Day 130: Fixing Anachronisms in a Drama Script

Dialogue

♪ Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

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1. 1

   A 유나 작가님, 3회 세종 장면 원고 읽어 봤어요. 장면은 좋은데 걸리는 데가 좀 있어요.

   Yuna jakganim, 3hoe Sejong jangmyeon wongo ilgeo bwasseoyo. Jangmyeoneun joeunde geollineun dega jom isseoyo.

   Yuna, I've read your script for the King Sejong scene in episode three. The scene is good, but a few things snag.

   Line 1
2. 2

   B 네, 선생님. 각오하고 왔어요. 어디가 제일 문제예요?

   Ne, seonsaengnim. Gagohago wasseoyo. Eodiga jeil munjeyeyo?

   Yes, I came prepared for this. What's the biggest problem?

   Line 2
3. 3

   A 첫 줄부터요. 임금이 '짐이 오늘 피곤하구나' 하잖아요. 조선 임금은 스스로를 '짐'이라고 하지 않았어요. '과인'이라고 했죠.

   Cheot julbuteoyo. Imgeumi 'jimi oneul pigonhaguna' hajanayo. Joseon imgeumeun seuseuroreul 'jim'irago haji anasseoyo. 'Gwain'irago haetjyo.

   The very first line. The king says, "We are weary today." Joseon kings didn't use the imperial "We." They called themselves "gwain," this humble one.

   Line 3
4. 4

   B 그래도 시청자들한테는 '짐'이 더 익숙해요. 중국 사극에서 많이 들었거든요. '과인'은 좀 낯설지 않을까요?

   Geuraedo sicheongjadeulhanteneun 'jim'i deo iksukaeyo. Jungguk sageugeseo mani deureotgeodeunyo. 'Gwain'eun jom natseolji aneulkkayo?

   But viewers are more used to the imperial "We." They've heard it a lot in Chinese period dramas. Won't "gwain" sound a bit strange?

   Line 4
5. 5

   A '짐'은 황제가 쓰는 말이에요. 세종이 그 말을 쓰면 명나라 황제와 맞먹겠다는 뜻이 돼요. 제대로 된 호칭이라야 시청자가 믿어요.

   'Jim'eun hwangjega sseuneun marieyo. Sejongi geu mareul sseumyeon Myeongnara hwangjewa manmeokgetdaneun tteusi dwaeyo. Jedaero doen hochingiraya sicheongjaga mideoyo.

   The imperial "We" is for emperors. If Sejong used it, it would mean he was putting himself on a par with the Ming emperor. Viewers only believe it when the forms of address are right.

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6. 6

   B 알겠어요. '과인'으로 고칠게요. 다음은요?

   Algesseoyo. 'Gwain'euro gochilgeyo. Daeumeunyo?

   Understood. I'll change it to "gwain." What's next?

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7. 7

   A 수라상에 빨간 배추김치가 올라가 있죠. 고추는 임진왜란 무렵에야 들어왔다고 봐요. 세종 때 김치는 빨갛지 않았어요.

   Surasange ppalgan baechugimchiga ollaga itjyo. Gochuneun Imjinwaeran muryeobeya deureowatdago bwayo. Sejong ttae gimchineun ppalgachi anasseoyo.

   There's red cabbage kimchi on the royal table. Chili peppers are thought to have come in only around the time of the Japanese invasions in the 1590s. Kimchi in Sejong's day wasn't red.

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8. 8

   B 그건 정말 몰랐어요. 근데 하얀 김치를 올리면 시청자들이 김치인 줄 알까요? 그냥 물에 담근 채소처럼 보일 텐데요.

   Geugeon jeongmal mollasseoyo. Geunde hayan gimchireul ollimyeon sicheongjadeuri gimchiin jul alkkayo? Geunyang mure damgeun chaesocheoreom boil tendeyo.

   I really didn't know that. But if we put white kimchi on the table, will viewers even know it's kimchi? It'll just look like vegetables sitting in water.

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9. 9

   A 그래서 소품팀이랑 상의해야지요. 동치미처럼 잘 알려진 걸로 하면 돼요. 정확하되 한눈에 알아볼 수 있게요.

   Geuraeseo sopumtimirang sanguihaeyajiyo. Dongchimicheoreom jal allyeojin geollo hamyeon dwaeyo. Jeonghwakadoe hannune arabol su itgeyo.

   That's why we talk to the props team. Go with something everyone knows, like dongchimi. Accurate, but recognisable at a glance.

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10. 10

    B 선생님, 솔직히 말씀드릴게요. 고증을 다 따질라치면 대사를 한 줄도 못 써요. 한 줄 쓸 때마다 사전을 뒤져야 하잖아요.

    Seonsaengnim, soljiki malsseumdeurilgeyo. Gojeungeul da ttajillachimyeon daesareul han juldo mot sseoyo. Han jul sseul ttaemada sajeoneul dwijyeoya hajanayo.

    Can I be honest? If I tried to check every historical detail, I couldn't write a single line. I'd be digging through reference books every time I wrote a line.

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11. 11

    A 다 따지라는 게 아니에요. 대사는 요즘 사람이 알아듣게 써도 돼요. 대신 호칭, 소품, 제도 같은 뼈대는 틀리면 안 돼요.

    Da ttajiraneun ge anieyo. Daesaneun yojeum sarami aradeutge sseodo dwaeyo. Daesin hoching, sopum, jedo gateun ppyeodaeneun teullimyeon an dwaeyo.

    I'm not saying check everything. The dialogue can be written so people today understand it. But the framework - forms of address, props, institutions - that can't be wrong.

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12. 12

    B 대사는 자유롭게 쓰고, 뼈대는 정확하게 지키고요. 그건 해 볼 만하네요.

    Daesaneun jayuropge sseugo, ppyeodaeneun jeonghwakage jikigoyo. Geugeon hae bol manhaneyo.

    Free with the dialogue, precise with the framework. That I can manage.

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13. 13

    A 하나 더 있어요. 내관이 마당에서 담배를 피우는 장면이요. 담배는 세종 때부터 이백 년 가까이 지나서야 들어왔어요.

    Hana deo isseoyo. Naegwani madangeseo dambaereul piuneun jangmyeoniyo. Dambaeneun Sejong ttaebuteo ibaek nyeon gakkai jinaseoya deureowasseoyo.

    One more thing. The scene where a eunuch smokes in the courtyard. Tobacco didn't arrive until nearly two hundred years after Sejong.

    Line 13
14. 14

    B 아, 그건 긴장감 때문에 넣은 건데요. 초조할 때 손에 뭔가 쥐고 있어야 할 것 같아서요.

    A, geugeon ginjanggam ttaemune neoeun geondeyo. Chojohal ttae sone mwonga jwigo isseoya hal geot gataseoyo.

    Oh, I put that in for tension. I felt he needed something in his hands when he's nervous.

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15. 15

    A 그 마음은 알아요. 그럼 부채를 쥐여 주면 어때요? 부채를 폈다 접었다 하면 초조한 마음이 다 보여요.

    Geu maeumeun arayo. Geureom buchaereul jwiyeo jumyeon eottaeyo? Buchaereul pyeotda jeobeotda hamyeon chojohan maeumi da boyeoyo.

    I understand. Then how about putting a fan in his hands? Opening and closing a fan shows his nerves perfectly.

    Line 15
16. 16

    B 오, 그게 더 좋네요. 담배보다 훨씬 그 시대 같아요. 근데 요즘 시청자들이 그렇게까지 신경 쓸까요?

    O, geuge deo jonneyo. Dambaeboda hwolssin geu sidae gatayo. Geunde yojeum sicheongjadeuri geureokekkaji singyeong sseulkkayo?

    Oh, that's better. Much more of the period than a cigarette. But do viewers these days really care that much?

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17. 17

    A 요즘 시청자들이 제일 무서워요. 방송이 끝나기도 전에 게시판에 '세종 때 고추 없었음' 하고 올라와요. 몇 년 전에 고증 논란으로 두 회 만에 막을 내린 드라마도 있었잖아요.

    Yojeum sicheongjadeuri jeil museowoyo. Bangsongi kkeunnagido jeone gesipane 'Sejong ttae gochu eopseosseum' hago ollawayo. Myeot nyeon jeone gojeung nollaneuro du hoe mane mageul naerin deuramado isseotjanayo.

    Viewers these days are the scariest of all. Before the episode's even over, someone posts "There were no chili peppers under Sejong" on the message board. A few years ago there was even a drama pulled after two episodes over historical accuracy.

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18. 18

    B 맞아요, 그 일은 기억나요. 작가들 사이에서는 아직도 악몽처럼 얘기해요.

    Majayo, geu ireun gieongnayo. Jakgadeul saieseoneun ajikdo angmongcheoreom yaegihaeyo.

    Right, I remember that. Writers still talk about it like a nightmare.

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19. 19

    A 그렇다고 겁먹을 필요는 없어요. 틀린 걸 고치는 게 제 일이고, 사람을 살아 있게 쓰는 건 작가님 일이니까요.

    Geureotago geommeogeul piryoneun eopseoyo. Teullin geol gochineun ge je irigo, sarameul sara itge sseuneun geon jakganim irinikkayo.

    That doesn't mean you should be scared. Fixing mistakes is my job, and making people come alive on the page is yours.

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20. 20

    B 그럼 임금이 우는 장면은 그대로 둬도 될까요? 조선 임금이 신하들 앞에서 울었을까 싶어서 좀 걱정됐거든요.

    Geureom imgeumi uneun jangmyeoneun geudaero dwodo doelkkayo? Joseon imgeumi sinhadeul apeseo ureosseulkka sipeoseo jom geokjeongdwaetgeodeunyo.

    Then can I leave the scene where the king cries? I was a bit worried about whether a Joseon king would have cried in front of his ministers.

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21. 21

    A 임금이 신하들 앞에서 눈물을 보였다는 기록은 실록에 여러 번 나와요. 흉년에 백성이 굶는다는 보고를 듣고 수라를 줄인 것도 사실이고요. 그 장면은 오히려 살리세요.

    Imgeumi sinhadeul apeseo nunmureul boyeotdaneun girogeun silloge yeoreo beon nawayo. Hyungnyeone baekseongi gumneundaneun bogoreul deutgo Surareul jurin geotdo sasirigoyo. Geu jangmyeoneun ohiryeo salliseyo.

    The Annals record kings shedding tears before their ministers more than once. And it's true that kings cut back on their own meals when they heard the people were starving in a famine. Keep that scene, by all means.

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22. 22

    B 다행이에요. 제가 제일 공들인 장면이거든요. 그럼 '짐' 고치고, 김치 바꾸고, 담배 빼고 부채 넣고요.

    Dahaengieyo. Jega jeil gongdeurin jangmyeonigeodeunyo. Geureom 'jim' gochigo, gimchi bakkugo, dambae ppaego buchae neokoyo.

    What a relief. That's the scene I worked hardest on. So: fix "We," swap the kimchi, cut the cigarette and add a fan.

    Line 22
23. 23

    A 그리고 이거요. 신하가 '전하, 오케이입니다' 하는 부분이요. 이건 설마 진짜로 쓴 건 아니죠?

    Geurigo igeoyo. Sinhaga 'jeonha, okeiimnida' haneun bubuniyo. Igeon seolma jinjjaro sseun geon anijyo?

    And this. The part where a minister says, "Your Majesty, it's OK." You didn't actually mean that one, did you?

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24. 24

    B 아, 그건 초고에 장난으로 써 놓은 건데 깜빡하고 안 지웠네요. 죄송해요.

    A, geugeon chogoe jangnaneuro sseo noeun geonde kkamppakago an jiwonneyo. Joesonghaeyo.

    Oh, I wrote that as a joke in the first draft and forgot to delete it. Sorry.

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25. 25

    A 다행이네요. 고증이고 뭐고 심장이 멎는 줄 알았어요. 수정본 나오면 다시 봐요.

    Dahaengineyo. Gojeungigo mwogo simjangi meonneun jul arasseoyo. Sujeongbon naomyeon dasi bwayo.

    Thank goodness. Forget historical accuracy - I thought my heart would stop. Let's look again once the revision's ready.

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26. 26

    B 네, 선생님. 이번엔 사전을 옆에 두고 쓸게요. '과인'부터요.

    Ne, seonsaengnim. Ibeonen sajeoneul yeope dugo sseulgeyo. 'Gwain'buteoyo.

    Will do. This time I'll write with the reference books beside me. Starting with "gwain."

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