Origin Story
An eomuljeon is a shop that sells fish and seafood. On its stalls, glossy croaker, hairtail, and plump sea bream were laid out to catch the customer's eye. But tucked off to one side sat the small, flabby kkolttugi (a little squid). Tiny and unremarkable in shape, the kkolttugi had long been a byword for something homely. A customer who came to look at the fine fish would catch sight of the sorry little kkolttugi in the corner and, more often than not, write off the whole shop with, "Nothing special here." No matter how many splendid fish were on display, a single homely kkolttugi stripped the shop of all its dignity. From this came the proverb "eomuljeon mangsin-eun kkolttugi-ga sikinda" — the fish shop's disgrace is the doing of the kkolttugi — meaning that one inferior member brings shame on the whole group.
The kkolttugi is a small squid that was once also called goldogi or kkoldogi. A parallel proverb runs, "the fruit shop's disgrace is the doing of the quince" — showing the Korean insight that the homeliest member of a group can decide the reputation of the whole.
Meaning Evolution
How It Is Used
One person broke the rules and the whole team caught the blame — just as they say, "the fish shop's disgrace is the doing of the kkolttugi."
As the saying goes, "the fish shop's disgrace is the doing of the kkolttugi" — because of one person, we all got lumped in together.
A single employee wrecked the company's image, so it was a clear case of the kkolttugi disgracing the fish shop.
Related Words
Memory Hook
Picture the homely kkolttugi tucked among the glossy fish, dragging down the whole shop's reputation from its corner.
"More than a hundred fine fish, a single homely kkolttugi decides the name of the shop."
