Devils Stay (사흘): What’s in This Title?

The upcoming occult horror film "Devils Stay" is originally titled in Korean as "Three Days," or Sa-heul (사흘). So what’s in this title? Keeping count of the days.


🎬 Teaser trailer (English subs):

🎬 About the film: cultureflipper.com/blog/devils-stay

Sa-heul is pure Korean, as opposed to sam-il, which consists of the Sino-Korean number sam (three) and the character il (day). The pure Korean system for counting days is more conversational and is widely used in referring to duration or point in time. For example, sa-heul can be used in sentences such as: It takes or lasts 3 days (사흘 걸리다); Let’s meet after 3 days (사흘 후에 만나자); Finish it in 3 days (사흘 만에 끝낸다). For days of the month, only the Sino-Korean system is used, as in November 3rd (11월 3일).

But how do you know exactly when to use sa-heul versus sam-il? It's tricky even for Koreans who have only spoken Korean their entire lives.

Here’s a general rule of thumb:

If you want to sound very formal, go with Sino-Korean. Especially when you are going to add a Sino-Korean postposition such as 후 (instead of 뒤), then definitely use Sino-Korean.
e.g. 택배는 1일/2일/3일… 후에 왔다 (natural fluency)
vs. 택배는 하루/이틀/사흘… 후에 왔다 (unnatural fluency)
vs. 택배는 하루/이틀/사흘… 뒤에 왔다 (natural fluency)
vs. 택배는 하루/이틀/사흘… 지나서 왔다 (most natural fluency with a rich nuance)

If you want to sound less formal and more intuitive, go with pure Korean.

However, if you truly care how you are perceived when you speak Korean... To be completely blunt, if you don't want to sound like a Korean stuck in their traditional ways or a member of the older generation but rather, a metropolitan Korean, then avoid using pure Korean for "5 days - 9 days." While it is still accepted, it might pique your audience’s curiosity about your background.