강원도 포수

Korean

Etymology

Literally "Gangwon poacher". Gangwon Province is very mountainous, and poachers sent to hunt tigers there were sometimes lost in the mountains and never found again.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ka̠ŋwʌ̹ndo̞ pʰo̞(ː)sʰu]
Phonetic hangul: [강원도 포(ː)수]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	Gang'wondo posu
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	Gang'wondo posu
McCune–Reischauer^?	Kangwŏndo p'osu
Yale Romanization^?	kangwento phōswu

Noun

강원도 포수 • (Gang'wondo posu) (hanja 江原道砲手)

(idiomatic) someone sent on an errand who fails to return even after a long time
Synonym: 함흥차사(咸興差使) (hamheungchasa)