9/25 Mom's Son-mat

Talk about mom's son-mat.

There are a lot of Korean words that are nearly impossible to translate into English.
ex> She told me to translate this into layman's terms.
* layman: 비전문가.. ordinary layman

But today, I'd like to describe a Korean word, son-mat.

Did you ever wonder why home cooked meals taste so good?
ex> I miss home cooked meals so much.

That's because a secret ingredient, mom's son-mat, is added to homemade food.
* ingredient: 재료

Son-mat literally means "flavor by hand." It doesn't mean handmade. It's not that simple.
* literally: 말 그대로
ex> This car is 100% handmade.

Son-mat is not something that you can see or touch but is a very crucial ingredient.
* can see or touch: 보거나 만질 수 있다.
cf> intangible: 뭐라고 꼬집어 말할 수 없는
ex> This is a very crucial time for all of us.

Son-mat is the love and the heart that goes into every home cooked meal.
* go into: ~에 들어가다
ex> A lot of effort went into this project.

So, why don't you ring up your mom and ask her to make your favorite food today?
* ring up: 전화를 걸다, call
ex> I want to ring up my girlfriend every day.


@ Nothing beats a home cooked meal. 역시 집에서 만든 음식이 최고야.

1. His book was translated into more than 26 languages.
2. I haven't had home cooked meal for a year.
3. Do you know how much crucial this is to us?
4. Please don't ring me up after midnight.