Useful Expressions to Remember When Driving in Korea (Part 1)

1. 길치에요 (I have a bad sense of direction.)

Something-치” means that you are bad at it.

For example, if you introduce yourself as “음 (tone) 치,” you are saying that you are tone deaf.

If you say that you are “몸 (body) 치,” that means that you are not good at dancing.

길 means way or direction, so “길치에요” means that someone has a bad sense of direction.

2. 타이어에 펑크가 났어요. (I have a flat tire.)

This can be literally translated to, “my tire has a punk.” This phrase is an example of Koreans using Konglish.

3. 문콕 (문: door/ 콕: “kok” the sound of clashing)

I admit, the parking spaces in Korea are not very large. You should be extra careful when opening your car door, so you don’t accidentally hit the car parked next to you. An “accident” like this is called “문콕.” I hope you never find yourself in this kind of situation.

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