I will carry the gun.

Hi all. I am back. :) Let me ask you first. Is there a piece of good news yet? I stay away from the TV these days because I can't handle all those bad news, especially the graphics of violence and disasters. My heart starts aching when I see them. I am grateful that I am not in the middle of any of those. I feel for those who are. If you are getting sick of the bad news, just turn the TV off and join me who is selfishly hoping all the problems would go away while I have been away from the TV. But problems just don't go away. Things get done or fixed when someone takes a responsibility and takes a lead. It is a question of who carries the gun.


I will carry the gun and take the lead.
제가 총대 메겠습니다.


제가, jaega, I (polite)
총대, chongdae, body of a rifle
메겠습니다, maegetsumnida, will carry on the shoulder


제가 총대 메겠습니다.
jaega chongdae maegetsumnida.


The expression, "총대 메다", started being used during the Korean War. After the war started, there were a lot of young students who just turned up to join the army. They were deployed with little or no trainings. Not only did they have no trainings but also there were not enough guns for them. So they made small groups of five or six and each group had only one gun. Each group had to pick one person to carry the gun. The 총대 메는 사람(person) was responsible to lead and protect the rest of the members until he dies. Once the 총대 메는 사람 dies, the next person would pick up the gun and keep fighting. Sounds horrendous, but that is what happened. Being a leader meant being a target for the enemy. It would have required a lot of courage to stand up and protect the lives of others by sacrificing his own. It was a hard thing and still is. And guess what. True leaders are so rare. :(

Comments

  1. khairshapieeMarch 12, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    i've question about
    - 실레지만
    - 실례지만
    what both different?

    카에르

    ReplyDelete
  2. MinMarch 14, 2011 at 12:26 AM

    Hi 카에르,
    The first one is a spelling error. 실레 is not a word at all. :)
    Please use the second one. :)
    Min

    ReplyDelete
  3. 하사라March 22, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    I don't know whether to watch tv or not...
    Half the channels are down b/c of the disasters and the other half only have bad news and the same commercials on repeat.
    TV is so depressing in Tokyo, but I'm worried about the continuous earthquakes and the nuclear situation... so I have to keep watching =(
    I recommend you don't watch if you don't have to. It's too much to take in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MinMarch 23, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    Hi 河 沙浪,
    I do not watch TV much. Instead of being shocked by the images on TV, I try to spend time to pray for Japan. Reading from the internet is enough for me..
    You and everyone in Japan have my heart and prayers.
    Please take care.

    ReplyDelete

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