I thought it was interesting that terms such as “self-governing bodies” and “representative” (used in that sense) are used exactly the same way in Japanese. (They’re probably the same underlying kanji or hanja, but I couldn’t find them quickly in my Korean dictionaries.)

The Japanese like to use the word 画期的 (kakkiteki), which the dictionary says is “epochal”, but gets applied to things like a new kind of ice cube tray. I was at a translator’s conference in 1991, and one speaker’s reference to this term caused a roomful of translators to chuckle. “Innovative” usually satisfies everyone, depending on the context.

Koreans do seem to be more assertive in some situations than the Japanese. I wonder if that will make your task harder over the long haul…

I work at a national government office here in Korea. My duties include proofreading. As such, I spend a bit of time most every day trying to keep down sentences such as the one above. It’s a never-ending struggle. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose — the battle goes on.

We use the term “oba” here, so I use that word sometimes when I’m trying to convince others to leave out words like “renowned” and “world-class”, which I dealt with today, by the way.

Your comments re: organized vs. contrived events are right on the mark as applied to Korea.

All right, now I am officially interested in this event. Wait, you say that part isn’t happening? Damn.

As for this Seoul festival, I have one question: WHERE’S BEE MAN? Seriously, they could have him take requests by jumping on the flag of your choice. I’d definately make a trip to Seoul just to see him swan-dive into a giant flag of San Marino.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against San Marino and its people. Their microstate honestly looks like a nice place to visit for a day-trip for some wine and cheese in the countryside while in Italy. I just wanna’ see Bee Man do what he does best.