Happy New Year! The new year has officially begun.  I hope 2023 will be extraordinary for everyone!

Since we just started the new year, I think now is the perfect time to introduce you to this Korean idiom, “액땜.”

This idiom can be used if a bad thing happens especially before the start of something new, like the beginning of a new year, a semester, or vacation.

액땜 means, “If you are experiencing something bad now, you are lucky because that bad thing will prevent something worse from happening in the future.”

For example, if you lost your wallet before you went on a trip and you had to replace your driver’s license and credit card. Then people around you might say, “액땜했어,” meaning, “the bad luck you just had will prevent something from going wrong while you travel.”

In the word “액땜하다,” “the bad thing” is considered a “vaccination.”

I wonder if your culture has a similar expression. If so, leave a comment below!