The following is an attempt to let my readers (um… you) in on some of the common lingo around here. This list is by no means complete or the extent of my vocabulary, but it highlights some of the more frequently used words and phrases. Some of it might be offensive, some of it is just a bit off, and some of it will be completely wrong. This is why I ask that you read at your own risk and do not base any of it on fact. I have tried my best to get things Romanized correctly but I'm sure that I'm way off in some areas. If you have a correction or question please email me and I will try to fix/ answer it. This glossary will be changed and updated as needed.
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Key:
WORD- (part of speech), Language [E for English, H for Hangul, K for Konglish]- definition: (which may or may not include a story or picture)
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BENCHWARMERS- E, (n)- a sports bar that specializes in Waygukin cuisine and activities. It is owned by a Canadian expatriate and is the sight of Wednesday Open Mic Night.
BUL-GO-GI- (n), H- literally: fire meat. A tasty dish that has fire roasted beef.
CANADIANS- (n), E- the overwhelming majority of waygukins here. [See also- Nuck]
CHAIG- (n), H- a book: “Please open your chaigs to page 72.”
ENGLISH- (n), E- the language I'm supposed to be teaching. Don't worry, I'm laughing, too.
GIM-CHI- (n), H- fermented cabbage usually served with every dish in Korea. This is Korea's contribution to world cuisine.
GnB- (n), E- the name of the hag-won I work at. It stands for (can you guess?): Girls n Boys.
GONG-CHAIG- (n), H- a workbook: “Gong-chaig pyu-la!”
HAG-WON- (n), H- a school-like program that specializes in one thing usually attended by students after-school. These can range from a Tae-Kwon-Do to a Music Hag-won. I am a teacher at an English Hag-won. Korean children attend many different Hag-wons from the time they leave school until they return home for bed. While these children are getting an education, the parents get daycare. This relationship makes my job interesting.
HAN-GUK- (n), H- The Republic of Korea.
HAN-GUK-IN- (n), H- a Korean person.
HAN-GUL- (n), H- the Korean language. It was developed by a great king and is considered to be the most logical language in history. I'm not kidding. It actually is very easy to learn, you just have to get over your own language idioms.
KONGLISH- (n), K- the mix of Korean and English, much like Spanglish. This term is used when one attempts communication between the two languages and only has a few words of one and is fluent in the other. A few examples: An English speaker to a Hangul speaker, “Two-gae mak-ju, ju-sae-yo.” A Hangul speaker to an English speaker, “Dul-gae beers, please.”
MAK-JU- (n), H- Beer. Sweet, sweet beer.
MUL- (n), H- water.
MUL-GO-GI- (n), H- literally: water meat. Seafood, in other words: “The mul-go-gi made Ryan go into anaphylactic shock!”
NABI- (n), H- 1. a butterfly: “What a beautiful nabi!” 2. The name of the typhoon that hit Ulsan September 7th, 2005: “What a destructive Nabi!”
NUCK- (n), E- another term for a Canadian. It's their version of Yank. It doesn't bother either countryman and is somehow still a hell of a lot of fun to call the other.
PYU-LA- (v), H- to open (as in book): “Gong-chaig pyu-la!”
SO-JU- (n), H- a Korean alcohol that is (from what I understand) 90% chemicals. I'm not sure how they make it, but it tastes like a bad vodka and cause your night to become increasingly more dangerous with each shot. I recommend that you stay away from this devil-drink at all costs.
TOMBSTONE- (n), E- a western-themed waygukin bar. Four Canadian expatriates manage this bar.
WAY-GUK-IN- (n), H- a person not of Korean descent.
WAY-GUK- (n), H- any country that is not Korea.
WON- (n), H- the currency of Korea. It should be noted that the current exchange rate is roughly 1000 won to 1 US dollar. It should also be noted that the largest bill that exists in paper form is 10000. Imagine getting paid 2000 a month US (roughly 2 million won), all in ten-dollar bills. I must admit, when payday comes I feel like a pimp carrying my wads of money.