IdiomBody & Senses
Korean
Korean발 벗고 나서다 (bal beotgo naseoda)
Meaning: To throw yourself into helping wholeheartedly.
Literally: To step forward with bare feet
Example: “홍수가 나자 온 마을 사람들이 발 벗고 나서서 도왔다.” — When the flood hit, the whole village bent over backwards to help.
English equivalent: To bend over backwards
Equivalents in other languages
Romanian: A se face luntre și punte Literally: To make oneself boat and bridge
English: bend over backwards
Origin: Taking off one's shoes to step forward is getting ready to wade straight in. The phrase means throwing oneself wholeheartedly into helping. No particular story lies behind it.
More Korean idioms
- 똥 묻은 개가 겨 묻은 개 나무란다 (Ttong mudeun gaega gyeo mudeun gae namuranda) Someone with a bigger fault criticizes another person's smaller one.
- 눈에 콩깍지가 씌다 (nun-e kongkkakjiga sseuida) To be blinded by love.
- 식은 죽 먹기 (Sigeun juk meokgi) A piece of cake; very easy to do.
- 우물 안 개구리 (Umul an gaeguri) Someone with a narrow, limited worldview.
- 꿩 먹고 알 먹고 (Kkwong meokgo al meokgo) Getting two benefits from one action.
- 발 없는 말이 천리 간다 (Bal eomneun mari cheolli ganda) Gossip and rumors spread incredibly fast.
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