Kim Soon-Ja (Director of Center for Jeju Studies, Jeju Research Institute)
1. Languages of Jeju and North Korea
When I was asked to write about ‘Jeju and Peace, the Environment, and Inter-Korean Relations’, the first memory that came to mind was an image in reading the North Korean novel ≪Kkochpaneun Cheonyeo (The Flower Maiden)≫. It was in 1989, not long after graduating from college, so it was about 30 years ago. ≪Kkochpaneun Cheonyeo≫ had been banned and then rereleased in that year. I read the novel with excitement, so the impression I felt while reading the book at that time is still fresh. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it, so I can’t remember the whole story clearly. However, in summary, the background of the novel was in the 1920s, during the Japanese colonial period. Kkotbun was the main character, who was in domestic service at the landlord’s house during the day for her sick mother. At night, she diligently made her life selling flowers.
I was greatly stimulated by the story because I sympathized with the harsh life of the young flower girl and the pain that the people suffered from losing their country. What attracted me even more was that the stories I heard from my maternal grandmother when I was a child, were melted into every corner of the book with many words and expressions. Now that I don’t have the book I read back then, there is no way of confirming which expressions drew me in but I’m sure that the languages in Jeju and in North Korea are very similar.
Without being aware, we seem to have forgotten that the two Koreas, who have been living in hostile relations for a long time due to division, are one people at heart. Through this study. I would like to confirm that the two Koreas are the common ethinc group and the same linguistic community by revealing the many similarities between the Jeju and the North Korean language. In order to restore and maintain inter-Korean relations, continuous efforts must be made to eliminate conflicts between the North and South. This is because only then can we break down the barrier of division and the linguistic community can be kept peaceful through the Korean language which King Sejong the Great created.
2. To be summoned to discover the Korean language
For 7 years from 2006 to 2012, I served as a member of the Jeju Regional Investigation Committee for the ≪Gyeoremal Keunsajeon, Dictionary≫ and then worked as a writing committee member. ‘Gyeoremal’ refers to ‘Korean language that the people use on a daily basis in the South and North Korea and abroad’. ‘Gyeoremal Keunsajeon’ is the Korean language dictionary which is published jointly by South and North Korea. [1] For this dictionary, North and South Korea Joint Compling committee of Gyeoremal Keunsajeon has collected and organized Korean words from compatriots abroad as well as in Korea. It is moving to hear that a provisional compilation of ten volumes containing the achievements was also released for consultation with the North lately.
The ≪Gyeoremal Keunsajeon≫ is a vast and difficult work to unify the languages of North and South Korea. This project is very special to me in that I contributed a little to it. The process to find words that are not listed in the dictionary, explain their meanings, and write examples is hard work but making a dictionary is very valuable. Through this task, I was able to realize how precious each word is as a cultural heritage.
My role is to find new words which are worth putting up in the dictionary from Jeju indigenous languages that are not listed in the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫. And it was also to prepare and submit their definitions and examples.
One day in 2006, the word ‘Jwaegitteok’ was collected. To write a sentence with the word, the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫ much be referred to. Searching it in the dictionary, I found that ‘Jwaegitteok’ is discribed to as North Korean with the explanation, “rice cake made small round dough and then steamed.” [2] I was so curious that I carefully looked up the meaning and usage of examples.
≪Joseonmal Keunsajeon: The Great Dictionary of Joseonmal≫
- Jwaegitteok 「Noun」 Rice cake made by kneading and then steaming it.
(e.g.) Comrade Kim Jeong-suk thought and thought about it, and the next morning she got a big bowl of millet and pounded it in a mortar to make jwaegitteok. 《The Novel “Yugyeoggueu Gisu”》
<Contents of my research>
- Jwaegitteok: A rice cake made with wheat flour or barley flour by kneading it with hands, and then steaming it.
(e.g.)“The rice cake was steamed with yeast in barley powder. First, grind barley or wheat and, sieve the flour then put “Shindari” in the leftover from the powder, kneading and steaming the dough. That’s called “jwaegitteok”. [3]
Looking at the examples in the two regions, ‘Jwaegitteok’ in the ≪Joseonmal Keunsajeon≫ is the steamed rice cake made with millet jwaegi. [4] In Jeju, it can be seen as the steamed rice cake with wheat flour or barley flour adding “Shidari” [5] and kneading to make ‘Jwaegi’. From this, “Jwaegitteok” in Jeju unlike that in ≪The Great Dictionary of Joseon-mal≫ is understood to be the steamed rice cake made by clenching the dough with leftover from the wheat or barley powder.
In addition the word ‘buru’ -lettuce- in Jeju can be identified in Hamgyeongdo Province and other places, North Korea. The word ‘Buru’ was written in the ≪Saseongtonghae≫ by Choi Sejin, a scholar during the reign of King Jungjong of the Joseon Dynasty. He worte it in Chinese; Wageo(1517) or Wajaju (Lower volume:28). Buru has been used since the 16th century, as it can be seen in “Buru-Wa Buru-Geo” in ≪Hunmongjahoe≫ (Upper volume:8)(1527). It is widely known as Jeju language but it is also used in Hamgyeongdo(in North Korea) and Gyeongsangdo and Chungcheongdo (in South Korea) as a Gyeoremal.
3. The same but different language of Jeju and North Korea
Let’s take a look at some common words in Jeju among the words listed as North Korean words in the Korean dictionary. Jeju and North Korea are far apart in terms of distance. Therefore, many words in Jeju are more similar to those used in Jeollado or Busan because they are close to Jeju. However, those words used in the two regions are often found in the North Korean language. With the words such as ‘Jwaegitteok’ and ‘Buru’, ‘Kongjang’, ‘Muljang’, ‘Bapti’, ‘Gadal’, ‘Anmok’, ‘Kalguk’, etc. are examples.
The definition of ‘Kongjang’ listed as a North Korean in the Korean dictionary is as follows.
≪Joseonmal Keunsajeon≫
Kongjang 「Noun」 ① Soybean paste. Wheat paste and ~. Acorns paste and ~. ② A side dish of boiled beans simmering in soy sauce; Kongjaban
≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫
Kong-jang 「Noun」 「1」 A side dish made with roasted beans in a sauce with oil, sesame, red pepper powder and chopped green onions; Dujang 「2」 A side dish made by roasting or boiling soybeans and simmering them in soy sauce with oil, sesame seeds, and starch syrup; Kongjaban
≪WooriMalSaem≫
Kong-jang (Bean) 「001」 「Noun」 A side dish made by putting roasted beans in a sauce with oil, sesame seeds, red pepper powder and chopped green onions 「002」 「Noun」 A side dish made by roasting or boiling soybeans and simmering them in soy sauce with oil, sesame seeds, and starch syrup. 「003」 「Noun」 「North Korean language」 Soybean paste 「004」 「Noun」 a dialect of ‘Joseon-ganjang’ in Gyeongsangnamdo Province
‘Kongjang’ is a term used by our mothers to distinguish between soybean paste made only from soybeans and ‘barley paste’ made by fermenting ‘boiled barley’. ‘Kongjang’ refers to a soybean paste made with only soybeans, while ‘barley paste’ is a soybean paste made by fermenting boiled barley and mixing with Meju, boiled soybean lump. Boiled or roasted soybeans and stewed in soy sauce is also called ‘Kongjang’. However, as you look at the ≪WooriMalSaem≫, in addition to explaining the meaning of the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫, ‘Kongjang,’ a ‘jang made of soybeans,’ is introduced as a ‘North Korean word’. In Jeju, ‘Kongjang’ is used as the meaning in ≪Joseonmal Keunsajeon≫. In the Gyeongsannamdo region, ‘Kongjang’ is used in the meaning of ‘Joseon-ganjang’. ‘Mul-jang’ is used in Jeju to mean ‘soy sauce’, but in North Korea it is used to mean ‘diluted soybean paste’.
‘Babti’ refers to ‘each grain of rice’, that is, ‘a grain of cooked rice’. In Jeju, ‘Babbangul’ is sometimes used instead of ‘babti’. It is used like “Ipbawie buteun Babti ttera.”, “Ipbawie buteun Babbangul ttera.”(Take off the rice grain on your mouth.)
Jeju word ‘Bapti’
(e.g.) Gemin geureut sitjyeonan mule babtido dueleogagog, Geuge gujeunmuli doeseo geugeo gatdang dosegi jueotju. (Then, rice grains went into the water when I washed the bowls, and the water got dirty, so I gave it to pigs. Seongeup-ri, Seogwipo-si)
The National Institute of Korean Language’s ≪WooriMalSaem≫ describes ‘babti’ as a North Korean word for ‘babal’, and the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary> describes ‘babti’ as a mistake of ‘babal’. This ‘Bapti’ is used not only in North Korea, but also in Gyeongsangdo and Jeollado, South Korea, so the word is widely used.
‘Anmok’, which means ‘a seat on the inside of the room’, is also listed in the dictionary as a North Korean language. However, an example of the word was recorded in Seongeup-ri, Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jejudo.
A over eighty-ysear- old lady said, “Ddotdot heondire anjiren malo ‘anmok’ ijuge”(Anmok means to sit in a warm place.) ‘Anmok’ in her speech is the word introduced as a word in North. ‘Anmok’ is also mentioned ‘Anjari or Anjjari’ in Jeju.
Occasionally, the expression “the fault of ~” may be encountered in the dictionary. The suggestion is that you should refrain from interpreting the meaning of the word even if a vocabulary isn’t used or known. Languages change their sound and meaning as time goes by. Therefore, the words of different regions should be approached from the viewpoint of being different, not from the viewpoint of being wrong. The same is true for languages in South Korea and North Korea, as well as differences in dialects in each region of South Korea.
4. Jeju languages in ≪North Korean languages in Literature≫
From 2004 to 2007, the National Institute of Korean Language conducted <Basic Research on the Development of Dialect Search Programs Used in Literature> for ‘Hanminjokeoneojeongbohwa (Korea Language Informatization) as part of ‘the mid-to-long-term development plan for the Korean language informatization in the 21st century’. The study was divided into the North Korean dialect, Jeju dialect, Gangwon dialect, Chungcheong dialect, Gyeongsang dialect, and Jeolla dialect. Then, dialectologists each region worked to select dialects contained in literature and establish meaning interpretation, grammar, and usage. The results have been revised, supplemented, and refined to publish ≪North Korean Dialect in Literature≫ (Kwak Chung-Gu ,Park Jin-Hyeok), ≪Chungcheong Dialect in Literature≫ (Park Kyung-Rae), ≪Jeolla Dialect in Literature≫ (Lee Tae-Young), and ≪Gyeongbuk Dialect in Literature≫ (Lee Sang-Gyu and Shin Seung-Yong) , ≪The Jeju dialect in literature≫ (Kang Young-bong, Kim Dong-yun, Kim Soon-ja), etc.
In order to find the correlation between the Jeju language and the North Korean language, let’s take a look at the vocabulary list of ≪North Korean Dialect in Literature≫. A total of 301 headwords with idioms were included in this book. It is accompanied by standard words, word class, meaning interpretation, different types of a dialect, areas, usage, and vocabulary explanations. Therefore, the book is very helpful in understanding the North Korean dialect which is vague on its meaning.
Among the 301 headwords, only 12 words have the same or similar meaning in the North Korean dialect and the Jeju dialect.
e.g.: ‘Gumuk (gulmuk), neobujulughada, nolminnolmin, doenbi, deunggobsae, moggodae, bugdeogbul, saessibang(saeseubang, saesibang), seokkgaldoeda(seosgallida), jurunhi, ‘jug-eun dwi hyodoneun adeul-i hago sal-asaengjeon hyodoneun ttal-i handa’ keunmanurae(sonnim) etc. Through these words, it was an opportunity to confirm that the two Koreas are a linguistic community.
If you look closely at these vocabularies through the National Institute of Korean Language’s ≪WoorimalSaem≫, which provides North Korean language and national dialects to the public, you can find the same but different words, or different but similar words. ‘Gumuk’ is introduced in the Hamgyeong dialect of ‘chimney’, and ‘gulmuk’ is introduced in the Gangwon, Jeju, Pyeongbuk, and Hamgyeong dialects of ‘chimney’. ‘Gulmuk’ is also introduced as the Jeju dialect of ‘Agungi(fireplace)’. It can be seen that ‘gulmuk’ used in the meaning of ‘chimney’ has been extended to the meaning of ‘a fireplace made to heat a room’ in Jeju.
‘neobujurughada’ is not listed as a headword. However, ‘neobjulughada’- allomorph of ‘neobujurughada’ – is listed in Hamgyeong dialect, meaning ‘slightly wide’. ‘smooth and bulging’. In Jeju, the word is used as a form of ‘neobjurugheoda, neobsurugheoda’. ‘Nolmin nolmin’ and ‘nolmeong nolmeong’ are not listed in the dictionary, but both are used to mean ‘slowly’. ‘Nolmin Nolmin’ is a word used in Pyeongando and Hamgyeongdo, and ‘Nolmyeong nolmong’ is a word used in Jeju. The structure and meaning are similar between two words. The words ‘doenbi’, ‘deung-gobsae’ and ‘moggodae’ are used with the same meaning in North Korea and Jeju.
‘Bukdeok’ in the North’s ‘Bukdeokbul’ and in Jeju’s ‘Bukdeokbang’ are used in the same dialect of ‘Bukdegi’. ‘Bukdeokbul’ means ‘fire on bukdegi’, while ‘Bukdeokbang’ means ‘a room with bukdegi on’. In ≪WooriMalsaem≫, ‘Bukdeok’ is listed only as a Jeju dialect of ‘Bukdegi’.
‘Saessibang’ was not listed as a headword. Other dialect forms such as ‘Saeseubang’, ‘Saesibang’ are introduced as Pyeongando dialect. In Jeju, ‘Saeseubang’ and ‘Saesibang’ are used to mean ‘saeseobang’(new groom).
‘Seokkgaldoeda’ is not listed in the dictionary. On the other hand, ‘seokgalida’ is introduced as a word used in Hamgyeongdo and other places in the form of ‘seokkgallida’. In Jeju, ‘seotgalida’ and ‘hesgallida’ are used. The writer, who interpreted ‘seokkgalida’ in ≪North Korean Dialect in Literature≫, said, “The possibility that ‘seokkgaldoeda’ is a dialet of Hamgyongdamdo Province cannot be ruled out, but there is also the possibility that it may be the writer’s personal language since its coined form is unique compared to other dialect types. “
‘Jurunhi’ is a Pyeongando dialect meaning ‘naranhi (side by side)’. In ≪WoorimalSaem≫, ‘Jureoni’, which has a similar shape, is introduced as a North Korean language with the meaning of ‘arranged in a line’. In Jeju, it is used like ‘Juljjureoni’, ‘Jjuljjureoni’, and ‘Jjuljjurenheoda’. ‘Jjuljjureoni’ is a dialect form of ‘narangi’, and ‘Jjuljjurenheoda’ is that of ‘naranhada( to be side by side) In the North Korean dialect, ‘smallpox’ is presented as ‘keunmanurae’ or ‘sonnim’, which are similar in a dialect forms such as ‘keunmanura’ or ‘sonim’ in Jeju.
5. For the restoration of the linguistic community of the two Koreas
As discussed above, speech may change its phoneme or forms in the process of language contact. Also, a word is created by the people who use it. Therefore, it is natural that dialects vary depending on region.
Although the Korean people are in a language community, they suffered the Korean War and the division in the two Koreas. Even after the war, they have lived in conflict and anxiety in the division system for more than 70 years. Nevertheless, communication was possible without any inconvenience because the two Koreas are in a liguistic community. However, this linguistic community under the different systems is at risk of collapse. As we well know, language barriers over 70 years have made too many changes.
In this regard, the “Writer’s Action for the End-of-war Declaration and Peace Agreement”, which was announced on October 29, 2020 has great implications, which was declared under the names of representatives of five South Korean literary organizations [6] and South Korean Executive Committee President of 6.15 Korean ethinc Writers Association.
“The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the end of the war cannot be abandoned because it is a matter of the existential fate of our language community. ………… The hosts of the document of the end-of-war declaration are the United States and the United Nations, North Korea and China, but our destiny should not be left to them. Above all, it is urgent for the South and the North to declare the end of the war and sign a peace treaty to pursue the peace of our people’s linguistic community. Writers in Korea believe that ‘Today’ is the very day when the tragedy can be finished on the Korean Peninsula. Now, the war on the Korean peninsula – in one language communitee- must be permanently ended. At the same time, we need to move from a life-killing division system to a life-saving peace system. Peace on the Korean peninsula will soon contribute to peace in Northeast Asia. Furthermore, this will further positively affect the peace of human beings. The first step is believed to be the end-of-war declaration.” [7]
Since language is like an organism, new words are born, grow and die depending on the environment. Therefore, the less people communicate with each other, the thicker the language barrier becomes, which makes them difficult to understand. The languages of North and South Korea are in such environment. Now, in order to restore and coexist the linguistic community of the two Koreas, it is necessary to move from a division of death to a peace of coexistance. The restoration and well-being of the linguistic community can only be achieved through continuous exchange and peace between the two Koreas. The steps are expected to start from Hallasan in Jeju and continue to Baekdusan in North Korea.
[1] Definition of ① and ②of Article 2. North and South Korea Joint Compling committee of Gyeoremal Keunsajeon.
[2] Currently, the National Institute of Korean Language transfers the North Korean and dialects in the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫ to ≪WoorimalSaem≫-Open Korean Dictionary, so the word does not appear in the ≪Standard Korean Language Dictionary≫.
[3] Kang Ja-sook’s oral recording (Bongseong-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si) 2006 Summer.
[4] ‘Jwaegi’ means a shape made by kneading the powder then clenching it with hands.
[5] ‘Shidari’ is a fermented drink mixed with yeast in a hoarse rice. According to the region, it is also called ‘Shundari’.
[6] PEN International-Korean Centre, The Korean Writers Association, Korean Novelist Association, Society of Korean Poets, Writers Association of Korea.
[7] ‘Writers’ Actions for the End-of-war Declaration and Peace Agreement’ (Jo Yong-ho, <5 Literature Organizations’ ‘Writers’ Actions for the end-of-war Declaration and a Peace Agreement’> UPI, http://www.upinews.kr/newsView/upi202010290077).
References
North and South Korea Joint Compling committee of Gyeoremal KeunsaJeon (2017), ≪North and South Korean Everyday Terms at a Glance≫, Hangukmunhwasa
Kwak Chung-gu, Park Jin-hyeok (2010), ≪North Korean Dialect in Literature≫, Geulnourim.
National Institute of Korean Language, ≪Standard Korean Dictionary≫ (https://stdict.korean.go.kr/main/main.do).
National Institute of Korean Language,≪WooriMalSaem≫ (https://opendict.korean.go.kr/main).
Kim Soon-ja (2010), ≪Dolgakdolgak Minyeong Sameon Urin neurgeotju.≫ Korean Language Research Institute, Jeju National University
Nam Kwang-woo (1997), ≪Dictionary of Old Korean≫, Gyohaksa.
Cho Yong-ho, <5 Literary Organizations… Writer’s Action for the End-of-war Declaration and Peace Agreement>
(UPI, http://www.upinews.kr/newsView/upi202010290077)
About the author
Kim Soonja: Received B.A. from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Jeju National University, M.A.&Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Jeju National University. She has served as a lecturer at Jeju National University and a researcher at the Korean Language Research Institute at Jeju National University. She is currently the Director of Center for Jeju Studies, and a senior commuttee member at the Jeju Study Research Institute in Jeju Research Institute.
Main publications
≪Haenyeo, Fisherman, Jeju Traditional Liquors – Everyday Language of Jeju≫, ≪Jeju Dialect in Literature≫ (coauthorship), ≪Research on the Vocabulary of Jeju Dialect≫, ≪The Life and Language of the Jeju People≫ ≪Language Geography of the Jeju Dialect≫, ≪Guide to Jeju Language≫ (coauthorship), ≪Dictionary of Using Basic Vocabulary of Jejueo≫ (coauthorship)