묵념

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 默念, from 默 (“silent”) + 念 (“thought”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [muŋɲʌ̹m]
• Phonetic hangul: [뭉념]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	mungnyeom
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	mugnyeom
McCune–Reischauer?	mungnyŏm
Yale Romanization?	muknyem

Noun

묵념 • (mungnyeom) (hanja 默念)

1. silent contemplation, a moment of silence (often in commemoration)
   • 2020, 이장욱 [ijang'uk], “유명한 정희 [yumyeonghan jeonghui]”, in 창작과 비평 [changjakgwa bipyeong], volume 48, pages 217—242:

     "나는 구름에 대해 묵념을 한 적도 있고 우리 집 마당의 사철나무에 대해 묵념을 한 적도 있고 배가 터진 비둘기 시신 앞에서도……" […] 나도 알고는 있었다. 묵념이란 무언가를 깊이 생각하고 추모하는 행위라는 걸. 죽은 사람이라든가 순국선열이라든가 역사적인 위인이라든가 그런 것을. 하지만 구름이라든가 사철나무라든가 비둘기 같은 것을 향해 묵념을 한다는 것은 무슨 뜻일까?

     Na-neun gureum-e daehae mungnyeom-eul han jeok-do itgo uri jip madang-ui sacheollamu-e daehae mungnyeom-eul han jeok-do itgo bae-ga teojin bidulgi sisin apeseodo…… [ … ] na-do algo-neun isseotda. Mungnyeomiran mueon'ga-reul gipi saenggakhago chumohaneun haeng'wi-raneun geol. Jugeun saram-iradeun'ga sun'gukseonyeor-iradeun'ga yeoksajeog-in wiin-iradeun'ga geureon geoseul. hajiman gureum-iradeun'ga sacheollamuradeun'ga bidulgi gateun geos-eul hyanghae mungnyeom-eul handaneun geos-eun museun tteus-ilkka?

     "I've observed a moment of silence for a cloud, and I've observed a moment of silence for the evergreen spindle in my yard, and for the corpse of the pigeon with its guts spilled out..." […] I knew also that a moment of silence is an act of thinking on something deeply, of commemorating it. That it is meant for someone dead, or for the martyrs of the nation, or for someone like a historical hero. But what did it mean to observe a moment of silence for a cloud, for a spindle, or for something like a pigeon?

Derived terms

• 묵념하다 (默念—, mungnyeomhada, “to contemplate silently, to observe a moment of silence”)