불금
[bul-geum]
TGIF; burning Friday night
The Flashcard
The original illustrated card, front and back.
Meaning & context
모든 사람들이 주말을 좋아하지만, 최근 몇 년까지만 해도 토요일마다 자주 일했던 한국인 들은 특히 주말을 사랑한다. 영어 TGIF와 비슷한 의미로, 이는 불타는 금요일의 줄임말이 다. 많은 한국인들이 그들의 친구들 혹은 직장 동료들과 술자리를 즐기는 것만큼 술은 진탕 마셔야 하며, 얼굴 또한 살짝 빨개지는 것이 기본이다.
Everybody likes weekends, especially Koreans who until recent years would often have to work on Saturday’s. Similar to the English “TGIF,” it is short for bul-ta-neun geum-yo-il (불타는 금요일), or literally “burning Friday.” And as many Koreans enjoy going out for drinks with friends or coworkers, it also has to do with “painting the town red,” and maybe getting a little red faced from drinking too much as well.
From As Much as a Rat’s Tail · book pages 123–123. Original published text; historical references and usage are retained.
STORY TIME
See it in conversation
Korean
불에 타다
English
Getting Burned
와, 불금이다!
Waaa, it’s bulgeum!
어, 그래. 특별한 계획이라도 있는 거야?
Uhhh, yeah. You’ve got big plans?
물론이지. 모든 “i”들과 도심을 떠나 스키타러 갈거야. 넌?
Yeah, out on the town tonight. Then going skiing with all the i’s. What about you?
하드드라이브가 맛이 가서 주말 내내 다시 포멧하고 디프레그 해야 해.
My hard drive is fried so I’ve got to spend the whole weekend reformatting and defragging.
흠, 걱정마. 끝내주게 재미있는 동영상을 우리가 만들고 편집해서 보내줄 테니까.
Hmmm, don’t worry. We’ll make, edit and post a fabulous video of all the fun for you.
불금은 개뿔… 사무실을 다 태워버리든지 해야지!
Bulgeum, my ass… I should burn the office down!
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