Korean Music Time! #3: 장윤정 - 올래

I guess I haven't done one of these in a while, so here it is. Instead of Jo Yong-Pil this time, it's another favorite of mine, Jang Yoon-Jeong. I was able to translate this song in two days, and I thought it'd be good to share here.

I think I did better at taking some poetic license this time rather than being completely literal in the translation. While this is still a little clunkier than I'd like it to be, I think it flows fairly well for the most part. As always, this comes with a disclaimer that I'm still learning Korean and I can't guarantee the accuracy of this translation. It's the best I can tell, but if a better Korean speaker than me wants to offer any suggestions or corrections, I'm all ears.

Here's a performance video of a remixed version of the song for your enjoyment:

 

올래
Come On

(Verse 1)
살랑 살랑 불어오는 바람타고 왔나요
Did you come riding the gently blowing wind?
내 맘을 흔들흔들 흔들리게 해놓고
Causing my heart to tremble so

(Bridge)
알고도 모른 척 한다면
Though I know if you pretend not to know
너무나 얄미운 당신
That’s quite audacious of you

(Chorus)
올래, 올래
Come on, come on
튕기지 말고 내게 다가올래
Instead of playing hard-to-get, come closer to me
니 맘에 들었다면  /  날
If I got into your heart
한번쯤 안아 봐도 괜찮아
In about a minute you’d embrace me, which would be OK
올래, 올래
Come on, come on
멋지게 후끈하게  /  다가올래
It’s a wonderful way to warm up, come closer to me
살며시 입 맞춰도  /  난
Even if you give me a gentle kiss
모른 척 눈감아 줄게
I’ll pretend not to notice and overlook it

(Verse 2)
힐끔힐끔 바라보는 그대눈빛 알지만
Glance, glance, though your staring eyes know
모른 척 돌아서면 애가타서 어쩌나
If you turn around to feign indifference how anxious you’ll be!
하지만 후회는 안 해요
However, have no regrets
내 맘에 쏙 드는 당신
My heart is captivated by you

(Chorus)

I'm not sure how well my translation conveys the intent of the words, so I'll give a few thoughts on my reading of this song. It's not particularly deep, as you can see, so this won't involve any heavy analysis.

The general theme of this song is that she's really attracted to a guy, but he refuses to make a move. She's basically saying that she knows he likes her, and if he'd only take the first step she'd be his.

The title itself (pronounced "Ol-lae") seems to mean something like "Why don't you come?" rather than "come on," but that felt too awkward. If you notice, the same pattern appears in the second line of the chorus, so "come closer to me" is probably more like "why don't you come closer to me?" While the translation here might make her sound fairly forward, in the Korean understanding of the lyrics she'd probably come across more as gently encouraging.

The line "that's quite audacious of you" might not be the best choice, but I couldn't think of anything better. My understanding of what that line is trying to say is that she's annoyed by the fact that the guy won't act on his feelings for her, because she really wishes he would.

The line "in about a minute you'd embrace me, which would be OK" is another one I'm unsure of. I think the gist of it is supposed to be, "you'd want to hold me in your arms immediately, and hey, I wouldn't mind if you did."

The final two lines of the chorus "Even if you give me a gentle kiss/I'll pretend not to notice and overlook it" probably sound a little odd too. I think what she's saying is that if he tried to steal a small kiss she wouldn't be offended, because she actually wants a kiss from him.

Finally, the second line of the second verse, "If you turn around to feign indifference how anxious you’ll be!" was probably the most difficult for me. I'm not completely confident in that translation, but that was the feeling I was getting from piecing it together word-by-word. Basically, she's indicating that she can tell he likes her because he keeps stealing glances but tries to hide it.

Translating these songs is really a lot of fun for me. I've translated several others, and some only partially, but I can't tell you how rewarding it is to see the story develop as you go through each line. When you're finished you can appreciate the song in a new way.

It's made me wonder if translation would be a good career path for me to pursue. I saw a list of good jobs for introverts, and translator was on it. While I'm hardly fluent in Korean, I think little by little I'm gaining an understanding of it. I still can't really speak it, but written Korean is clearer than it was when I first started learning. I also saw a list of "critical languages," i.e. ones that are in high demand for translators, and Korean was on it. If I really applied myself, could I become fluent in this language and make actual money translating? I've always loved language, and the ability to work with it (without having to deal with people in the process) might be right up my alley. It's definitely something I'm considering.

Mr. Poffenberger's New Job

"Congratulations, Mr. Poffenberger! You are officially the new musical director of the Backsville Symphony Orchestra!"

"What an honor! I look forward to working with these talented musicians and the great performances that are in store!"

"I think you should know that they require a bit of...guidance."

"Of course. I plan to get the best out of them by rehearsing as much as possible and pushing them to the limits of their capabilities!"

"That's not what I meant. Some of them aren't quite as proficient as the last orchestra you worked with."

"But certainly they have potential, or they wouldn't have passed the auditions."

"There were no auditions. We accepted anyone who showed the remotest interest in joining."

"What? Well they at least have some experience, don't they?"

"Oh, sure."

"How much?"

"The best of them are pretty experienced. At the very least, they all lasted through a full year of lessons in their childhood."

"Have they played since then?"

"Sure, on and off."

"They can read music, can't they?"

"The good ones can, but many have let their abilities lapse."

"So how are they supposed to learn a new piece?"

"That's for you to figure out, Mr. Poffenberger."

"Can they play by ear?"

"Oh, heavens, no. That's way above their level."

"I suppose I'd better make my first priority evaluating their skill levels and bringing the lesser musicians up to par. These first few months are going to be intense!"

"You can't push them too hard, though. They won't like it."

"Being a musician is hard work. They're professionals. They should know what to expect."

"If you upset them though, they'll quit."

"You can't be serious. It's impossible to produce good music if the musicians aren't dedicated to their craft."

"Oh, you shouldn't be so negative. You were hired because we believe you can get the best out of people!"

"I'm not a miracle-worker though. No one can be a great musician, or even a good one, if he doesn't want to be."

"The bottom line is that this town needs you. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have a real honest-to-goodness symphony orchestra!"

"Do they actually sound any good?"

"Well, I suppose they're not the best I've ever heard, but surely there are worse ones out there. The best ensemble members are certainly enjoyable."

"Can I get rid of the ones who can't play?"

"No, because then you'd be subjecting them to public humiliation, which would only make you the most hated man in town."

"(Sigh)...The first rehearsal is going to be interesting."

"Make sure it doesn't go too long, because then they'll get bored."

"Bored?"

"Yeah, we wanted you to add some fun to the orchestra."

"I'll do what I can to make it enjoyable, but I'm a musician first and foremost, so my main priority is to conduct a beautiful symphony."

"Just make sure they don't quit."

"It sounds like the primary goal here is to maintain the existence of the orchestra."

"Yes! You seem to understand quite well, Mr. Poffenberger!"

"You realize this is just one big recipe for mediocrity, right?"

"But it gives the locals pride!"

"You'd better hope they never happen to hear a real symphony orchestra, because it would only underscore what a fraud this one is."

"Mr. Poffenberger! Don't have that attitude! The musicians can tell when you're angry, and they'll quit if they think you don't like them!"

"So you basically just want me to babysit these folks who call themselves an orchestra and not give too much thought about how well they play?"

"Well, we do expect you to put on a good performance for the people who come to the Backsville Concert Hall."

"If these musicians are barely competent, uncommitted to their playing and have no motivation to get better, I don't know how a good performance is possible."

"Like I said, Mr. Poffenberger, that's for you to figure out."

Another Day, Another Reason to Be Fed Up

This job has been very frustrating for me so far. Every day I get mixed messages about what my role is at this school, and every day I end up feeling like a failure who can't do his job because I'm told that whatever I'm doing is wrong. I'm constantly struggling with self-doubt because it seems I'm making a mistake every time I do the slightest thing.

We're doing a special class right now where we teach the kids an English-language pop song, and I was asked to find a song. How exciting, right? I love music, and this would be a great chance to share that love! Or so I thought. I stayed up late the night before picking out several songs that I thought were grammatically correct, had good lyrics and that I thought they'd enjoy. I even tried to use the noraebang playlists for ideas about what Korean people might know.

As it turns out, my effort was for nothing. One of the English-speaking teachers bought a book that contained the lyrics, along with Korean translations, of a bunch of English pop songs that get played on a certain radio station, and she decided that one of those would be best, since "Korean people know them." Most of the songs in the book were either crap or stuff I didn't know, so there was nothing there to get excited about. Oh sure, she did listen to some of the ones I thought would be good, but she didn't need to hear more than a few seconds to say "no" to any of them. So now I have to go over the lyrics of ABBA's "I Have a Dream" two times a day with these kids and sing it with them repeatedly. Schlock 'n roll!

It's not having my suggestions rejected that bugs me, it's the fact that it felt like the other teacher didn't really want my input. It seemed like once she found a song in the book she wanted she was just going to find a reason why my songs weren't good enough. If my input isn't wanted or needed, don't give me the impression that it is. If I know what my place is, I can learn to function within it. If you leave it ambiguous, it just causes me internal conflict and adds to my stress.

That was a while ago though. The thing that's driving me insane now has to do with my water.

I have a bunch of different bills that need to be paid, but since they're all in Korean, it's a hassle trying to figure out what they're for and who they get paid to (and there's another that I always hear about, but it's never actually sent to me in paper form). I got my gas bill last week and I brought it into work to ask one of the English-speaking teachers there what it was for. She was shocked at how high the bill was, so she said to talk to the boss about it next week. So I bring it with me every day, but the boss doesn't show up any of those days. Finally on Thursday she comes, and she's also shocked by how high the bill is, so she calls the building manager about it, and he meets me after work to show me what's going on.

Now, this guy doesn't speak English, of course, so he sits and explains stuff to me, and despite my clearly not understanding, he just talks as if I do. I called the English-speaking teacher for help, so he talked to her and she explained that the issue with my gas bill being high is because my room has a heating system that maintains a certain temperature and therefore was using gas without my realizing it. So the guy turned it off for me, since, after all, it's summer, and I don't need heat running. The only problem is, the heating system is connected to my water heater, so I wanted to know the all-important question: How am I supposed to get hot water for a shower? I tried and I tried and I tried to figure this out, but he couldn't give me an answer. I motioned: "Do I turn on the gas valve?" "No!" (the only English word I think he knew). "Do I turn on this wall control panel?" "No!" "OK, then....so...how do I get hot water?" I pulled up Google Translate on my laptop to communicate but he refused to type his answer so I could get a translation of what he was saying. Before he left, he finally indicated that the wall control panel was the way to get hot water.

So it's past 1 AM now, I've been monkeying around with it and I just now finally figured out that the only way to get any hot water is to turn on the gas valve. I guess it'll be a constant process of turning on and off or else I'll end up with a sky-high bill. If the guy hadn't constantly told me not to do that, I might've figured it out sooner.

I think the pressure is getting to me, because I started experiencing some chest pains this afternoon. I'd experienced something similar at my old job, and it eventually went away. Hopefully I can have a relaxing weekend and it'll get better. I don't want to skip church, but I might have to, because that commute is rough on me.

Please don't e-mail me or comment about this post, because I really don't want to discuss it or listen to advice from people who aren't here and don't understand what it's like. I just need to vent, OK? The two months I've been here have just been constant frustration, and this is the only outlet I have for it.

EDIT 8/21: I've changed a few words here to make the tone seem less bitter and harsh than when I originally posted. My request not to receive e-mails about this post has predictably been ignored, however.

Video Tour

Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but I have a video for you. It's a small tour of my apartment building, which will hopefully give you something of an idea of the environment I'm in. I hope you enjoy it.

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.