That Number

I can’t help myself. It’s funny how much meaning is attached to words because of our cultural background but then can mean nothing to someone else. Even within English, some swear words are seen as worse depending on what country you are from.

Even though I’ve heard this certain Korean swear word, I’ve seen it said in movies and even on occasion heard my husband say it, I can never grasp the real impact of it. He can get very annoyed at me when I deliberately say it.

It goes the other way as well, like when Kpop stars use English swear words. Lately there has been a lot of Kpop stars wearing clothing with very offensive words on them (I’m looking at you Girls’ Generation and GD!) and for a native English speaker it’s like “Why???”

The scenario in the comic has happened more than once because I’m not a native Korean speaker so it’s very difficult for me to differentiate between the swear word and the number. Even if I am really just going through numbers, once I get that reaction from my husband I can’t help but annoy him.

In other news, we’ve been recognised a few times by Koreans in Sydney. Which is so weird! A little while ago a Korean guy who also has an Australian wife recognised my husband in a Korean internet cafe. He drew some fan art about it!

fan art

So basically my husband can be recognised just from the comics! Haha! My husband made that face because he is often surprised when he sees a couple similar to us – a Korean guy with Australian girl. Thank you so much for sending me this Han! Go say hello if you see my husband again.