Say "Victory Number" Instead of "Magic Number"

'Tragic Number' Alternative Recommended as 'Defeat Count'
'Maximalism' and 'Social Sector' as 'Maximalism' and 'Social Contribution Community'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language recommended on the 23rd that the terms 'magic number' and 'tragic number' be replaced with the Korean words 'seungri su' (victory count) and 'paebae su' (defeat count), respectively. They also suggested Korean alternatives for 'maximalism', 'maximalist', and 'social sector' as 'choedaejuui' (maximalism), 'choedaejuuija' (maximalist), and 'sahoe giyeo bumun·sahoe giyeo gongdongche' (social contribution sector·social contribution community), respectively.

'Magic number' refers to the number of wins needed to secure victory in sports competitions, elections, and similar contexts. In sports, this corresponds to points or number of wins, while in elections it relates to the number of electoral votes or ballots. Conversely, 'tragic number' denotes the number of losses that determine the final elimination of a lower-ranked team in sports. It is the number of losses that, even if a higher-ranked team loses all remaining games, cannot be overcome to change the ranking or avoid defeat. The selection of the alternative terms 'seungri su' and 'paebae su' reflected survey results. In a public acceptance survey of about 600 people, 94% and 96.4% respectively responded that these terms were appropriate.

'Maximalism' refers to a mindset aiming to achieve effects through as many and as diverse elements as possible. The derived term 'maximalist' refers to a person who holds this mindset. 'Social sector' denotes organizations cooperating to pursue common interests and realize social values. These include social enterprises, government-funded corporations, cooperatives, and community asset organizations primarily aimed at solving social problems. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language decided on the alternatives 'choedaejuui', 'choedaejuuija', and 'sahoe giyeo bumun·sahoe giyeo gongdongche' at the New Words Meeting held from the 13th to the 15th.

The New Words Meeting is a committee that provides Korean alternatives easily understood by the general public before difficult foreign neologisms spread. Experts from various fields such as Korean language, foreign languages, education, publicity and publishing, information and communications, and media participate. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language plan to continuously promote the use of these alternatives led by government ministries and media outlets.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.