — If you dream of pigs (gilmong), you buy a lottery ticket the next morning.
• 인연 (in-yeon) — A deep Buddhist concept. Even brushing sleeves with someone in a crowd is 'In-yeon'.
• 재수(가) 없다 (jae-su-ga-eop-da) — Can literally mean 'bad luck', but is mostly used as an insult for an arrogant jerk.
• 징크스 (jing-keu-seu) — Koreans love jinxes (e.g., 'If I wash my hair before an exam, I wash away the knowledge').

+ 44 more in this collection — browse the gallery above.