John, the self-appointed 'Neurosigntist,' turned up this Korean paragon of inscrutably bizarre signage:
I can't possibly ask the obvious questions any better than John does:
Are women as a group prohibited from using the teeter-totter, or is the sign only prohibiting women dressed in Victorian clothing? Perhaps, the cartoon depicts two witches disguised as 1850's Victorian women using the teeter-totter, in which case, are these witches specifically prohibited from using the equipment? Or, are women dressed in Victorian clothing allowed to use the equipment, regardless of their involvement in the dark arts, unless their activity occurs at velocities that induce the detachment of their hair from their scalp?
Seriously, does anyone know what the heck this sign prohibits?
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It prohibits jumping up and down on the teeter-totter, I imagine. And probably by anybody.
Looking at the shoes and the hair, I seriously doubt this is Western clothing at all. (Can't tell if that was part of the joke (probably) or not...)
However, since I don't read Korean, that's just a guess.
It probably means that this is forbidden.
Technically, the sign prohibits nothing: the "Don't xxx" signs, if done right, have the slash running from upper left to lower right (derived, I think, from the European heraldic "bar sinister", the form of a family coat of arms used by bastard sons ineligible to inherit titles).
Did "1850s Victorian women" wear curly-toed shoes and keep their hair in long single braids? Long and voluminous dresses were standard-issue clothing for women just about everywhere in (at least) the Euro-American world up until the 20th century, though relatively few engaged (publicly) in using seesaws to catapult each other into the air - which is the game I suspect is being discouraged here...
Rather than Victorian dress, the women may be wearing hanboks, which feature short-waisted jackets and full skirts.
I'd guess it's saying not to jump or stand on the see saw, but I can't read Korean, so I've got no way of confirming that.
It means don't soar on the see-saw, see? I can see you saw that. It's a sore point with me, but when it comes to Korean, I'm all at sea. I think it's a sign of the clines.
" this see saw is for display only. do not play on it"
It simply reads "This seesaw is for display only. Do not play on it."
What?? It's a DISPLAY seesaw?
Thanks for solving the mystery, Yoon and John - but that's even more bizarre than the Victorian witch suggestions. Why would one want a display seesaw?
Wait. Does this mean that jumping up and down on a seesaw is considered a perfectly acceptable form of play?