President Lee Stresses the Need for Proper Korean Language Usage
at the Ministry of Education Briefing on December 12
On December 12, President Lee Jaemyung stated, "The words I dislike hearing the most are 'jeohuinara' (our country, incorrectly used), 'yeomduhaedugo' (keeping in mind, incorrectly used), and 'daeinbae' (a big-hearted person)," criticizing them as "nonsensical Korean."
That afternoon, during a joint work report by the Ministry of Education, the National Education Commission, and the Ministry of Government Legislation at the Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City, President Lee made these remarks, emphasizing the importance of promoting proper Korean language education.
President Lee pointed out that 'jeohuinara' should be 'uri nara' (our country), and 'yeomduhaedugo' should be written as 'yeomdue dugo' (to keep in mind). The term 'jeohui' is a humble way to refer to one's own group and elevates the listener, so among members of the same group, 'uri' (we/our) should be used instead. 'Yeomdu' is a Sino-Korean word composed of the characters for 'thought' (念) and 'head' (頭), meaning 'the beginning of thought' or 'in one's mind.' Since 'yeomdu' is a noun, followed by the particle '~e' and the verb 'duda' (to place), the correct expression is 'yeomdue duda' (to keep in mind).
President Lee also commented on the use of the word 'daeinbae.' He explained, "As you can tell from words like 'soinbae' (petty person) or 'sijeongjapbae' (riffraff), the character 'bae' (輩) refers to a street thug or a vulgar person. Therefore, the term 'daeinbae' ends up meaning 'a great bad guy.'"
He continued, "Even though these words are used in everyday life, no one points out the problem. Mistakes are frequently seen on broadcasts, and even journalists use these expressions," adding, "This is a matter of basic cultural literacy. I will issue a group notice to make sure this does not happen anymore."
During the discussion, Kim Eonjong, President of the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics, said, "The President pointed out the misuse of the word 'daeinbae,' but this happens because students do not learn Chinese characters. Please take special measures regarding Chinese character education."
In particular, when President Kim mentioned, "Students do not even know the Chinese characters used in the President's name, such as 'jae' (在, to exist) and 'myeong' (明, bright)," President Lee joked, "That's why some people even write it as 'joemyeong' (meaning 'charge' or 'accusation')."
Regarding Chinese character education, President Lee said, "Even learning just the Thousand Character Classic would help students easily understand the deeper meanings of most words," but he acknowledged that making it mandatory in schools would be difficult in reality. President Lee added, "It's already hard enough for students to learn Hangul, so if we force them to learn Chinese characters as well, it would cause an uproar."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
