Everyday Korean Episode 68 하룻강아지 범 무서운 줄 모른다 Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread

By Harsh Kumar Mishra

The Conversation

정민: 네하야! 내일 대표님하고 오후 미팅이 있다는 걸 들었어?

Jeongmin: Neha, did you hear that we have a meeting with the boss tomorrow afternoon?

네하: 네, 들었어요. 그저께 미팅 초대메일 받았어요. Neha: Yeah, I heard. I got an email invite the day before yesterday.

정민: 원래 월말에만 미팅 하셨는데 중순에 미팅 하시는 게 오랜만이야. 직원들 모두 걱정하고 있어.

Jeongmin: It’s been a long time since she’s called a meeting in the middle of the month. She usually only calls meetings at the end of the month. All the employees are worried.

네하: 왜요? 대표님이 그렇게 착하신데 걱정을 왜 해요?

Neha: Why? She’s so kind. Why are people worried?

정민: 하룻강아지 범 무서운 줄 모르는군. 대표님을 잘 몰라서 그래.

Jeongmin: Ah, a new-born pup doesn’t know how dangerous a tiger is! You say that because you don’t know her well.

네하: 뭐예요? 저 알려줘요.

Neha: What do you mean? Please tell me.

정민: 지금 길게 이야기할 수 없지만 대표님이 화가

나시면 범보다 더 무서우세요.

Jeongmin: I cannot tell you in detail now, but just know that when she gets angry, she’s fiercer than the tiger.

Grammar

~ (는)군요: This exclamatory ending is attached to verbs or adjectives to express one’s exclamation about a newly learned fact by seeing or hearing something. “~는군요” is used with verb stems and “~군요” with adjective stems. The “요” at the end can be dropped when talking with a friend, junior, or anyone else close.

Ex: 와! 매운 음식을 잘 먹는군요. Wow! You really enjoy spicy food!

눈이 참 예쁘군요. Your eyes are so beautiful!

하룻강아지 범 무서운 줄 모른다: This witty Korean proverb, literally meaning “A new-born pup doesn’t know how dangerous a tiger is (and starts barking at it),” is used to describe a situation when an ignorant person acts overly brave without understanding the seriousness of the situation. This proverb is somewhat similar to the English proverb “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” which depicts a similar situation.

Ex: 하룻강아지 범 무서운 줄 모른다더니 혼자서 열 명하고 싸우려고? As they say, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. So, you’re going to fight ten people by yourself?!

Vocabulary

대표: representative, boss, CEO, 오후: afternoon, 그저께: the day before yesterday, 받다: to receive, 원래: originally/usually, 월말: the end of the month, 중순: the middle of the month, 직원: employee, 걱정하다: to worry, 착하다: to be kind, 강아지: a puppy, 범 (호랑이): tiger, 무섭다: to be scary, 모르다: to not know, 알려주다: to tell, 길게: at length, long, 화가 나다: to get angry

The Author

Harsh Kumar Mishra is a linguist and Korean language educator. He volunteers with TOPIKGUIDE.com and Learnkorean.in. He has also co-authored the book Korean Language for Indian Learners.