복불복

Korean

Etymology

    Sino-Korean word from 福 (“fortune”) + 不福 (“misfortune”).

    Pronunciation

    • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [po̞k̚p͈uɭbo̞k̚]
    • Phonetic hangul: [복뿔복]
    Romanizations
    Revised Romanization?bokbulbok
    Revised Romanization (translit.)?bogbulbog
    McCune–Reischauer?pokpulbok
    Yale Romanization?pokpul.pok

    Noun

    복불복 • (bokbulbok) (hanja 福不福)

    1. a crapshoot; an uncertain or random venture or situation whose outcome is determined by luck
      코로나 감염은 복불복이라는 생각이 사회에 만연하면 방역에 지장이 생길 것이다.
      Korona gamyeom-eun bokbulbog-iraneun saenggag-i sahoe-e manyeonhamyeon bang'yeog-e jijan-g'i saenggil geos-ida.
      If the notion that being infected by the coronavirus is simply out of bad luck is pervasive in society, this will be problematic for anti-epidemic measures.
    2. (entertainment) a game or program based solely on luck, especially in reality TV
    3. (original meaning) the unpredictability of human destiny
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