Korean Greeting Card: 부자 되세요 Be rich!

I was in Kyobo Bookstore and saw this greeting card nuzzled in amongst the Christmas cards. On the front is a 3d gold envelope bursting with mini 50,000 won banknotes – not real ones unfortunately…

The greeting says 부자되세요 (puja tae-se-yo) which means “Good luck.‘ But the literal translation is something like ‘please become rich‘.

puja tae-se-yo is a very common greeting. When we moved into this apartment the security guard said it to us. It’s the frank and unapologetic reference to money emphasised by the wads of cash on the front of the card  that made me giggle when I first saw it. The greeting sounds a bit odd to me in English, but Mr. Kim said he would be ‘absolutely delighted’ to receive this card. 

So I decided to find out when and where this greeting originates from…

ORIGIN OF THE GREETING ‘BE RICH’

According to this reference from the dictionary of popular culture, the expression ‘be rich’ was made popular by a 2002 advert by a credit card company.

After the ‘IMF crisis’ of 1997 in Korea, when the country almost went bankrupt, people started to worry about their financial stability. So the  focus turned to saving money.

Books on investment techniques became very popular and often reached the best seller lists. And there were even specific amounts of money that were set as saving goals to achieve – such as 1 billion won. (10억 원).

The credit card companies picked up on this interest in finance and used the expression ‘be rich’ in their advertising.

The catchphrase caught on and is now used in everyday life as a greeting to wish others well. And it’s often said to someone who is opening a new business.

So although the greeting refers directly to money, it simply means Good Luck! Live Well!