김수한무 거북이와 두루미 (A Fable)

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“김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이“.

So the story goes:

A long, long time ago, a man who was descended from a long line of only sons per generation became father to a baby boy. So he consulted a name-specialist to give his only son a name symbolic of a long life. But no matter what the name-specialist suggested, the man insisted, “longer… make it longer”.

The name the child ended up with  was Kim~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja Dong Bang Sak Chichigapo Sarisarisaenta Woriwori Saepeurika Moodoosella gureumi heorikaein dambyeorak seosaengwonae goyangyi badookineun Doldolri, a name that took a considerable amount of time to say…

One day, Kim~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja Dong Bang Sak Chichigapo Sarisarisaenta Woriwori Saepeurika Moodoosella gureumi heorikaein dambyeorak seosaengwonae goyangyi badookineun Doldolri fell into the river.

A passer-by cried for help.

“Heelp!! Kim~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja Dong Bang Sak Chichigapo Sarisarisaenta Woriwori Saepeurika Moodoosella gureumi heorikaein dambyeorak seosaengwonae goyangyi badookineun Doldolri fell into the river!”

However, during the time he was crying for help, Kim~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja Dong Bang Sak Chichigapo Sarisarisaenta Woriwori Saepeurika Moodoosella gureumi heorikaein dambyeorak seosaengwonae goyangyi badookineun Doldolri drowned.

 

 

So why such a long name? Well, the father wanted to bless his son with long life so he gave him a name that signified and evoked Long Life from as many perspectives as he could, Here is a gloss of that fateful name courtesy of  Naver Jishik’s 76shkim님 and 액터정님:

김수한무 (金 壽限無 : 김은 성이고 목숨에 한계가 없다는 뜻)
Kim Soo-han-moo : it’s Hanja literally means surname ‘Kim’, ‘Age-is-Infinite’.

거북이와 두루미 : 십장생중 오래 사는 넘들이죠
Keo-bu-gi-wa du-ru-mi: the tortoise and the crane (bird, not machine), 2 of the traditional 10 symbols of longevity.

삼천갑자 동방삭 : 옛날 중국에 三千甲子(180000년)를 살았던 동방삭이라는 사람이 있었데요
Sam-cheon-gab-ja Dong Bang Sak: long time ago, there lived a guy called Dong Bang Sak in China. He lived for sam-cheon-gab-ja = 3000 x 60 = 180000 years.

치치카포 : 아프리카 어디서 오래산사람 이름
Chi-chi-ga-po: name of somebody who lived a long life somewhere in Africa

사리사리센타, 워리워리,새프리카 : 모두 전설속 오래살았다고함
Sarisarisaenta, Woriwori, Saepeurika: names of legendary people who lived a long life

무두셀라 : 성경에 나오는 인물 969세 까지 살았다고 전해짐
Moo-doo-sael-la : konglish for Methuselah, who lived for 969 years, according to the Bible’s Genesis 5:27

구름이 : 구름이 오래사는 존재 / 므드셀라가 오래살았다고 하지만 구름은 전세계의 하늘을 날아다니니 더 오래 살지 않는가.
gu-reum-yi: ‘clouds’, ‘cos they symbolise a never-ending existence; in a way, lives longer than Methuselah ; thus it’s better to be a cloud than Methuselah

허리케인 : 구름을 날려버림 / 그 구름도 허리케인이 불면 쫒겨 가니 허리케인이 더 쎄다
heo-ri-kae-in: konglish for ‘hurricane’, shows the meaninglessness of clouds’ existence if they can be blown away by hurricanes, thus it’s better to be a hurricane than a cloud.

담벼락 : 허리케인에도 무너지지 않음 / 그러나 그 강한 허리케인도 담이 있으면 막혀버리니 담벼락이 더 쎄다 할수 있다
dam-byo-rak: ‘wall’, showing the meaninglessness of a hurricane if you stay intact despite being blown, thus it’s better to be a wall than a hurricane.

서생원에 : 담벼락에 구멍을 뚫어 담벼락을 무너뜨림 / 그러나 그 담벼락도 서생원(쥐)가 갉아서 구멍을 낼 수 있으니 쥐가 더 쎄다..
seo-saeng-won-ae: ‘mouse’. Drills holes in wall, causing weakened wall to collapse in a hurricane, thus… it’s better to be a mouse than a wall.

고양이 : 서생원의 천적은 당근 고양이
go-yang-yi: ‘cat’. (etc.)

바둑이는 : 고양이의 천적, 개
ba-duk-yi-neun: ‘dog’

돌돌이 : 개 이름.
Doldolri : doggie’s name..

More Kim Joo Won wrestling with his demons:

See also : 시크릿 가든 (Secret Garden)

More fun from Secret Garden

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13 Responses to 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 (A Fable)

  1. This will never get old 🙂 I even wrote the name in my diary in an attempt to memorize it! That was during the height of my SeGa addiction~

  2. Speaking of crushing… how is a person even allowed to be THIS beautiful?!? O be still my fluttering heart…

  3. Let the following series of embedded videos serve as evidence of the perils of entering the YouTube vortex – one things leads to another, and another, and another and before you know it… SO let’s hope having them here will help me avoid falling into yet another Hyeon Bin-catalyzed vortex …

    SBS Interview:

  4. Hyun Bin @Baeksang Art Awards on May 9, 2013

  5. [Vietsub] Hyun Bin.Tang Wei.Vogue.Photoshoot.Interview

  6. Curio Serand says:

    So here’s a version of this anecdote from Wordreference, courtesy of kenjoluma:

    It is a part of the famous joke that first appeared on a TV show in the 70’s and goes like this: A childless family finally has a son. The father wants his son to live long and be healthy, so he names his son after everything that means longevity.

    • 김 = family name
    • 수한무 = 壽限無 (endless life)
    • 거북이와 두루미 = turtle and crane. Two animals thought to live long in Asian countries. Two of 십장생 (double longevity)
    • 삼천갑자 동방삭 = 동방삭 was a politician in Han dynasty. A legend says he lived 180,000 years. (what a crazy legend)
    • 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 = Name of an African who lived long. It is a part of the joke here.
    • 무두셀라 = A biblical figure whose son is Moses. He lived the longest of all the people appeared in the Bible.
    • 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원 고양이 바둑이 = A part of a Korean fable.
    • 돌돌이 = the oldest dog in the town. (part of the joke)

    ~0~

    So, the essence of the joke here is, a stupid father gives his son a ridiculously long name for his longevity. Years later, his son was drowning in the pond, and his friends ran into the father and asked for his help. But his friends spent too much time pronouncing the boy’s name correctly, they failed to save him and he died because of his long name, which was supposed to help him live long.

    Friend: Mr. Kim! Your son, 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이 and we went to the pond….

    Father: Okay. So my only son, 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이 went to the pond with you guys, so what?

    Friend: And 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이 swam with us….

    Father: Okay, so my little son, 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이…

    Friend: 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이 drowned…

    Father: What? 김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세브리깡 무두셀라 구름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이 drowned?

    Anecdote by kenjoluma; 8th April 2011 at 3:10 AM.

    Kim Joo Won wrestling with his demons:

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