Adventures in Korean English

A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids out for some 'quality' time because my wife was recovering from minor surgery in a Suwon hospital on the outskirts of Seoul. We visited her first, staying long enough for my five-year-old son, En-Uk Sequoya, to grow bored and begin wreaking havoc. I left with him and my eight-year-old daughter, Sa-Rah Ahyoga, so that my wife could recuperate in peace.

On the way down the street, we came upon a fast-food place for chicken. Sa-Rah and En-Uk were hungry, so I treated them to a meal, followed by ice cream in a nearby mall. As we were eating our dessert, I noticed a young Korean woman walk by in a sweatsuit. Emblazoned on the back of her sweatshirt, in beautiful cursive script, was:

"Excreting."

I couldn't but laugh, then had to explain myself to Sa-Rah. She learned a new word and laughed as well. I assume that "exciting" was intended. But it felt more like "excruciating."