In Korea, ‘riding’ doesn’t mean riding

The New York Times this week chronicled the relentless grind of South Korea’s private education industry. What it did not explore is the small, borrowed English word that quietly powers much of that world and occasionally irritates English speakers: “riding.” In standard English, “riding” usually involves bicycles, horses or amusement park attractions. In Korea, it means something far more mundane. Parents use the word to describe shuttling children from one hagwon, or private cram schools, to another, often late into the evening. The expression may be linguistically incorrect, but it has quietly joined the long list of “Konglish” — English words that take on new meanings and become everyday Korean vocabulary. In everyday English, what Korean parents call “riding” would usually be phrased as “giving someone a ride,” “picking up” or “dropping off” a child. Using “riding” by itself to mean driving someone is uncommon, which is why the Korean version often puzzles native English speakers. The word has become part of the daily dictionary of mothers with school

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