This isn’t something that we’ve gone over in class with teacher. 1A is very much basic, basic stuff after learning Hangul. This is understandable; we’ve got a long way to go and Korean is hard. However, the classroom is an overwhelmingly positive and cheerful one in which everyone is rooting for everyone to get the most out of this experience. It’s rather welcome, though I feel like the most psychotic one in the room at any moment. If anyone reading this remembers me in graduate school and how hyper-focused I can be when I want to learn something, you’ll know what I’m talking about. We’re also all going through our own peculiar forms of grief, certainly for me, and searching these out is a form of comfort for me at the moment. I don’t think anyone here would believe me in English, let alone understand me. It would at least humor me to not be understood in Korean and to learn more about the language along the way.

What follows is incomplete and often derived from some Instagram reels that find their way to me. I’ll add to this as I go along.

파이팅 (화이팅)

I love this one. It’s quite literally “fighting!” transliterated to Korean. I prefer the hard “p” (ㅍ) to the “hw” equivalent (화). Its use invokes a kind of “fighting spirit”, to be on the nose. It’s basically a “good luck” or “you can do it” with a fist and flexed bicep.

용감해

I get this one—and several more—from this particular Instagrammer (sic). Google Translate literally says it translates to “brave”, but the lady from which I get this says there’s a deeper meaning in its construction. 용 means “fear” and “감” communicates knowing the risk. Their combination underscores the bravery in knowing what you’re up against and moving forward.

괜찮아

This is another one from the same set of Instagram reels that found me. “It’s gonna be okay.” To be determined, but it’s nice as an affirmation.

수고했어

Another one from the same lady. The English equivalent would be “I’m proud of you” or “you did good”, but supposedly the more literal translation (and the more poignant message) is “you received pain, but still kept going.”

아무리 어려워도 포기하지 마세요

This one we got from teacher in the Hangul class to practice our dictation and reading skills. Meaning: “No matter how difficult it is don’t give up.” I have this one on my whiteboard in my office.