Saturday, August 29, 2015

What the ... title?!?!?

A friend showed me the cover of a Korean magazine that is making the Social Media rounds. The Catholic University Magazine.


Or as they call it CUM Story. :)

Ok, I had to take a break to stop laughing. I can continue now.

The reaction of a lot of people I know reminded me of how friends would react when I told them some of the things that happened in Korea, or that Koreans say and believe. They can't believe people would really do or say that. They think it is made up. Then they learn that the wackiness is real.

"Why would they give a magazine a title like that?"

Odds are, and this is from personal experience, the person who came up with the title is a senior who thinks he knows English. Which meant that the juniors would just have to bit their tongues, IF they knew it was wrong, and agree with him. A lot of the time, when I lived in Korea, the answer was just that simple and that stupid.

"Why didn't they get someone who knows English to give input?"

Odds are for the same reason as above. It would tell a senior he was wrong. Or hubris. They just thought they knew best and didn't accept or want any input

It does seem insane considering how many Koreans study English and how many English speaking foreigners live and work in Korea that this sort of shit happens. I think of some of the stupid t-shirts with horrible or insane English on them that I saw when I lived there.

"What the fuck does 'Window of the challenge' mean?"

Who knows? Jut another example of Konglish. Like 'Hyorish". And seriously how can this be the first thing someone noticed and not teh title of the magazine?!?!?! But I digress.

There is another possible answer, one friends and I would chuckle about over drinks. Maybe somewhere there is a Native English speaker in charge of t-shirts, signs, magazine covers, and the like. Sometimes, just for shits and giggles, he approves the fucked up stuff just for a laugh or to see if Koreans actually notice. ;)