번역되지 않는 말 · Hard to translate
한 han
literally “a grief that stays (恨)”
a sorrow that settled in and never quite left
한 is sorrow that has settled in for good: a wish life never granted, a wrong never put right, carried for years rather than felt for a day. It is often written up as a national trait, which is too big a job for one word; in everyday speech it is personal and plain. English has grief, regret and resentment, and 한 sits somewhere between all three.
The closest English
“regret”
Regret looks back at your own choice. 한 is often about what life did not allow.
“resentment”
Resentment points at someone. 한 can have no one to blame.
“sorrow”
Sorrow can pass. 한 is the kind that stays.
In a sentence
어릴 때 공부를 못 한 게 평생 한이 됐대요.
She says never getting to study as a child became a 한 she carried all her life.
Sori says it
Sori
한은 슬픔보다 오래 남는 마음이에요.
한 is a feeling that stays longer than sadness.