Korean Culture & Customs

가는 날이 장날이다

ganeun nari jangnarida

Proverb: market-day luck

Literally 'the day you go happens to be market day,' this proverb describes running into an unexpected situation just when you arrive. It is used both for happy coincidences and for awkward bad timing.

Examples

Korean	English
가는 날이 장날이라고, 도착하니 마침 가게가 문을 닫았더라. ganeun nari jangnarirago, dochakhani machim gageega muneul dadatdeora.	Just my luck—the day I went, the shop happened to be closed.

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