점입가경

Sino-Korean word from 漸入佳境 (“to gradually enter a beautiful scene”), from an episode in the seventh-century Chinese history Book of Jin concerning the famous painter Gu Kaizhi.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ɕɘ(ː)mip̚k͈a̠ɡjʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [저(ː)밉까경]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

점입가경 • (jeomipgagyeong) (hanja 漸入佳境)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese, originally sarcastic) the more you go, the more distasteful or repulsive it is

   죽었다는 사람이 또 나왔네? 진짜 이 드라마는 보면 볼수록 점입가경이다.

   jugeotdaneun saram-i tto nawanne? jinjja i deurama-neun bomyeon bolsurok jeomipgagyeong-ida.

   That person who's supposed to be dead has shown up again? Really, the more you watch this TV series, the more horrible it gets.

   오늘 국회에서 몸싸움한 거 봤어? — 참, 점입가경이다.

   oneul gukhoe-eseo momssaumhan geo bwasseo? - cham, jeomipgagyeong-ida.

   Did you watch them fight physically in the National Assembly? — Great, it's getting worse and worse.

   • 2020, “장제원 '친문 세력, 권력 안위 위한 발악 점입가경' [jangjewon chinmun seryeok, gwollyeok anwi wihan barak jeomipgagyeong]”, in Yonhap News Agency‎:

     여권 내 반발을 두고 이른바 친문 세력의 마지막 발악이 점입가경이라고 비난했습니다.

     Yeogwon nae banbar-eul dugo ireunba chinmun seryeog-ui majimak barag-i jeomipgagyeong-i-rago binanhaetseumnida.

     Concerning the opposition in the ruling party, he criticized it as the last-ditch efforts of so-called pro-Moon politicians only getting more and more disgusting.

2. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese, less common, original meaning) the more you go, the more interesting or appealing it is

False friends with Chinese, which retains only the original meaning.