Last week I---along with a few other K-bloggers---got an email from an MBC intern looking for material for a piece about awkward English in Korea. On the 10th MBC aired, and posted online, a sixteen-minute piece about misinforming and confusing foreigners in Korea through "Konglish" and the potential for further embarrassment ahead of the G-20 next year.
Some of my submissions in the reply email included "Visit Korea Year: 2010-2012" (discussed from around 5:20 in the video), the Summer Bitch Festival, those awkward signs in Geoje, ubiquitous Gibberlish, bizarre city and county slogans, and the ifriendly.kr website mess.
"Konglish" is a word often misused to mean any bit of strange English or Gibberlish, and in the context of this news report it's not really accurate: "Konglish," as in English changed to suit Korean and Koreans for domestic use, oughtn't apply to English created ostensibly for foreign consumption, such as official tourism slogans like "Visit Korea Year: 2010 - 2012" and "Korea Be Inspired" or webpages written in English for the benefit of English-speaking browsers. As I've written before I'm annoyed by the thoughtless overuse of English, and aware of the consequences it has for a nation of English learners, but there is a difference between Gibberlish on t-shirts that nobody reads and confusing English on items designed to instruct or inform expatriates. The video shows what we've heard anecdotally a million times: Korean executives in charge---with little to no actual English ability---frequently don't consult native English speakers or take their advice under consideration.
12 comments:
My hagwon deliberated over a set of photos a professional photographer took while visiting classes. They needed to choose one that would be put in a subway advertising slot. All teachers, Korean and native, were asked to spell check. There was no English on the posters aside from the hagwon name. After the final poster was selected, without consulting any of the native teachers, the phrase "Trend New!" was placed smack-dab in the middle of the poster.
There really is no end in sight.
Those placards in Geoje-do are priceless. I guess Canada's place in "Northern South America" isn't as far off as the others.
I don't know that the use of "gibberlish" (nice coin) really has any legitimately serious consequences for this "nation of English learners" though, particularly in instances where it's used merely as a subtext for the Korean writing above it. I doubt Koreans ever read it or pay it any mind, except to note that the owners of the establishment might possess some worldly knowledge.
If MBC's point is about embarrassment to Korea, it's living in a glass house when its videos still only work in Internet Explorer.
Also, I wish they featured more of the egregious examples out there. The ones they showed were pretty mild and nitpicky. There was no "Bean Refuse Stew" or anything dug up from the ifriendly fiasco.
I think it's important to see that this is a cultural issue, not really a linguistic one. Any Korean who's even moderately proficient in English should be able to spot the problem with "Summer Bitch Festival". Likewise, the misuse of the singular in "Visit Korea Year: 2010-2012" is a pretty basic mistake that you don't have to be fluent to notice, if you're paying attention. No, the problem is rooted in the Korean workplace hierarchy, and in the fact that last-minute changes are so common, as in Ed Provencher's example. I've been there myself; carefully edited proposed English signage for my Elementary school with a Korean co-teacher, who was quite proficient in English herself ... only to have the final text be chosen by a vice-principal who spoke next to no English and completely ignored our efforts.
My toddler son (who, like all toddler boys, is obsessed with construction equipment) knows that the giant shovely-thing is an "excavator", not a "포크래인" because it makes Daddy shudder whenever someone calls it a "fork-crane".
Recently my wife was shopping on GMarket for some clothes for him, and came across a shirt with a picture of an excavator and the caption "Poclain".
SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.
(Oh, and incidentally, right around the corner from EMART in Eunpyeong-gu, there's a fried chicken place called "Funny Cock". I *must* remember to bring my camera the next time we go grocery shopping.)
+ 1 ZenKimchi (first post).
@ holterbarbour, I was shopping in a corner store with my wife once when I spotted a small ramyeon sized container of pepero sticks. What caught my attention was the name of the product: Dick Sticks. :| At least they got the English right though. I figured those would be a collectors item so I bought a batch. Funny thing was, they weren't half bad!
I've had Koreans come up to me during dinner, ask me to correct something that took a noticeable chunk of time, thank me quickly and take off. I was a bit upset that they didn't offer to reimburse me for my time or try to ask me later (no man wants to be disturbed while eating) but hopefully the changes I made made it through to the final product...
@Mark, I saw the Dick Sticks in a convenience store at Incheon Airport once, but regretfully didn't have my camera. I have only seen pictures of them since-- I've never since seen them in any stores. So sad.
No need to buy Dick Sticks when you have CoolPis in every convenience store.
Nice to see that Brian made a small post about the DS and provided a picture. The one's I saw had a black background base but were of the same font and size.
I will have to be on the lookout for more. I took a video of the one I bought on my camera phone but somehow, seeing it unopened in person would be something else. ^^
You can see MBC Konglish photos again at here.
http://todayhumor.co.kr/board/view.php?table=bestofbest&no=40322
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