This is an aphorism from my aphorism book – really more of a noun-phrase than an aphorism.
함흥차사
ham·heung·cha·sa
Hamheung-messenger
The messenger to Hamheung
Apparently it refers to a messenger sent by an ancient king to his father’s hometown of Hamheung to try to make amends for some previous slight, but the messenger was killed – and thus never returned. This appears to mean something along the lines of English’s “shooting the messenger” but the usage is somewhat different – it means someone who doesn’t come back from some task. It does NOT appear to mean something like “don’t blame the bearer of bad news” but rather “where did so-and-so wander off to?”