Conceptual Metaphors and Cultural Values in Korean Proverbs: A Main Meaning Focus Approach

Proverbs are often regarded as condensed expressions of cultural knowledge and values. Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory as based on Main Meaning Focus (Kovecses, Z. (2010). Metaphor: a practical introduction . Oxford University Press), this study investigates conceptual metaphors in a corpus of 100 Korean proverbs. The study argues that these Korean proverbs are structured by a relatively small set of recurrent source domains – such as animals, food, body, artefacts and the natural environment – through which abstract target domains including social relations, hierarchy, diligence, prudence and fate are conceptualised. For each source domain, the specific aspect highlighted in Korean (its main meaning focus) is identified. Comparison with earlier work on Chinese, Hakka, Japanese, Romanian and Malay proverbs indicates that Korean proverbs share many higher-order conceptual metaphors with other traditions, but elaborate them in ways shaped by Confucian relational ethics and collectivist norms. The study illustrates how main meaning focus refines proverb analysis beyond simple source–target mappings and proposes a set of organising metaphors for Korean proverbial cognition, with implications for research on culture and for Korean language/culture pedagogy.