Is your belly button bigger than your belly?
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008Hi everyone, did you all have a good start of the new year?
From reading the signboard, can you guess what this pub is emphasizing? 
If you can, you really understand a lot of Korean! But even if you don’t, don’t worry because it’s an old saying, and it’s only a part of the original saying. The saying goes “배보다 배꼽이 크다.” which means “Your belly button(navel) is bigger than your stomach.”
Korean people say this when someone forgets what’s really important and ends up making or doing more of something that is extra. For example, when you see someone taking a taxi and paying 100 dollars in order to go shopping to a cheaper mall and save 50 dollars, or when you see someone cooking just for three people and buying the amount of ingredients for 30 people :-), you can say “배보다 배꼽이 크네!” or “배보다 배꼽이 크군요.”
And here, it only says 배보다 배꼽, but not Korean people would be confused about what it means because it’s a very common saying that one gets to hear a lot at home or on TV (no one would think “배보다 배꼽이 작다” or “배보다 배꼽이 뭐?̶ 
So this pub is saying that they provide with more than ten different free side dishes for ordering beer or soju as it’s written on another signboard right next to it. In Korea drinking often means a lot of soju or beer and even more 안주(side dishes), and how much 안주 you’ll get served (along with how good they taste) is an important factor in deciding what pub you will frequently go with your friends!
Posted by Hyunwoo in Humor in Korean |
January 4th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
The 안주 madness out here is crazy! I understand that the bars are just trying to make money, and the social pressure that comes from being required to order snacks along with the beer/soju is a great way to make money. But I’ve been to places where a plate of (basically) frozen instant McCain fries sells for 8000 Won– about $9 American! Crazy! A tofu kimchi dish– with about 1500 Won worth of tofu, and less than 1000 Won worth of kimchi– sells for 10 000 Won!
January 6th, 2008 at 8:25 am
저도 가끔.. 배보다 배꼽이 큰 행동을 하고 있는데..ㅎ
그 술집 진짜 좋네요
January 10th, 2008 at 2:15 am
You’re totally right, Daniel. Some prices that no one in their right mind would pay for are considered normal at bars at night time, but if you are lucky or observative, you can find places where you don’t feel like your money is being wasted.
But still, sometimes those 안주’s can be just crazy expensive.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:15 am
비누 누나~ 배보다 배꼽이 크다는 말을 벌써 응용하셨군요~ 한국에는, 특히 대학 주변에는 이런 술집이 많이 있어요.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:59 am
좋네요~~.학생 분들 도움이 되네요.
좋은 선생님께 배운 말은 곧 써 보고 싶어져요