with a razor, duh… hahhah
choitrio
Only a small portion of them are widely used so no need to study them.
I don’t study them per se; if by chance I see them in a drama on NTFX, Freevee, etc. since those sites don’t explain them with a short note I write them down, and later on look in that list to see if I find them there. I have found a few, but is a lengthy search so lately I haven’t had the time to look into it.
Rakuten Viki volunteers are the only site that provides a note explaining things they know most viewers won’t understand. This is very beneficial bc we become more familiarize with the Korean/Chinese language idioms (sayings).
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I assume that most Kor-Eng subbers know very few, if any, 사자성어, and I don’t fault them. As a translator myself, I know how difficult it is to provide quality translation and I have been impressed how the quality has been improving here at Viki as well as other streaming services.
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As a student of Korean late in my life, I was fascinated by the frequent use of adages in K drama and used to keep notes of their usage by name, episode and approximate time. For example: Sungkyungkwan Scandal --Birds can hear things in the day, mice can hear at night. Ep. 1 1:00.30 This is the Korean equivalent of the English “the walls have ears”. Nowadays one finds an occasional reference in dialogue to birds and mice everywhere.
The one who is meant to die will die by drowning even in a plate full of water.
Two weeks Episode 3 12 min.
Dragon out of a stream. Empire of Gold ep. 21 20:50
Of course I created a list with the Korean and English side by side. I did this sporadically for about six or seven years and gradually stopped doing it because screenwriters had decreased the frequency of quoting four character sayings or other adages. I think the screenwriters also are less familiar with them.
I guess you can take the person out of academia but you can’t take the academia out of a person!
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cwm808
I guess you can take the person out of academia but you can’t take the academia out of a person!
Your words remind me of this quote I like so much.
cgwm808
As a student of Korean late in my life
PS. I must be confusing you with someone else because I thought you are Korean, and I was about to ask you if is true you are 80 years old. Whoever she is, I have so much admiration to see the dedication to this site. I read her name is Connie and saw some wonderful videos and interviews. Sorry about the confusion. Age is but a number. I just admire the endurance and resolve to serve here with so much love and dedication.
In a recent K-drama, there is a conversation involving golf score. The ML talks about how he plays “Around 80, give or take”. The subtitle shows “80 yards” for the particular dialogue. However, I am pretty sure “80” refers to the number of strokes not yards.
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I am watching a relatively recent Korean crime show where the word “사수 (sa-soo)” appears often and is consistently translated as “shooter”. When you Google up the word, it is defined as “shooter”. However, the word has multiple definitions, and the definition befitting the context would be “supervisor” or “mentor”.
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Normally, the number of strokes for the 12 holes are between 70 and 72 if you make every hole in the “correct” number of strokes. So 80 would be a good player, but totally possible. At the other end, 80 yards, it’s not that much for a golf stroke.
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Here are two similar sounding Korean words that have completely different meanings.
졸다 (jol-da) = snooze, doze off
쫄다 (jjol-da) = scared, intimidated
I just finished watching a K-drama wherein 쫄다 was translated to “fall asleep” in several instances.
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A fun little mix of idioms I just saw: “That’s like finding a needle in the ocean.” 
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Episode 3, Reborn Rich, before completion of editing.
One chaebol brother warns his older brother about their smart nephew, “We have to stay frosty, Young Ki.” 
I am dumbfounded.
Discussion at a film festival: “The Academy Awards tend to snuff non-English movies.” Vision dances through my head of a giant pillow over the film Parasite.
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Another incorrect idiom in the pre-subs.
One character is wondering why another character seems to be giving up on a situation. The pre-subbed dialogue:
“Why are you throwing in the tower?”
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I needed a good laugh today!
Another period drama, slipping in a modern meaning word. 
mob 
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Cat drama turned into BL… hope he is still safe and round 
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I don’t want to open another topic, but I think this subtitle is also a faux-pas… somebody missed to remove or left it as a prank before releasing the episode 
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Please explain why it is a faux-pas?
It’s at the very start of episode 26, right here on Viki.
It’s either that, a bug, or something new happening on Viki, of which we are not fully aware.
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the subbed segment I saw at the end of the episode and as I said somebody at viki before releasing it to show must have missed to remove this. Isn’t Viki’s motto to provide subtitles by the global volunteer community… or not? Faux pas is French used like Deja-vue…
The show Flight To You shows a Volunteer Team “Pilots with Passion”, so it’s funny to see the subs done by China Transpirit… (it comes likely presubbed but still) I see this for the very first time…
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Yes, Merriam-Webster defines faux-pas as: a significant or embarrassing error or mistake [BLUNDER]
I guess it’s not exactly wrong since the pre-subs, until edited (which they have not been up to that point) are technically provided by the said party, but I suppose it is kind of embarrassing to include that when it is not exactly Viki related.
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