"Dirty Rice Cake!"

Misarang Custard
"It's bad!"
(Image from Korea Beat)

This box bears the following promise of a tasty treat:

부드러운 쌀과자 속에 카스타드 크림이 듬뿍

Boo-du-ruh-oon ssal-gwah-jah sok-ae kah-su-tah-du ku-reehm-ee dum-bbook

Translated, this says:

"Richly filled with custard cream in a soft rice cake."

But a Korea Herald article by Cho Ji-hyun, "Tainted Chinese goods taken off shelves," which warns of melamine traces found in "Misarang Custard," presents a photo of a person's hand holding up a packet of the "Chinese-made rice soft cakes," and if you look closely at the photo on that website, you'll see that the thumb obscures the 부, leaving this:

드러운 쌀과자 속에 카스타드 크림이 듬뿍

du-ruh-oon ssal-gwah-jah sok-ae kah-su-tah-du ku-reehm-ee dum-bbook

My young son noticed this, laughed, and showed his older sister, who also laughed. Why? Because the first 'word', "드러운" (du-ruh-oon), sounds almost exactly like the word "더러운" (duh-ruh-oon), which would result in this:

더러운 쌀과자 속에 카스타드 크림이 듬뿍

duh-ruh-oon ssal-gwah-jah sok-ae kah-su-tah-du ku-reehm-ee dum-bbook

Translated, this new sentence warns the prospective customer:

Richly filled with custard cream in a dirty rice cake.

At last, truth in advertising!