“Nothing is more characteristically juvenile than contempt for juvenility. The eight-year-old despises the six-year-old and rejoices to be getting such a big boy.”
—C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism
Perhaps the best thing about learning Korean is the instant ability to impress locals. And when I say instant, I do mean instant. One solid noun is really all you need; a properly parsed verb will have the world at your feet.
Take, for example, an’nyung’hi’gae’sei’yo. Our typical goodnight phrase at work (be in peace, you who are staying) it still draws smiles despite several weeks of unvaried and rather mechanical usage.
One night at a local pizza establishment I was able to consider this phenomenon from a new perspective. It was with a mixture of scorn and circumspection that I watched an unknown Western teacher trot out his best Korean for several middle school girls.
Watch this. I am ‘miguk.’
Never mind that that translates (somewhat pretentiously, I might add) as: I am America. From the eruption of applause you’d think he’d just said, “I am Justin Timberlake.” The show wasn’t over either.
Watch this. I can count to three. [Pause To Think] ‘Hana,’ [Pause] ‘dul,’
Around this point, I realized that the instant impressing is less exciting when you aren’t doing it. In the hands of someone else it feels cheap and easy. A little fed up with the whole situation, I decided to do the only sensible thing. Before America could get to ‘set’ (three) I told Charles-Michael…
Watch this.
Turning to the girls, I opened with my zinger:
These days, how have you been spending them?
Shock and awe followed. Pointing at the food I uttered the Korean words for:
Pizza, tasty.
Enthusiastic agreement on that one. I proceeded with pertinent questions:
Are you students? Do you eat at a school cafeteria? Is your playground area spacious?
Things continued likewise for another minute or so, by which point I had completely exhausted my usable vocabulary. After a photo opportunity with the girls, and noticing our compatriot now waiting for his pizza outside, Charles-Michael stated the obvious.
Well, that was pretty successful.
Oh yes, it was.
Posted by Steve 