권선징악

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 勸善懲惡 (“recommending good and punishing evil”). See Chinese 懲惡勸善／惩恶劝善 (chéng'èquànshàn) for the Classical source.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈkwɘ(ː)nsʰʌ̹ɲd͡ʑiŋa̠k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [권(ː)선징악]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gwonseonjing'ak
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gwonseonjing'ag
McCune–Reischauer?	kwŏnsŏnjingak
Yale Romanization?	kwēnsen.cingak

Noun

권선징악 • (gwonseonjing'ak) (hanja 勸善懲惡)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) rewarding the good and punishing the wicked

   Synonym: (in Catholic contexts) 상선벌악(賞善罰惡) (sangseonbeorak)

Usage notes

• Especially commonly used in literary studies, in reference to morality tales.

Related terms

• 권악징선 (勸惡懲善, gwonakjingseon)