Say "Hyeonji Jodal" Instead of "Local Sourcing"

'Baby Step' Alternative Term Recommended as 'Sopok Jojeong' (Small Adjustment)

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language recommended on the 1st that the term 'local sourcing' be replaced with the Korean term 'hyeonji jodal' (현지 조달). They also suggested the Korean alternatives 'sobok jojeong' (소폭 조정), 'daebok jojeong' (대폭 조정), and 'gwangbok jojeong' (광폭 조정) to replace 'baby step', 'big step', and 'giant step', respectively.

Local sourcing refers to a strategy of utilizing domestically produced materials when manufacturing or producing goods. On the 20th of last month, the Ministry and the Institute reviewed the appropriateness and usability of the terms at the Saemal Meeting and decided on 'hyeonji jodal' as the replacement term. The final selection reflected survey results. In a public acceptance survey conducted from the 22nd to the 28th of last month with about 2,000 participants, 90.6% of respondents answered that the term was appropriate. Additionally, 75.0% agreed on the necessity of replacing the foreign term with a Korean one.

'Baby step' refers to the central bank, which is the main body of a country's financial and monetary policy, raising or lowering the base interest rate by 0.25%. A 0.5% increase or decrease is called a 'big step', and a 0.75% increase or decrease is called a 'giant step'. The Ministry and the Institute selected 'sobok jojeong', 'daebok jojeong', and 'gwangbok jojeong' as the appropriate Korean terms for these, respectively.

The Saemal Meeting is a committee that provides Korean alternative terms that are easy for the general public to understand before difficult foreign neologisms spread. Experts from various fields such as Korean language, foreign languages, education, publicity and publishing, information and communication, and media participate. The Ministry and the Institute plan to continuously promote the use of these alternative terms led by government ministries and media outlets.