Author Archives: Joel Lee

Korean Proverb 2

1) Original Performance: “세 살 버릇 여든까지 간다”

Romanization/Transliteration: Sae sal buh-leut yuh-deun kkaji ganda

Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic): “A three year old’s habits go till the age of 80” / “Old habits last a lifetime”

2) The informant is my grandfather, a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandfather learned this piece from his elementary school teacher, during a scolding apparently. He told me this piece because he believes that as I am still young, it has great value for me to hear. He says that if I can develop good habits now, I can benefit for the rest of my life. 

3) This was performed along with a set of four Korean proverbs that I asked my grandfather to tell me while eating dinner at his house a month or so ago. I specifically asked him to tell me his four favorite or most inspirational proverbs that he could think of. 

4) This proverb rings of Korea’s Confucian value system and provides some insight as to why children are held to an extremely high standard of discipline at a young age. This is even reflected in Korea’s speaking system, wherein young people use a specialized, elevated form of speech when talking to their elders. It is through perpetual systems like these that young Korean’s can develop the “habits” referred to in this proverb. 

Korean Proverb 1

1) Original Performance: “개천에서 용 난다”

Romanization/Transliteration: Gae-cheon eh-suh yong nan-da

Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic): “A dragon is born from a stream” / “Great people come from humble beginnings”

2) The informant is my grandfather, a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandfather learned this piece from my great grandmother, who told this proverb to him when he was a child in the Korean countryside with few resources (due to the destruction of the Korean War). He told me he likes this piece because he feels as if he has overcome his circumstances to emerge as a “dragon,” so to speak. 

3) This was performed along with a set of four Korean proverbs that I asked my grandfather to tell me while eating dinner at his house a month or so ago. I specifically asked him to tell me his four favorite or most inspirational proverbs that he could think of. 

4) In thinking about this performance, I was surprised by the text’s raw references to nature and mythical characters. Upon further thinking, I realized that Korea puts great emphasis on the Lunar Calendar, and that the symbols of luck, strength, and fortune that are associated with the dragon match with the idea of an individual’s journey towards prosperity. 

Korean Proverb 3

1) Original Performance: “호랑이도 제 말 하면 온다”

Romanization/Transliteration: Ho-rang-ee do jeh mal ha-myun on-dah

Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic): “speak about a tiger and he will appear” / “speak of the devil and he will appear”

2) The informant is my grandfather, a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandfather said that this proverb is such a universally known piece of folklore, that he can’t recall who exactly he learned it from. This is similar to how I have heard “speak of the devil” a million times, but can’t pinpoint the first time I heard it. He shared this piece with me because according to him, there’s no reason to be talking about people behind their back. He told me this proverb in order to encourage me to ponder things like current events and creative ideas. 

3) This was performed along with a set of four Korean proverbs that I asked my grandfather to tell me while eating dinner at his house a month or so ago. I specifically asked him to tell me his four favorite or most inspirational proverbs that he could think of. 

4) In comparing this proverb to its English equivalent, I noticed that both a tiger and devil are aggressive entities that are characterized as threats or forms of danger in common perception. They highlight that there is an inclination to speak of what “shouldn’t” be spoken of, but also a consequence of this. When contextualizing this proverb within Korea itself, I would say the probability for an “appearance” of the tiger is something that should be taken even more heed than in a society with a more individualistic backdrop. Korea is a society based on Confucianism and thus relationships, meaning people are in a closer locality, whether literally or figuratively, and there is more risk for the speaker to be exposed. 

Korean Proverb 4

Entry 4: 

1) Original Performance: “가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다”

Romanization/Transliteration: “ga-neun mal-ee go-wah-yah oh-neun mal-ee gob-da”

Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic): “going words must be beautiful in order for coming words to be beautiful” / “you must speak nicely to hear nice words” / “treat others the way you wish to be treated” 

2) The informant is Kang Soo Lee, my grandfather, and a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandfather said that this proverb is a folklore he learned from his mother, my great-grandmother. He says it was well known as a principle in Korea, but had no other distinction like “The Golden Rule.” He personally likes the phrase, but finds it intriguing that it is given a new level of relevance in America. 

3) This was performed along with a set of four Korean proverbs that I asked my grandfather to tell me while eating dinner at his house a month or so ago. I specifically asked him to tell me his four favorite or most inspirational proverbs that he could think of. 

4) In hearing this proverb, I’m made to think about contrasts in Korean and American culture. The fact that the Korean proverb isn’t given a new moral status as with the Golden Rule – though it’s still held as a moral principle – likely serves some connection to the fact that this expectation of a necessary equality of treatment between both parties isn’t taken as a given. For example, there are both family and corporate, professional situations where one party (the lower in the relationship’s hierarchy) clearly talks to their superior in the same manner the superior talks to them. This is because things like age, occupation, and family background are high contributors to the innate status an individual has in society. This is tied to old Confucian concepts of filial piety. 

Korean Folksong 1: Arirang

1) Original Performance: 

“아리랑 아리랑 홀로 아리랑

아리랑 고개를 넘어가보자

가다가 힘들면 쉬어가더라도

손잡고 가보자 같이 가보자”

Romanization/Transliteration: 

“a-ri-rang a-ri-rang hol-lo a-ri-rang

ari-rang go-gae-reul nuh-muh gan-da

Ga-da-ga him-deul-myun shee-uh-ga-duh-ra-do

Son jab-go ga bo-ja ga-chee ga bo-ja”

Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic): 

“arirang arirang arirang alone

Let’s go beyond the arirang pass

Even if we rest and go because we’re tired from the journey

Let’s hold hands and go, let’s go together”

2) The informant is my grandmother, a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandmother said that this song is a folk song that “every Korean knows.” She claims she heard it being played outside early in elementary school. She shared it with me because she said she wishes even her family who lives in America could try and understand some of the sentiments Korean’s attach to this song.

3) This was performed after my family came back from a hike during spring break and I asked if my grandmother had any famous folk songs she knew. She said Arirang is the most well-known and has multiple lyrical forms, but that she would share the one she knows.

4) In hearing this song, I’m led to make connections with a theme of Korea’s “suffering yet overcoming” throughout its history. The size of its land was always being altered due to invasions by China, it was colonized during the early 20th century by Japan, yet fought and gained independence, and it was split into North and South during the Korean War, a proxy war of the Cold War. Although different versions have different lyrics, the idea of suffering combined with a brilliant hope and resilience for a better future is echoed in nearly all renditions. This type of history could be what has both initiated and sustained the oral tradition of Arirang throughout generations. The lyrics of two people remaining together in a journey despite all odds has often been tied to a metaphor for the longing of Koreans to remain together despite obstacles like Japanese colonization, the Korean War, and a constant state of diaspora. 

Annotation: For a fuller version of the song, go to UNESCO’s webpage which is dedicated to Arirang and Korean cultural heritage: 

“Arirang, Lyrical Folk Song in the Republic of Korea.” UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2012, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arirang-lyrical-folk-song-in-the-republic-of-korea-00445.