마루타

Korean

Etymology

From Japanese 丸太 (maruta, “wooden log”), which was used by Unit 731 during World War II to euphemistically refer to the test subjects of their lethal human experiments.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ma̠ɾutʰa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [마루타]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	maruta
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	maluta
McCune–Reischauer?	marut'a
Yale Romanization?	malwu.tha

Noun

마루타 • (maruta)

1. (slang) human test subject, guinea pig

   마루타 알바

   maruta alba

   part-time job as a medical test subject

   야, 새 치료제 제일 먼저 받으면 딴 사람들 마루타가 되는 거야.

   ya, sae chiryoje jeil meonjeo badeumyeon ttan saram-deul maruta-ga doeneun geo-ya.

   Look, if you get the new treatment first, you'll end up as guinea pigs for the rest.

   • 1993, “북한 이것이 궁금하다 김일성의 건강 비법 [bukhan igeosi gunggeumhada gimilseong'ui geon'gang bibeop]”, in JoongAng Ilbo‎^[1]:

     80세 이상 남녀 20명씩을 「장수 마루타」로 뽑아 약재 등을 먹게 한 뒤 효능이 입증되면 김에게 투약하고 있다.

     Palsip se isang namnyeo seumu myeong-ssig-eul ‘jangsu maruta’-ro ppoba yakjae deung-eul meokge han dwi hyoneung-i ipjeungdoemyeon Gim-ege tuyakhago itda.

     Twenty men and women each of over eighty years of age who are selected as "longevity guinea pigs" are made to eat medicines, etc., and if [the medicine's] efficacy is demonstrated, it is given to Kim [Il-sung, then leader of North Korea].