Origin Story
Masugeori is a native Korean word for a merchant's very first sale of the day. The heart of it is the word masu, which means the day's first transaction — the first haggle with the first customer. Just as a firstborn child is called the maji, the day's earliest deal was called the masu. Add georri to it, and "opening the day's trade with that first sale" became masugeori. Merchants of old held this masugeori in great regard. They believed that if the first deal went smoothly, the whole day's business would flow, so they might shave a little off the price for the first customer or treat them with extra care. The lament "I haven't even made my masugeori today" carries the anxious heart of a vendor who has yet to get the day off the ground.
The instinct to read the first deal as an omen of good or ill fortune was found in markets everywhere. The belief that a good masugeori sets the whole day right reveals the old merchant's mindset of pouring care into a single small beginning.
Meaning Evolution
How It Is Used
I made my masugeori first thing this morning, so I'm in good spirits today.
Maybe it's the rain, but I hadn't even made my masugeori by nearly lunchtime.
Saying I was the first customer, she knocked a little off the price as a masugeori.
Related Words
Memory Hook
Picture a market vendor greeting the day's first customer and getting the first deal flowing.
"A day's business opens with the first deal. That is masugeori."
