Korean Music Time! #2: 조용필 - 눈물로 보이는 그대

Hey everyone! I feel like I should write on this blog more often, but I don't often feel like it. I'm still adjusting to my job, because things are constantly crazy there. Maybe I'll go into more detail later, but right now I don't feel like recapping all the frustrations. I'd rather share something that I find personally rewarding: I translated another song!

It's from the same album as the last song I translated, and this one's a bit sadder. I offer the usual disclaimer: I'm not a Korean speaker, so my translation shouldn't be seen as definitive. It was the best I could do using dictionaries and grammar reference sources. Take a listen:

눈물로 보이는 그대

You, Looking Like Tears

(Verse 1)

누가 바람을 보았나

Who saw hope?

나는 바람을 보았네

I saw hope

당신이 잊고간 손수건 작별 인사의 손진같네

You leaving forgetting a handkerchief is like a goodbye gesture

가슴을 시리게 적셔오는 손수건의 눈물자욱

The thick tears of the handkerchief are coldly soaking my heart

바람처럼 사라져간 당신의 추억이

Your memory is like my hope that disappeared

머무를 때는 보이지 않고 떠난 뒤에야 보이네

It didn’t look that way when you were staying, but now that you’ve left, well, it does

(Verse 2)

누가 사랑을 보았나

Who saw love?

나는 사랑을 보았네

I saw love

이별은 쉬운 것이었는데 어려운건 혼자 남는것

A farewell shouldn’t be easy, but remaining by myself is difficult

그것이 사랑은 아니던가 이제야 알것 같은데

Perhaps it wasn’t love, at last I think I know that

그리움을 아는 이는 나의 슬픔 알리라

My sadness tells me I still have that old yearning

떠난 뒤에야 보이는건가 눈물로 보이는 그대

Did it only look that way after you left? You, looking like tears

(Closing Refrain)

그리움을 아는 이는 나의 슬픔 알리라

My sadness tells me I still have that old yearning

머무를 때는 보이지 않고 떠난 뒤에야 보이네

It didn’t look that way when you were staying, but now that you’ve left, well, it does

떠난 뒤에야 보이는건가 눈물로 보이는 그대

Did it only look that way after you left? You, looking like tears

떠난 뒤에야 보이는건가 눈물로 보이는 그대

Did it only look that way after you left? You, looking like tears

While translating poetic material is difficult, I enjoyed the challenge. There are several parts where I'm uncertain about the meaning, but at least I think I was able to come up with something that makes sense. I tried to stay true to the literal meaning as best I could, but when you're dealing with two very differently-structured languages that's impossible to do perfectly. There were a few parts where I changed the wording a little to make the intent clearer (at least, what I think was the intent), and I'm happy with the way they turned out.

One thing that can make translation difficult is that different languages use words differently. We might say that two words correspond to each other, but the contexts in which Korean speakers use their word might be different than the ones in which we English speakers use it.

For instance, look at the line that says "the thick tears of the handkerchief are coldly soaking my heart." The word I translated as "heart" is "가슴," which literally means "chest." I've noticed that several songs use that word similarly to the way English songs might use "heart," i.e. representing a person's emotional core. Korean also has the word "마음," which can also be translated as "heart" in the "emotional core" sense, but it literally refers to a person's mind. Our English "heart" has a little of both meanings in it, as it's essentially a metaphor, but it seems that Koreans choose their word depending on how they spin the metaphor.

I think in this case the word "가슴" (chest) was used to give the line a double meaning. One might put a handkerchief inside a pocket against his chest, and in this case the handkerchief is still soaked with the woman's tears, so the man feels the wetness. However, it also pains him internally, because it reminds him of the love he lost. In that sense, both his physical chest and his emotions are affected by this wet handkerchief. At least, that's how I interpret it. That interpretation, of course, relies on the correctness of my translation, which isn't a certainty.

I've already begun translating another song, and instead of Jo Yong-Pil, it'll be by Jang Yoon-Jeong next time. I've already run into a slight roadblock, as there's a line I can't make much sense out of, but perhaps I'll figure it out eventually, just as I did with the difficult lines in the first two songs I translated.

Korean Music Time! 조용필 - 여행을 떠나요

I've been kind of lazy in my attempts to learn Korean lately, since I have so many interests that it's hard to stay focused on it. As much as I always enjoy myself when I study it, baseball research and blogging don't happen by themselves.

As a Korean music fan though, I've found that trying to translate songs can be a lot of fun. When you can see how different words relate to each other and form sort of a "story," it feels like an exciting revelation. It just so happens that one of my favorite artists, 조용필 (Jo Yong Pil), has a really awesome song that contains mostly short phrases and sentences. First of all, take a listen:

Rocking, no? This one's always fun to do in the song booth.

Anyway, I liked it so much that I decided to try to translate it, mostly using dictionaries and other such references, though I had help with a few lines from my old boss, Mrs. Kim. She didn't actually know the song, because she said she only listens to classical music. I figure if I can listen to a song and know what each line means, that can bring me closer to understanding this language. I saw a YouTube video of a Caucasian girl speaking Korean, and in the comments, she told people that one way she learned was from translating songs she liked. Hey, if it worked for her, maybe it'll work for me.

Anyway, here's my best attempt at translating. It'll probably be laughable to any Korean speaker who comes across this blog, but I think I have the basic idea of the song. I'll format it the same way that The Korean of the famous blog Ask a Korean does with his music posts, since it looks nice and neat.

여행을 떠나요

Let's Go on a Trip

(Verse 1)

푸른 언덕에 배낭을 메고

Toward a green hill, carrying a backpack

황금빛 태양 축제를 여는

Bright yellow sun above the festival

광야를 향해서 계곡을 향해서

I face the prairie, I face the valley

(Verse 2)

먼동이 트는 이른 아침에

At the break of dawn, early in the morning

도시의 소음 수많은 사람

The noise of the city, lots of people

빌딩 숲속을 벗어나봐요

Let's escape this forest of buildings

(Chorus)
메아리 소리가 들려오는 계곡속의 흐르는 물찾아
The sound of an echo can now be heard, we search for the valley's flowing water
그 곳으로 여행을 떠나요

Let's go on a trip to that place
메아리 소리가 들려오는 계곡속의 흐르는 물찾아
The sound of an echo can now be heard, we search for the valley's flowing water
그 곳으로 여행을 떠나요
Let's go on a trip to that place

(Verse 3)

굽이 또 굽이 깊은 산중에

Bend after bend toward the deep mountain recess

시원한 바람 나를 반기네

The cool wind welcomes me

하늘을 보며 노래 부르세

As we look at the sky, let's sing together

(Chorus)

(Solo)

(Verse 3)

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

여행을 떠나요

Let's go on a trip

즐거운 마음으로

With pleasing thoughts

모두 함께 떠나요

I leave with everyone

(Chorus)

Like I said above, anyone who's fluent in both English and Korean will probably have a chuckle at my clunky translation. I only know really basic Korean, so don't take this to be perfect. There are more than a few parts I'm not completely confident of.

I attempted to stay true to the literal meaning as best I could, but in a few cases I thought it preferable to fix it up a bit so it'd sound better in English. For instance, the line in the chorus, "그 곳으로 여행을 떠나요" would probably be better translated as "To that place let's go on a trip," but that's kind of awkward.

The parts Mrs. Kim helped me with were "forest of buildings," "welcomes me," and "let's sing together." Honestly, the only reason I used "let's sing together" at that part is because that's what she told me, since it doesn't exactly seem to follow in a word-by-word translation. The "forest of buildings" part was confusing for me, but once Mrs. Kim explained that he was using a metaphor it all made sense. When I attempted it by myself I was under the impression that there was a building in the middle of a forest, which seemed just a tad weird.

So yeah. I really like this song. As I mentioned above, I even sing it in the song booth sometimes. True story: One time I was singing this song in the booth, and after it ended I could hear the people in the booth next to me singing it. Coincidence, or did they hear me and become inspired? I like to think it was the latter, because that'd make me feel a little cooler.