둔갑

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 遁甲 (“shapeshifting”). The word (especially in the figurative senses) became increasingly more common beginning in the 1960s.

Pronunciation

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

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	dun'gap
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	dungab
McCune–Reischauer?	tun'gap
Yale Romanization?	twūnkap

Noun

둔갑 • (dun'gap) (hanja 遁甲)

1. shapeshifting

   Synonym: 변신(變身) (byeonsin)

   • c. 1766, Hong Daeyong, 乙(을)丙(병)燕(연)行(ᄒᆡᆼ)錄(녹) [Beijing Travelogue of the Eulbyeong Year], volume 14:

     손오병법은 비록 ᄡᅡ홈의 ᄡᅳ지 아니ᄒᆞ여도 됴흔 말이 만흐니 이ᄅᆞᆯ ᄇᆞ리고 뉵임과 둔갑을 됴하ᄒᆞ믄 ᄯᅩᄒᆞᆫ 과도ᄒᆞᆫ 일이니라

     Sonobyeongbeob-eun birok ssahom-ui sseuji anihayeodo dyoheun mar-i manheuni i-reul barigo nyugim-gwa dun'gab-eul dyohaha-meun ttohan gwadohan ir-inira

     Even if you will not use it in war, The Art of War of Sun Wu [Sun Tzu] contains many good words. To abandon it, and to favor [books about] fortune-telling and shapeshifting, would again be an excessive thing.

2. (by extension) transformation

   Synonym: 변신(變身) (byeonsin)

   • 2014 March 4, “안녕, 엄마의 밥상 [annyeong, eommaui bapsang]”, in Yeonbyeon Ilbo‎^[1], archived from the original on 15 May 2021:

     그 시절 그 밥상은 어느 고물장수에게 팔려가 다른 몸으로 둔갑했을지도 모르는 일이다.

     Geu sijeol geu bapsang-eun eoneu gomuljangsu-ege pallyeoga dareun mom-euro dun'gaphaesseuljido moreuneun ir-ida.

     That table from those days might gotten sold to some junk shop owner and become transformed into something else.

3. (by extension) making something seem like something it is not

   가해자를 피해자로 둔갑시키고 피해자를 가해자로 둔갑시키는 언론의 기만적 행태를 규탄합니다.

   Gahaeja-reul pihaeja-ro dun'gapsikigo pihaeja-reul gahaeja-ro dun'gapsikineun eollon-ui gimanjeok haengtae-reul gyutanhamnida.

   We condemn the deceitful behavior of the media that makes perpetrators appear to be victims and victims appear to be perpetrators.

Derived terms

(verbs)

• 둔갑되다 (dun'gapdoeda, “to look like something it is not”)
• 둔갑시키다 (dun'gapsikida, “to cause to look like something it is not”)
• 둔갑하다 (dun'gaphada, “to shapeshift, to look like something it is not”)

 

(nouns)

• 기문둔갑(奇門遁甲) (gimundun'gap, “shapeshifting”)
• 둔갑법(遁甲法) (dun'gapbeop, “shapeshifting”)
• 둔갑술(遁甲術) (dun'gapsul, “shapeshifting”)
• 둔갑장신(遁甲藏身) (dun'gapjangsin, “shapeshifting”)