Ellen Yeong Gyeong Son

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Define : Yeot


2018  
 





Yeot in Korean,

is commonly used as a vulgar word in modern day South Korea. The National Institute of Korean Language defines 

“feeding yeot”


as causing someone trouble through deception.

                 Correspondingly, to 

“eat yeot”


                 is to be fooled.

“He ate yeot,”


                                      means “he was tricked.”



Most South Koreans equate “eat yeot” with the
English expression,

“fuck you”

             
             both equate to a raised middle finger in their
             respective languages.

While the etymology of this profanity is obscure,
various explanations associated with it reflect
interesting aspects of Korean society.

In the later years of the Joseon period (1392-1897),
troupes of male entertainers that travelled around
the country for both performance and prostitution
used the word yeot to refer to female genitalia. And
“eat yeot” meant “eat pussy,” or “fuck a woman.”
Young, pretty men in such troupes were often
associated with homosexuality and an expression
urging sex with a woman may have functioned as
an insult in their circles.


Yeot definition source





1


1   Define : Yeot. 2017. Scratched Cellophane, Sewing Thread, and PVC Vinyl Sheets. 45cm

x 40cm



Photo credit: Recreate & Guy Grabowsky