“Huh?”
I know. I would have had no clue what that said either. Until I found this link in my blog stats yesterday. Apparently it means “The Cheek of God” in Korean. Someone came upon a post I wrote some time ago about my son and needed to translate it into Korean in order to read it.
How cool is that?!
I imagine a father. A man just like me. Struggling to interact in some meaningful way with his own growing teenage son. He might live right next to this Wal Mart. In a country half way around the world. A land I’ve only read about. Seen caricatured on M.A.S.H. Heard fascinating stories about from an old friend – a soldier sent there to fight all those years ago.
Perhaps this dad needed some encouragement. A few been-there-done-that words. And then, maybe, he took his own boy aside and told him how much he cares about him. Or wrote his own letter. In a script so beautifully rendered it makes me smile.
My thoughts are with you my Korean friend . . . that you find that bridge, so universal and timeless, between a father and his son. That you discover joy in his boundless energy and poignancy in his perspective on life. And that you too are amazed at finding someone who can relate. Half way around the world . . .
[photo credit]
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July 18, 2008 at 11:21 am
w1kkp
This is so interesting! One of the amazing things about blogging, isn’t it? How far the reach is. And, as far as it goes, similarities are found. Nice, nice post.
July 18, 2008 at 11:26 am
we_be_toys
It is really a funky thing, to see your words translated like that. I love where your imagination went in speculating – I do that too!
I came across one of mine that had been translated fairly recently, and like you, I was trying to imagine the reader and how my words would seem to a person in another culture; whether I might translate well or not.
It is my fervent wish that your reader doesn’t live by the Walmart, though – he would need more than parenting advice, he would need a real estate agent!
July 18, 2008 at 12:29 pm
jane
wow. I don’t think I would even know HOW to translate? is there a website for that??? I do think that it is cool though.
July 18, 2008 at 12:31 pm
strugglingwriter
Very cool. I’ll have to check out the translator.
July 18, 2008 at 10:18 pm
RiverPoet
How cool is that, Brian? I love this thing we call blogging. It’s a wonderful way of connecting with those with whom we might never otherwise connect.
Peace – D
July 18, 2008 at 10:28 pm
tysdaddy
Apparently Google has a site translator one can use to translate pages. Wanna try something cool? Click on the link for the page (the first link listed in the post) and just pass your mouse over the words. It will pop up a bubble for each sentence, showing you what the Korean means in English. Very nifty. And check out how many characters it takes to make a period . . .
July 19, 2008 at 5:58 am
Mark R
Hey great things, eh? Bit like a note in the bottle on the sea, found on another shore.
July 19, 2008 at 11:50 am
kweenmama
That is so cool! I like to read the searches that people have conducted that led them to my blog. Some of the combinations of words leave me scratching my head though.
July 19, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Xbox4NappyRash
Lovely ideas about what the guy was doing or planning to do wit the article.
People are just the same the world over.
July 20, 2008 at 12:11 am
Kat
That’s pretty cool. I’m going to go translate my blog into French now just to see what it looks like.
July 20, 2008 at 12:13 am
Kat
I have to know why my picture is getting translated into some little freakish looking cartoon character! Mine isn’t the only one either, I’ve noticed on some blogs the pictures don’t come up right. Why why why?
July 20, 2008 at 10:53 am
SanityFound
This is incredible, wow!!!
July 20, 2008 at 9:09 pm
razzbuffnik
Just goes to show that people are the same all around the world.
I used to have a tape of medieval German folk music and I once asked a German scholar what they were singing about. he just said, “the same things that people are singing about today”.
Some themes are universal and I’m sure that raising children is one of them.
July 21, 2008 at 6:42 am
Angel
Wow. You made me smile. What an ecouraging heart you have!
July 21, 2008 at 11:55 am
jim
Awesome post- and a great reflection! I have been away from the cheek far too long- and I have so much catching up to do!… keep up the great work!