History of Hof
All over Korea you see Hof bars (I would use Hangul but my blog software won’t support it) that serve a variety of mainly Korean beers. I always thought the Korean word Hof was just another Korean word for beer along with maek-ju.
However, I learned something interesting today that the word Hof is actually the Koreanized version of the English word, Hope. During the Korean War many American soldiers while drinking beer at local establishments would toast before drinking with the word, Hope. The soldiers used the toast because they hoped the war would end and they could soon go home.
However, the Koreans that heard the toast of Hope, thought this was the English word for beer and the bar owners used this English word to name some of their drinking establishments after. From there the word just continued to spread to where today you have Hof bars all over Korea.
"Hof" is a German word. No German-English dictionary handy, but on-line translator shows it to mean "yard".
I think a "hof" (bauhof) means a farm, more along the lines of a independent compound out in the country (which you probably know was exceptional in old Germany, most average farmers lived in the village and went out to work their fields during the day).
"In Munchen steht ein Hofbrauhaus…" traditional German drinking song. Hofbrauhaus is what, a brewery or a traditional German drinking hall, maybe both combined? Could a "hof" also have another specific meaning, as a German farm that grows hops/barley for the local brewery?
My point: could be that the word "hof" got brought to Korea by GI's formerly stationed in Germany, who were looking for a good beer. Or maybe even by German emigres, pre-WWII (ie before the US era of involvement in Korea)?
Nothing wrong with the Asian brands, Asahi (?) (Japanese), Tsingtao (?) (Chinese), San Miguel (Filipino, haven't seen SM advertised for many years in the US though). Don't know for sure when/how these brands got their start, I surmise in the 19th or early 20th century from German emigres to Asia (?) (much like old US brands got their start…)
Did Korea ever (or still) have "old name" beer brands like these? I hope so for their sakes (never developed a taste for rice wine or whatever the traditional "common man" drink is for Koreans).
Anyway, just possible alternate theories to what you heard as to how this name got started. I'm skeptical of your theory as I've never heard of "hope" before as a traditional old-fashioned toast in English. My dad was of that era (GI/USAF WWII/Korea), he would say "cheers" or "happy days" when quaffing in a jovial mood, may God rest his soul.
I just happened to be drinking a beer (yes we are still allowed to do that here for time being anyway) and asked a Korean buddy of mine about the term Hof because I had thought Korean for beer was maekju and he told me the story behind the word. Koreans do not have the letter P or the strong O sound so it comes out sounding more like Hof when they talk.
For your info the most famous drink in Korea is Soju. So much soju is sold in this country it beats out any beer. Soju can be made from potatoes or rice. It is pretty good stuff but will get you drunk really quick if you are not careful. It is the most unpredicatable alcohol I have ever drank.
Paul,
I thought "hof" was borrowed from the German language also. However, one has to keep in mind that this IS Korea, and sometimes things aren't as they seem. 🙂
For what it's worth, Koreans use the word Autobyte (which I'm sure I spelled incorrectly) to describe a part-time job, and it is a derivative of the German language, IIRC.
I heard that Korean nurses who served in Germany brought the word 'hof' back from Germany.
At any rate, Korea does have the 'p' sound–there are 2, the hard and the soft. They don't have any 'f' sound, so in pronouncing 'hof' they use the soft 'p' (which sounds like a gentle 'p' plus a puff of air). Believe me, i know they have no 'f' sound–I spent WEEKS trying to help my students in Seoul learn to put their front teeth on their lips as we do in the States.
Wie kann man nur so einen Dünnpfiff erzählen…