20 Funny Signs Spotted In South Korea That Are Poorly Translated
Joel Marrinan, an Englishman who lives in South Korea, shares some fascinating signs he finds in random places in the country. Not all people in South Korea are good at English but they try their best to translate things. However, some concepts gets lost in translation and they also mix up Korean and English which results in funny or strange sentences. Whenever Joel finds amusing Konglish sentences during his travels, he takes a picture and shares it on his blog .
Do follow Joel’s blog and scroll below to find out the most interesting, hilarious, and weird signs spotted by him in South Korea. He has also offered explanations for some of these signs below.
More info: inmykorea.com
#1 Umm… Elsa?
“The owner of this ice cream shop probably thinks that this is a cute name – a bride of ice cream – but it just sounds creepy in English.”
#2 Oh C##p!
“There’s little difference between b/p in Korean, but a big difference between crab and c**p!”
#3 Is That Why Birth Rate Is Low In Korea?
#4 No!
“A common problem in Korea when writing English signs is knowing when to use! punctuation. It really changes the meaning of the sign!”
#5 Hiking In Korea
“More random punctuation! Not a very useful warning sign, it actually sounds like a poem.”
#6 Please Don’t Use Them
#7 Old People Stick Anyone?
#8 Hair On Fire?
#9 Addictive Hotdog!
“Narcotic, maniac, and holic are commonly used in Konglish signs to mean something is addictive or really desirable. He’s a check maniac/holic (he loves chicken). This hotdog is narcotic (it’s addictive).”
#10 Well…
#11 Time For Delicious Love Making
“I think this cafe meant to say that they will make delicious love (romantic meals?) just for you, but love making is something they probably weren’t intending to offer.”
#12 The Toilet Is Painful
“Another toilet sign with a weird Konglish translation. I’m not sure what’s painful about the toilet, but it might make you want to avoid using it.”
#13 Put Your Troubles Into The Toilet
“In Korea, a lot of older toilets don’t have good plumbing, so you’re meant to put your toilet paper in a bin, not in the toilet. I guess your troubles were what you deposited after lunch?”
#14 Do Not Calm Down!
#15 Enemy Cabbage
“This is why you shouldn’t use a translation app for writing English signs! The word for red and enemy are similar in Korean and instead of red cabbage, you get this.”
#16 Only For Ladies
“Seen on a ladies clothes store. For the dirty minded, this might be funny.”
#17 The Terminator
#18 All The B####es, Assemble!
“Beach and b***h are written the same in Korea and they sound the same… It’s funny to see that even Korean mega-corporations like Lotte can’t avoid Konglish mistakes.”
#19 Keep Them In A Shady
#20 Sounds Like An Interesting Dessert
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
