말하기는 쉬워도 행동하기는 어렵다
speak-GER-TOPIC is-easy-TOO act-GER-TOPIC is-hard
Speaking is easy but acting is hard.
“Easier said than done.”
I found some translations of this proverb offering something in the vein of “A word is worth a thousand dollars,” and the spreadsheet-o-proverbs that I made and have been working from for all the proverbs, which is cut-n-pasted from various bilingual compilations found online, offers this elaboration: “If you are nice to the person you borrowed money from, maybe they`ll forget about the debt.” Frankly, this doesn’t make any sense at all.
I think the proverb just means actions are harder than words, which is almost what it says literally. I’m not sure where the other comes from – perhaps it’s some cut-n-paste error.
On the other hand, I’m not sure I agree with the proverb. If the words are in Korean, and the person speaking them is me, then I think the words are harder than the action. And if the words are in English, and the person speaking them is one of my students, I think the same. Words are only easy if you know the language. Otherwise, actions are easier. Heh.
Day: January 6, 2013
Caveat: I, Unfathomable
The blush of the new year is off, and I'm feeling a bit ill-content with life. Having lunch with Curt and Kwon yesterday, things waxed a little bit philosophical as we ate Kimchijiggae, and I realized my Korean friends don't understand me at all. It's unfathomable for so many Koreans, as they try to conceptualize a life (such as mine) dedicated to constant simplification and less money. But I'm utterly sincere in that commitment, despite the way that it leaves me feeling entangled in broken commitments to my own family. Sigh. What am I doing?