"Is a Working Person Ignorant if They Don't Know the Meaning of 'Socheonhada'? Netizens Debate"

Protestant Term for Death 'Socheonhada'
"It's Ignorant," Criticism of the Author Continues
"Who Uses It?" Some Defend the Term

Photo unrelated to the article. [Photo source=Pixabay]

The expression 'socheonhada,' meaning that a person has passed away, sparked a heated debate among netizens.

Recently, on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind,' a post titled "Isn't 'socheonhada' an uncommon expression?" was uploaded. The author, Mr. A, said, "Not long ago, I asked a new employee what his father did for a living, and he said his father had socheonhada." He added, "When I asked what that meant, he said it meant he had passed away." He expressed displeasure toward the new employee, saying, "He unnecessarily used a word that is not commonly used, making me seem rude and ignorant."

In response, comments appeared disputing the author, saying things like "It is a commonly used expression," "It appears often in books, so don't make a fuss and just quietly look it up," "Why blame others for your own ignorance?" and "You are indeed rude and ignorant." On the other hand, some people argued that since it is an uncommon word, it is understandable not to know it. They said, "It is a term commonly used in Protestantism, so it is possible not to know it," "Who uses the expression 'socheonhada' in daily life?" "I heard it for the first time too, but everyone seems too aggressive," and "It is a word not even registered in the National Institute of the Korean Language's dictionary, and Protestants have been encouraged to use the word 'byeolse' instead of 'socheon' since 2002," supporting the author's opinion.

The term 'socheonhada,' meaning 'to have one's life cut off,' is known as a religious expression. 'Socheon' uses the Chinese characters 'so' (召), meaning 'to summon,' and 'cheon' (天), meaning 'heaven,' implying being called back to heaven. In Protestantism, it refers to death. The Korea University Korean Language Dictionary provides the example, "We received news that our church elder has socheonhada." Synonyms include △byeolsehada (to pass away) △tagyehada (to die) △jakgohada (to pass away) △seonjonghada (to pass away).

Netizens who encountered the controversy responded, "It is often used in news, books, and obituary messages," "If you didn't know until now, just think of it as something new you learned; I don't understand why you blame others," "That attitude is more problematic than not knowing the word," and "Is tearing others down more important than trying to learn?"