Korean Translation Failure

I am living proof that illiteracy can hurt you, but in my defense it was early in the morning and I didn’t have my glasses on & therefore didn’t see the small English print.

I was unable to locate my deodorant so I went into my brother’s medicine cabinet to borrow his. The closest thing I found was the below.

Okay, maybe the bee on the front should have been an indication that this wasn’t a roll on deodorant, but in my defense, my sister in law has other products like toothpaste with bees on it, so I thought whatever, Korean signage often doesn’t make sense.

For example look at the above, if it weren’t for the English saying “Cold Brew” one might think this is a hair product or skin product… Yet, it is a cold coffee beverage. Okay… I should have seen the small print but I didn’t….

And I wasn’t lying about the toothpaste. It has a bee on it. Not sure if it is honey flavored, not planning on finding out.

So, epic fail on my part, I applied the insect relief with the large like deodorant roller ball and found my armpits on fire within minutes. I went back to look at the deodorant and then saw the small print, and proceeded to wash the antiseptic off. I was okay, no hospital visits or anything like that…

A lot of Korean products don’t have any English on them and really why should they? It is arrogant to assume everyone will know English and Korean products should have both languages.

This product is distinctly Korean (I think); it is milk soda. Did milk soda ever hit Canada or the US? I don’t think so; it is a Coca-cola product. My brother told me it was very popular with young kids, so I bought a can from the vending machine, had a couple of sips and gave it to my nephew. It wasn’t terrible, but it was very sweet and a bit weird.

The above two photos are of a popular snack which is dried seaweed wrapped rice with a variety of different flavors including tuna fish, cheese steak, kimchi and bibimbap. Relying on pictures alone is a risk, my sister in law translated for me. By the way, we found these at the local 7-11. No nacho chips and hot cheese sauce here!

There is the fun novelty of trying stuff I haven’t had before, and cannot try in Canada, but after two weeks of eating my weight in rice and kimchi, I am ready for some home cooking from home.

Above is a pic of the popular side dish kimchi which is fermented cabbage in a hot spicy red pepper sauce. You can find it served with every meal including breakfast. You can have kimchi fried rice or kimchi stew and have kimchi on the side if you like. The taste is growing on me, but the smell almost always offends my nose at first whiff.

Below is kimchi fried rice my sister in law made with seaweed sprinkled on top.

Only a few days left before I return home.

Peace & Love – Rachel