그림의 떡
picture-GEN ddeok
[like a] picture of a rice-cake
This means “pie in the sky” – which is to say, something you cannot have but fantasize about.
So that’s proverb for the day. Here’s a picture of ddeok (Korean style rice-cake) – there are thousands of different types and styles – this one looks rather delicious.
I overheard a student saying this in the lobby of work, and it was a fabulous moment, because I was able to parse it instantly. "니가 해 봐" [ni-ga hae bwa] means something like, "You try it!" It's a protest, where someone is complaining about something the other did, saying "oh, it's not big deal," and so the other says, "Well, you try it, then!"
Anyway, it's a tiny, incremental victory. That's all we get, in trying learn a language. But I'm happy to have had it.
