Han+ kugô sajôn, compiled by Nam Yôngshin.  Seoul:  Sôngandang Publishing, 1997.  2,941 pages in main dictionary and 122 pages in separate appendix (pyôlch'aek) of recent foreign words.  (Large boxed edition, ISBN 89-315-7068-6; small boxed edition, ISBN 89-315-7079-1).

Reviewed by Robert J. Fouser
Kumamoto Gakuen University, Japan

[This review first appeared in Acta Koreana, 2 (1999): 181-83.
Acta Koreana is published by Academia Koreana of Keimyung University.]

The 1990s could easily be called the decade of the Korean language dictionary.  Since the publication of the Korean Language Society's (Han'gûl Hakhoe) Uri mal k'ûn sajôn (Large Dictionary of Korean, Ômun'gak Publishing) in 1991, a mini-boom in the publication of large dictionaries has occurred in Korea.  The Uri mal k'ûn sajôn contains 450,000 words and is the largest Korean language dictionary published to date.  The Chosôn mal taesajôn (Large Dictionary of Korean, Chosôn Academy of Social Sciences) was published in North Korea in 1992 and, with 330,000 words, is the largest dictionary published in North Korea.  In 1997, Han+ kugô sajôn (The Han+ Dictionary of Korean) was published with 140,000, and in 1998, the Yonsei Han'gugô sajôn (The Yonsei Dictionary of Korean, Tusan tonga Publishing) was published with the most frequent 50,000 words and 150,000 examples from taken from a corpus of 30 million words.  The National Academy of the Korean Language's huge P'yojun kugô taesajôn (Standard Large Dictionary of Korean) project is nearing completion and will contain over 500,000 entries on 8,000 pages when completed.

Of these, the Han+ kugô sajôn is of special interest to Korean language learners and Korean studies scholars because of its combining clear definitions with extensive metalinguistic and metacultural explanations.  The wealth of information in the dictionary reflects compiler Nam Yôngshin's accomplishments as a Korean-language specialist. In 1987, he published the Uri mal pullyu sajôn (Dictionary of Korean Semantic Categories, Sôngandang Publishing) and in 1995, the Kugô yongnae sajôn (Dictionary of Korean Stylistic Examples), both of which set the standard for specialized Korean dictionaries.  The underlying philosophy behind the dictionary is to help a wide range of readers appreciate the linguistic and cultural richness of Korean.

In the preface, Mr. Nam, who currently is director of the Han'guk Ômun Yôn'guso (Korean Language and Literature Research Institute), outlined six features that distinguish the dictionary from other large dictionaries: one, explanation of the meaning of each Chinese character in Sino-Korean compounds; two, information on standard han'gûl orthography; three, advice on style and usage; four, emphasis on frequently used words and new words that appear in the mass media; five, examples taken from famous works of literature; and six, separate entries for famous works of classical literature and folk songs.

A close inspection of the dictionary shows that Mr. Nam has achieved all of these goals admirably.  Chinese characters are given for each Sino-Korean entry, and many entries include an explanation of the basic meaning of Chinese characters.  For example, the entry for tapsa ("exploration," "field research") includes an explanation of the basic meaning of the first character tap ("to walk").  Information on standard han'gûl orthography is complete, but of particular interest to learners of Korean is the addition of separate entries for irregular forms and mistaken forms.  Thus, the adjective kilda ("long") is found under its root form kil^ and its common pre-nominal form kin.  The circumflex after kil is used rather than da as in other dictionaries to indicate the end of morphological root.  The "yo form" of verbs and adjectives that undergo orthographic changes in the stem is also given.  The entry under arûmdapda (arûmdap^), for example, includes a note saying that it is a "piûp form," indicating a piûp-changing form.  The entry also includes a brief list of the etymological evolution of the word and a short note on its etymological origin.  Learners of Korean will also find helpful advice on style and usage.  Under the entry for katda (kat^), we find a detailed usage note on the common form "~l/ûl kôt katda" that states that the form should only be used for guesses and assumptions rather than, as is commonly done, statements of fact expressing opinions.

Other stylistic notes, such as the one for yôkhal ("role"), mention that the word reflects Japanese usage and include recommendations from the National Academy of the Korean Language for replacing it with a "purified" form, which in this case is, depending on the meaning, choshil, kushil, or hallil.  Under the entry for nômu ("too") the use of nômu with positive expression is noted as slang, with several examples to illustrate the point.

Where the Han+ kugô sajôn shines, however, is the "plus" -- the wealth of literary examples and metacultural information.  The same entry for nômu ("too"), for example, shows a passage from Ko Ûn's short story "Uri rûl sûlp'ûge hanûn kôttûl" (The Things that Make Us Sad) that uses nômu effectively three times.  The literary examples span a wide range of writers from throughout the 20th century, including many writers who were associated with the KAPF Movement, such as Yi Kiyông and Kim Namch'ôn, and those who ended up in the North such as Pak T'aewôn and Yi T'aejun.  Many examples from North Korean writers show the title of the work without the writer's name, so the reader is left to assume that the work is a cooperative work as many North Korean novels are.  Literary examples also come from classical works, such as the Ch'unhyang chôn (The Tale of Ch'unhyang), and from folk songs.  Unlike most examples from 20th-century literature, examples from classical literature are included to provide cultural and literary background relating to the main entry.  Important literary works and folk songs are listed as independent entries, which turns the dictionary into a basic reference book on Korean literature.  The entry just below taenamu ("bamboo"), for example, is "Taenamu T'aryông" (Bamboo Ballad).  A short explanation and the complete lyrics are given in the entry.  Native-Korean and Sino-Korean (kosasôngô) proverbs are included with a number of entries.

At the beginning of the preface, Mr. Nam stated that he followed an "online concept" in compiling the dictionary in which each entry opens doors to a wide range of information about the word.  His idea works because paging through the dictionary feels like Web surfing:  each page brings new discoveries and opens links to some part of Korea's linguistic and cultural heritage.  The journey pauses at the end with the appendices, which contain valuable information on language history, grammar, style, standard orthography, "purification," Chinese characters, and, in a separate book, recent new foreign words.  It begins again with another page-through, which will bring yet more new discoveries.  The Han+ kugôsajôn is a singular accomplishment that should be on every Korean language learner's and Korean studies scholar's bookshelf.