Kung Fu Hustle

One of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen was "Shaolin Soccer," starring Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow. It was entertaining, but its corniness just made me cringe, especially toward the end when the capabilities of CGI overtook all bounds of common sense.


Kung Fu Hustle is about the same. Produced and directed by, and starring, Stephen Chow, this movie is just as silly. The only reason I bring it up here is to show the hanja for kung fu, which I thought was interesting, and the way they translated the title.

Korea imported the word kung fu from Chinese, but it's pronounced "kong bu" (콩부). For the title for this movie, however, they transliterated the English word, rendering it into "kung pu." Why they chose to transliterate the already transliterated English word I don't know, but it's interesting to see the way Korea's language is shaped by the use of English. Just thought I'd share.