The Tale of Two Towels

Korean has two different words for “towel.” The 수건 (sugeon) is the towel you use for your hands or cleaning tables, while the 걸레 (gollae) is for things like cleaning your feet or the floor.

One of the interesting things about language and culture is the way the two interact – in a sense, you can’t understand one without also studying the other. Now, in this case the etymology is a bit beyond me, but being married to a Korean means there are practical implications in the difference.

For example, if I throw my bath towel on the floor to dry my feet when I get out of the shower, I get yelled at. If I use the wrong towel to wipe a table, I get yelled at. If I clean up a spill with whatever’s handy – you guessed it – I get yelled at.

I guess my point is, even though English doesn’t differentiate between types of towels (besides Mom and her “guest towels”), if you’re going to be married to someone from a different culture, it pays to be sensitive to these kinds of things.