# 이보다



## vientito

Look at this example

"집에서 밥하는 가정부도 이보다 나은 취급이겠어요"

I think the speaker has assumed her own comparison to a housewife.  My question is with this structure - who's treated better?  The speaker herself or a cooking housewife?

Would it be clearer if she said "집에서 밥하는 가정부도 저보다 나은 취급이겠어요"?

the 이 in 이보다 does it really mean "this" without specific reference to anyone in question?  So in effect it is like saying "even a cooking housewife is treated better than this" ?


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## pumpkin_bird

First, I think 가정부 is a housekeeper and 주부 is a housewife.

The speaker thinks a housekeeper may be treated better.
Actually the original sentence is not quite right since "가정부도 이보다 나은 취급이겠어요." means "the housekeeper is better treatment than this."
The correct sentence is "집에서 밥하는 가정부도 이보다 나은 취급을 받겠어요."
However, the original sentence can be used and understandable when you speak to Koreans because the meaning is obvious even if the sentence is not right.

I think '이' represents the situation that the speaker indicates.
For example, she works a lot and get paid little or nobody thinks her work is important, then 이보다 means 'the way the speaker is treated.'
If she is watching someone who works hard, but ignored by everyone, then 이보다 means 'the way HE is treated.'

And you can say 저보다 when it represents the speaker's own situation, but I think it is slightly different.
If the speaker says 저보다, then she means "*I* am not treated very well."
I think the speaker says '이보다' because she wants to point out this situation is unfair for anyone is in this situation.

Hope my explanation is clear.


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## Superhero1

I think using the word 취급 is kind of verbose.

식모도 나보단 낫겠어요. is simple and clear.


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## pumpkin_bird

I don't think '식모도 나보단 낫겠어요.' delivers clear meaning because it can also has another meaning.
For example, if I work a lot, but can't make much money, then I would say '식모도 나보단 낫겠어요.'.
In this case, the sentence means "a housekeeper may work less and earn more money than me."
So the sentence itself doesn't show what the speaker thinks unfair is treatment by others or her own circumstance.

And I think '식모' sounds more negative than '가정부'.
I don't know why, so I cannot explain it, but I think a housekeeper may feel offended if someone calls her '식모'.

I'm not saying that you cannot say that.
I think people easily understand the correct meaning by the context.
I'm just saying that it can be vague if it is used alone.


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## vientito

Thanks for your explanation pumpkin_bird.  You have confirmed my suspicion when I saw this example - I thought it was not quite right with 이다.  With 받다 it makes more sense.


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## kenjoluma

@pumpkin_bird, Superhero1

Unlike Korean in South Korea in which 취급 is generally for things not people, 취급 is very commonly used to describe status or people being treated, generally badly, in the Korean-Chinese (조선족) community.


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## Superhero1

//pumpkin_bird, vientito 

Why should we belittle people who work as a housekeeper? It might be rude and disrespect for somebody whose job is a housekeeper.


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## Superhero1

가정부 is still a job exists today. 식모 represents an old-fashioned, obsolet job, being used for metaphorical use only.


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## pumpkin_bird

I'm from south Korea and I know what you mean and I think the usage of the word in South Korea is very similar to Chinese community.
Yes, '취급' is usually used to objects, but people use the word when they were treated badly.
ex) 도둑놈 취급을 받았다.
We don't use 취급 in a good situation, so we don't say 공주님 취급을 받았다. Instead, we say 공주님 대우를 받았다.
However, 취급 has no negative meaning when it is used to things.
ex) 취급 주의

Maybe in this example '대우' sounds more natural, but I think '취급' can be used since the speaker wants to say that she is treated badly.


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## pumpkin_bird

I didn't mean to show any disrespect to housekeepers, but 'the example' Vientito showed implies that housekeepers are not treated very well.
And I think that the example just mean that housekeepers earn less money than other people, and it is true in some degree. (At least in South Korea.)
So i think the example is in this way. '아르바이트생도 이보다 나은 대우를 받겠어요.' 
(I agree that '집에서 밥하는' implies somewhat negative view to housekeepers, but it is not my opinion, right?)

식모 usually means a girl who lived with the family who hired her, and did the kitchen works and other chores.
She usually had to work all day, and was paid very little because her employer thought it was enough to offer a room and meals to her.
식모 existed 40 or 50 years ago when Korea was a poor country.
Therefore I've never seen a person who works as a 식모 or someone calls other person 식모.
It is a really old-fashioned job as you said.
So I don't think people use the word '식모' to compare their work circumstances in general since the treatment level is extremely different.

And nowadays people tend to use '가사 도우미(housework helper)' because they think '가정부' is less respectful word to describe the job.


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## Superhero1

pumpkin_bird said:


> 식모 existed 40 or 50 years ago when Korea was a poor country.
> Therefore I've never seen a person who works as a 식모 or someone calls other person 식모.
> It is a really old-fashioned job as you said.
> So I don't think people use the word '식모' to compare their work circumstances in general since the treatment level is extremely different.



That's why I used the word 식모 in given sentence. The word 식모 doen't point out a certain job which exists, therefore, we can avoid being rude in an indirect way.


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## vientito

the example definitley is not my opinion I just extract it from a drama series.. so it may be a bit melodramatized... but it's good to know different nuances regarding to how housekeepers are called from past to present


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