The Korean Inscribed on the Stone

ng (this is silent at the beginning of a word) -- i (pronounced "ee") -- r or l (Koreans would know which to use based on the two letters which precede it, and anyway, Koreans don't actually distinguish between an "r" and an "l") -- d or t, probably d -- a (pronounced "ah") -- ng -- b or p, probably b -- a (pronounced like the "a" in "hand") - I can't make out this last character, which i have never seen before.

It has been more than 35 years since i was in Korea, i no longer claim to speak Korean, and i can't tell you what this word is. However, i suspect that it is the name of a city or town, and that this is a sign post. I used to be pretty good with the names of cities and towns, and regularly rode the Korean buses, because they cheap and incredibly comfortable (they even had stewardesses who passed out candy and sold cold drinks), and i could read the signs in the bus stations. I've never seen this one before, if it is a place name.

(ng) ee-l-d-ah-ng-b-a-? . . . i haven't a clue.

We've had a few Koreans post here, but they have never stuck around for long. You would get a definitive answer from a Korean, if any Korean happens to show up to read this thread.

Yoong Liat in in Korea. Maybe he could help us.

Good lookin' out, Roger . . . i didn't know that. YL's English is very good, too. I'll send him a pm.

Nice to see you both again.

Let me have a guess, Setanta, that you were in South Korea as a US marine officer. It is unlikely that you were in North Korea, because the buses there were not that comfortable at all. Am I on the right track?

I think Yoong is in malaysia.

I could be wrong though.

Close . . . but i was in the United States Army Medical Corps. I tried to get into the Marines, but i screwed up the test . . . i was too damned smart, so they suggested i try the army. (Bad joke, but i enjoyed it.)

We were actively discouraged from taking the buses in North Korea.

DP, i talked to YL, and he told me he is Singaporean, but did not enlighten me as to where he is located presently in the wide world. Malaysia would make sense, wouldn't it?