[KS] Korean War (other terms)
T.N. Park
tnpark at mac.com
Sun Nov 20 17:53:28 EST 2005
I can't recall if this has been covered by another poster, but while
6.25 전쟁 (yugio chŏnjaeng) is a commonly used term in South Korea for
this war that began on June 25 (1950), the term Han'guk chŏnjaeng,
literally "Korean War," is often used when describing non-Koreans and
the Korean War experience.
Particularly in movie and television show captions, especially when a
character is described as having participated or is somehow associated
with the Korean War, the literal translation Han'guk chŏnjaeng is very
common. I believe this is a conscious choice by the translators and may
represent some kind of unspoken convention.
After all, for an American, Turk, Brit, or other member of the U.N.
forces, or for, say, a Japanese person doing business here after the
war, the name "June 25 war" would not carry the same meaning. For them
there is only one major war associated primarily with Korea. Hence,
"the Korean War" is an apt term.
Sadly, it is the people of Korea themselves who have experienced
multiple wars in Korea, such that naming one—even perhaps the most
detrimental—the Korean War seems a bit odd.
One thing I am curious about is when the convention of using the year
name (from the sixty-year cycle) fell out of favor. Why isn't 6.25
chŏnjaeng the Kyŏng-in (庚寅) Chŏnjaeng?
T'NP
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