The difference between 못 and 안-

I wish someone had explained this to me at the beginning. Normally my teacher would just correct me every time without explanation when I used either 못mot / not or 안-an- / not. Someone had half explained that 못mot / not means something more like "can't/couldn't" but it didn't seem to fit. After all, you don't normally answer the question "did you see Phil" with "no, I couldn't see him." The answer would be "no, I didn't see him"

In Korean, however, you answer this question with 못mot / not, not 안-an- / not. The difference, in theory is pretty simple. In practice, for English speakers it's a little more difficult. We don't think about this circumstances of why something "isn't" nearly as much as Koreans. For us, something simply "is" or "isn't". But basically put:

• 못mot / not is used for when something didn't happen because of external factors
• 안-an- / not is used for something which didn't happen because of you, you didn't want to, or you didn't choose to

Imagine your teacher asked you: "Have you done your homework?" If you hadn't done it how would you answer? In English you just say "I didn't do it because...", but in Korean if you say: "숙제 안했어요sukje an-haesseoyo / I didn't do my homework" it means you didn't want to, and there is no real excuse. If you say "숙제 못 했어요sukje mot haesseoyo / I didn't do my homework" it means there is a reason that you didn't do it. So which one would you answer with?

Here are some other phrases where 못mot / not is more common than 안-an- / not:

• 비터 만났어요? / 아니요, 못 만났어요peter mannass-eo-yo? / aniyo, mot mannass-eo-yo / Did you meet Peter? No I didn't. - you couldn't meet him because you were sick
• 김치 많이 먹어요? / 아니요, 못 먹어요kim-chi mani mog-eo-yo? / aniyo, mot mog-eo-yo / do you eat a lot of kimchi? No I don't - you don't eat it because it's spicy
• 장학금 받았어요? / 아니요, 못 받았어요jang-hak-geum padass-eo-yo? / aniyo mot padass-eo-yo / did you get a scholarship? No I didn't. - you didn't get it because you grades weren't good enough

Two of those sentences would be strange if you used 안-an- / not. And one would be ok. Which ones?
That's right! If someone asks you: 김치 많이 먹어요?kim-chi mani mog-eo-yo? Do you eat a lot fo kimchi, you can answer 아니요, 안먹어요aniyo, am-mog-eo-yo / do you eat a lot of kimchi? No I don't. But that would mean that you don't eat it because it's spicy, you don't eat it because you choose not or don't want to.

So for the other two sentences, especially with number three, you can't really use 안-an- / not at all. Who doesn't want to get a scholarship? And why did you choose not to meet Peter? You don't like him?

I hope that's clear! Easy to understand, but a little complicated to put into practice. Now every time I hear 못mot / not or 안-an- / not Im going to be thinking about this, and then try to use it myself.

동문서답 / East Question, West Answer

동문서답(하다)dong-mun-seo-dap(hada) Is a great phrase which simply does not exist in English. It captures a very Asian habit of not answering the right question.
It literally means "East question, WEst answer" and you apply it to whenever someone gives an answer to a question which is different to what they have been asked. This can happen often and it's great that there's a word for it. Now, when someone doesn't listen to what I say, I can tell them 동문서답 했군요dong-mun-seo-dap haer-gun-yo.

With a little bit of creative translation, this phrase can have an added meaning for English speakers. In the west, the questions we ask are often completely different to the ones Koreans pose. Just think about the Klassic Korean question when you meet someone: "How old are you?"
Same with the answers, some questions in Korea can elicit a (frustrating) Eastern response. The other day I met a journalist and asked "what newspaper do you work for?" She answered: "A very famous one in Seoul". I asked her for the name again and she said I wouldn't know it because I'm foreign! That's the whole goddamn reason why I asked!!!!
This is a classic case of "West question, East answer"! don't you think?

Another Klassic West question, East Answer

Me: Where do you live? (to a student in Daegu)
Terrified student on the first day: I live in Daegu
Me: Really? Where in Daegu?
Terrified student on the first day: (embarassed smile) I don't know

For other examples of crossed wires, weird questions and why Koreans answer questions so strangely, have a look at this post.

Translation of 최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로 / (DPRK Forward to Final Victory)

I was reading this article and thought to myself I should make glorious translation of Kim Jong Un’s “signature song”:

최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로 (DPRK Forward to Final Victory)

or

“Turn to the final triumph, forwards!”

Turn to the final triumph, forwards!
Yes! let’s go, turn to the final triumph, forwards!

Millions of citizens and soldiers of one spirit, unleash your power!
North Korea, mighty country, beat the marching-drums,
Let’s go! Country of BaekdusanBaekdusan is Korea's iconic and highest mountain, follow the call of the communist partyin Korean it's actually Central party!

Turn to the final triumph, forwards!

Indomitable military power, make your invincibility known in all the world and,
North Korea, mighty country, thrustThe Korean is actually "butt", but I don't think that's an appropriate word for this song" forwards with your gun barrels!
Let’s go! country of Baekdusan, the flag of the late father flies high.

Turn to the final triumph, forwards!

Turn to the final triumph, forwards!

A new century, the beacon of the industrial revolution is being held up,
North Korea, mighty country, make known your spirit to the world,
Let’s go, great country of Baekdusan, and embrace the blessing of the sun's glow.

Turn to the final triumph, forwards, forwards!

Turn to the final triumph, forwards!

-와/-과, -이랑/-랑, -하고: and, and, and and! (Meaning)

this is a continuation of this post

-하고-hago is used to join nouns together in a list. There is no relationship between them. So imagine you're looking in the fridge and you see rice and kimchi, you don't want to eat them together, you're just saying they're there. Also -하고-hago is used more in writing than speaking.

-랑/-이랑-rang/-irang is used in speaking, and you will often here it in the restaurant when making an order. It has a more general meaning than -하고-hago in the sense it can be used to denote some kind of relationship between people:

• 수민이랑 시내에 갔어요Su-Min-i-rang shi-ne-ae gass-eo-yo / I went to town with Su-Min - Here it means "with" because it's a person (you could also say me and Sumin went to town)

-와/-과-wa/-gwa, is used in writing instead of -랑/-이랑-rang/-irang, but generally it has an extra meaning, and is therefore a little different. When you use -와/-과-wa/-gwa you are saying that the two things are linked or have a relatiosnhip:

• 밥과 김치bab-gwa kimchi does mean "Rice and kimchi" but it more exactle means "rice with kimchi"

If you look in the fridge and say "there's rice with kimchi" it means that they are mixed together! In English you can say "I like Kimchi and rice" which can mean "rice with kimchi" but in Korean 밥과 김치bab-gwa kimchi only means "rice with kimchi".

Here are some more examples of -와/-과-wa/-gwa showing a relationship between two things

• 동생과 싸웠어요dong-seng-gwa ssa-weo-sseo-yo means "I fought with my brother"
• 대구와 써울 달라요degu-wa seoul dal-la-yo means "Daegu and Seoul are different" (compared with)
• 친구와 이야기 했어요chin-gu-wa i-ya-gi hess-eo-yo means "I spoke to (with) my friend" not "I told my friend..."

So -와/-과-wa/-gwa is used when comparing 2 things and to emphasize that there is an exchange or a relationship. In fact -와/-과-wa/-gwa is nearly always used in conjunction with words 함께ham-ggae and 같이ga-chi which roughly mean "together".

-와/-과, -이랑/-랑, -하고: and, and, and and! (Grammar)

Today we are going to see how to put different nouns together, essentially the word "and". There are many ways in Korean to say this word and the difference is quite subtle. Today we will look at the three most common ones: -하고-hago, -와/-과-wa/-gwa, and -랑/-이랑-rang/-irang.

First of all lets look quickly at where to put these particles. You can attach -하고-hago to anything without changing it:

• rice and kimchi = 밥하고 김치bap-hago kimchi
• beer and soju = 맥주하고 소주mekju-hago soju

So -하고-hago is only different from "and" in the sense that instead of it being a separate word like "and" it attaches to the first noun.

-와/-과-wa/-gwa and -랑/-이랑-rang/-irang are slightly different because depending on the preceding word they change a little. If the first word ends in a consonant (바침ba-chim / the bottom character in a syllable, so basically a consonant)) then you use -과-gwa or -이랑-rang/-irang. If it doesn't you use -와-wa or -랑-rang

• rice and kimchi = 밥과 김치bab-gwa kimchi or 밥이랑 김치bab-i-rang kimchi
• beer and soju = 맥주와 소주mek-ju-wa soju or 맥주랑 소주mekju-rang soju

Notice how 밥bap / rice ends in "ㅂthe Korean equivalent of "b"", a consonant, and 맥주mekju / beer ends in "우the Korean equivalent of "oo" / "u"", a vowel.

So all these particles attach to the first noun, rather than being a separate word, but they still go in the same place as "and" in English. But how are they different?

Click here to find out!

Names and why Koreans don't use them

Ever watched a Korean film and noticed the subtitle is totally different to what's being said? Often that's because Koreans don't use names when they talk to their friends.

In Korea, your social status is more important than you as an individual, and your relationship with the person you're talking to is more important than the person themselves. Just as with verb endings, the most important factor in setting up a friendship-relationship, is age.

And this is the reason why Koreans always ask "how old are you?". They need to work out how to structure their relationship and what to call each other. Once you know who's older, the younger person never refers to the older one by name. The older one, on the other can if they want.
The names (or words you use to call each other) are family member names. So essentially everyone who you would call "friend" in English, you call brother or sister.

Names in Korea perform only an official function, so a name is generally only written, or when the only way to distinguish between people is to use a name. Take a class for example, everyone except the teacher is of the same status, so names are used by the teacher to tell students apart. Remember though, the teacher is high status. If you call someone older than you by name, then you're putting youself higher than them, much like a teacher talking to a pupil.

Coming from a society where everyone is "equal" calling people as "big brother" when they're not your big brother is definitely awkward, but it has to be done. I find this much harder than the 문법mun-beop / grammar my teachers always go on about.