The Diplomat
기차 하드, 꿈 큰. This inscription in Korean on the belt of Adriana Cerezo, the 17-year-old Spaniard who won a silver medal in Taekwondo at the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo, is the origin of an amusing story that has made the Spanish sportswoman very popular in South Korea.
Adriana Cerezo wanted to pay tribute to South Korea, the country where taekwondo was born, and so she competed wearing the aforementioned inscription written in Korean on her belt, which was supposed to be the translation of the slogan “Train hard, dream big” (“Entrena duro, sueña en grande”, in Spanish). The problem came because the Korean inscription used the other meaning of ‘train’, which is ‘tren’ in Spanish and not ‘entrena’, also in Spanish.
The Koreans were amused by the mistake and Adriana Cerezo and her belt went viral in South Korea, where the Spaniard’s well-intentioned gesture towards the language was appreciated and her medal was celebrated with great enthusiasm.
Yesterday, the Korean ambassador in Spain, Bahk Sahnghoon, went to Adriana Cerezo’s training centre to talk to her and take advantage of the episode to bring the taekwondo players of the two countries closer together.
In addition, Ambassador Bahk gave the Spanish taekwondist a belt with the inscription 훈련은 열심히, 꿈은 크게! which corresponds to the above-mentioned legend, but correctly translated into Korean.
The ambassador congratulated the Olympic medallist and said: “Milestones like the one achieved by Adriana Cerezo help to make South Korea better known, as well as its culture, in which Taekwondo is an essential part”. He also presented her with a CD of BTS, and another of Blackpink, the world reference groups of Korean K-pop music, and some K-beauty fashion cosmetics.
