Words

Excuse Me?

Archive

Last updated on Thursday, May 30, 2002

English in Korea is often marked by bizarre and delightfully incorrect usage. I am always amused by the wacky, strange, weird, and nonsensical use of English, and recently I decided to document this for prosperity on the Internet. It is not my intention to criticize Korea or Korean, for I have immense respect for both. Rather, it is my opinion that these mistakes result in fascinating, poetic and humorous examples of how English can be used if grammar, spelling, and cultural connotations are ignored.

NEWS

• Thursday May 30th

  I have been really busy lately, hence the few updates. I have relocated to Pusan, given up teaching English (more of less), and am content studying Korean full time at PNU. If there are any people out there who would like to devote a similar website to some of the strange things I say in Korean I would be truly honoured.

  Check out the new BEW and updated Excuse Me sections.

• Thursday May 9th

  Please bookmark this site and tell others about it.

• Monday May 6th

  I think the site is now functioning as it should. I have thought this before and have mistaken.

• Friday May 3rd

  I have finished working on 'Common Words'. This section is to identify some of the most commonly used English words in Korea. I am especially interested in which words are used for marketing. These of course differ from everyday vocabulary items such as 'hello' and 'thank-you', in that they can be recognised but perhaps not used as an active vocabulary item.

• Wednesday May 1st

  I have been working on a major site update, and although there is lots more to do, I have finally finished my essay on the semiotics of nonsensical English. Click the 'semiotics' button in the menu to read it.

• Tuesday April 30th.

  Check out the new BEW - Bizarre English of the Week. .

• Monday April 29th. Donky Chicken

  I have finished the section 'Excuse Me?'. The first poll is 'What does Donky Chicken mean to you"? Sometimes the best examples of nonsensical English are just that because the meaning is so ambiguous.