[TALKING TRENDS] 'Beop bless you'

Seo Jeong-min
The author is a senior reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo

In the first episode of “Café Minamdang,” an ongoing KBS TV series, Han Jae-hee, the new team leader of the serious crime division of the Yohae-dong Police Station, rushes to a crime scene to catch a criminal even without introducing herself to her team members. The criminal desperately tries to flee but he ends up being knocked down by Han’s kick. While she puts handcuffs on the criminal, she says, “You’re lucky that you’re alive. Beop bless you.”

“Beop bless you” is a new phrase that originates from “God Bless you.” It is a combination of “beop,” a Chinese character that means law, and the verb “bless,” meaning “the law saved you.” To elaborate more, let me explain with the scene I mentioned above. In it, lieutenant Han would probably say to herself, “You bastard, I’m keeping you alive because I have to observe the law as a detective. Otherwise, you’d already be dead.”

Young people often use the phrase on social media to let others know that they are very upset and irritated. It can also be used to indirectly say “I’ll quell my anger and forgive you this time.”

Every morning when I read news articles that feature incidents and accidents, I get resentful. We can’t even count the number of people who manage to get around the law with their money and power. With all these incidents, curse words just come out of my mouth. But I try to calm down, hoping there will be more people who are eager to reveal the truth and deliver justice.

BY SEO JEONG-MIN [meantree@joongang.co.kr]