{"id":57,"date":"2009-01-06T23:57:23","date_gmt":"2009-01-07T03:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=57"},"modified":"2009-01-06T23:57:23","modified_gmt":"2009-01-07T03:57:23","slug":"u-gong-i-san-%ec%9a%b0%ea%b3%b5%ec%9d%b4%ec%82%b0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/u-gong-i-san-%ec%9a%b0%ea%b3%b5%ec%9d%b4%ec%82%b0\/","title":{"rendered":"U-gong-i-san (\uc6b0\uacf5\uc774\uc0b0)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s post is going to feature a four letter Korean proverb for the New Year.\u00a0 As you know, four letter proverbs are represented by Chinese characters.\u00a0 Here are the Chinese characters for the four letter proverbs: \u611a\u516c\u79fb\u5c71.\u00a0 <\/strong>Let’s break this proverb down to its syllables.\u00a0 This character \u611a <\/strong>is pronounced as ‘u.’\u00a0 It means foolishness.\u00a0 The next character is \u516c <\/strong>and is pronounced as ‘gong.’\u00a0 Now, this character could have several meanings.\u00a0 It could mean ‘man’ or ‘sir.’\u00a0 For the purposes of today’s proverb, let’s focus on the meaning for ‘man.’\u00a0 The character \u79fb <\/strong>is pronounced as ‘i’.\u00a0 \u79fb <\/strong>(i) is the root word meaning to move or transfer.\u00a0 Lastly, this character \u5c71 <\/strong>is pronounced as san and means mountain.<\/p>\n

Altogether this proverb means, ‘the foolish man who moved a mountain.’\u00a0 Believe or not, this is a proverb with a positive meaning.\u00a0 Before I go further into what this proverb means, let me tell you the story behind this proverb.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A long time ago, there was a man named ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>).\u00a0 Ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) noticed one day while walking that there were two mountains.\u00a0 The two mountains were connected to each other and they formed a formidable blockade so that people had to walk around it to get to the other side.\u00a0 This is when ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) got the idea to gather his sons and dig a pathway between the two mountains.\u00a0 Every day ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) and his sons would get a shovel to try to create a pathway.\u00a0 The work was difficult and seasons would change with no progress in sight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The villagers laughed at ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>).\u00a0 They called him a foolish man for trying to perform such a difficult task.\u00a0 Ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) just replied and said, “After I die, my sons will carry out the work and their sons will carry out the work when my sons die.\u00a0 You’ll see, there’ll be a passageway between the mountains.”\u00a0 Unbeknownst to ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>), the\u00a0spirit residing on the mountain overheard ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>).\u00a0 He felt pity for ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) and decided to help ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>).\u00a0 The spirit moved one of the mountains, creating a passageway between the two mountains.<\/p>\n

So what’s the moral of the story?\u00a0 The moral is, hard work pays off.\u00a0 With persistence and dedication, you can achieve your dreams.\u00a0 True, ugong (\uc6b0\uacf5<\/strong>) had a little help from his sons and the mountain spirit, but nonetheless his goals were fulfilled.\u00a0 Now let’s tie this story\u00a0back to\u00a0 \u611a\u516c\u79fb\u5c71 <\/strong>(u-gong-i-san), our four letter proverb.\u00a0 This proverb literally means, ‘the foolish man who moved a moutain.’\u00a0 Figuratively it means that you can move a mountain as well, especially if you work hard.\u00a0 The moving of a mountain symbolizes an impossible goal or dream.\u00a0 Therefore, this proverb signifies that an impossible dream can be accomplished with some persistence.<\/p>\n

Why did I choose this proverb to represent the New Year?\u00a0 Looking back at 2008, it looks like people had a rough year.\u00a0 No matter how hard 2008 seemed, let this proverb be an inspiration to everyone.\ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s post is going to feature a four letter Korean proverb for the New Year.\u00a0 As you know, four letter proverbs are represented by Chinese characters.\u00a0 Here are the Chinese characters for the four letter proverbs: \u611a\u516c\u79fb\u5c71.\u00a0 Let’s break this proverb down to its syllables.\u00a0 This character \u611a is pronounced as ‘u.’\u00a0 It means foolishness.\u00a0…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3022],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-proverb"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t