
It is dark beneath the lamp.
— Korean proverb; individual author and earliest origin unknown
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THE LIBRARY
Shared wisdom, with origins and meanings explored.

It is dark beneath the lamp.

Tap even a stone bridge before crossing.

Eat a chicken and present a duck's foot.

Swallow what is sweet and spit out what is bitter.

Eating rice cake while lying down.

Birds hear daytime words; mice hear nighttime words.

Eat the pheasant and its eggs.

A chicken instead of a pheasant.

A long tail gets stepped on.

A pear falls just as the crow takes flight.

Even Mount Geumgang comes after a meal.

A rice cake in a picture.

Would a carefully built tower collapse?

After hardship comes joy.

A shrimp's back breaks in a fight between whales.

A dragon rises from a small stream.

The frog forgets its tadpole days.

At the same price, choose the scarlet skirt.