Meaning of North Korean | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A citizen or resident of North Korea.
2. The version of Korean spoken in North Korea.
   rare

Equivalents

Examples

“Average North Koreans had little time for the news except maybe those enjoying cushy jobs in Pyeongyang.”

“When you came back you sat in the dark and when someone asked you to speak North Korean, or Chinese, you would do it in your head while saying, "I forgot all that over there."”

“As the Orientals gradually worked into combat it became necessary to have a separate controller to speak North Korean and Chinese.”

““He was clearly upset, but what was even more interesting was that he didn’t look North Korean, he looked American.” / American? That was definitely unusual. Most Americans didn’t speak North Korean, and those who were fluent in another language gravitated toward Spanish, French, Italian, and even Russian. / Not a dialect from North Korea. / “And you’re sure about that,” she said, trying to wrap her mind around the information. / “Yeah.” He shrugged. “Could be a coincidence.” / “You know it’s not.” Sun didn’t believe in them. Especially not an American who could speak North Korean.”

“Chunmi (aged twenty-six) had lived in South Korea for ten years with her parents who, having arrived in the country in their fifties, had not changed how they spoke. She described how a colleague of her father had heard him speak “North Korean” (pukhan-mal), and promptly reported him to the authorities because they thought he was an illegal immigrant. “If you don't change how you talk, they will think you are Chinese,” she said.”

CEFR level