개천에서 용 났다더니 · 개천에서 용 난다고 하잖아요
a great person can rise from humble origins (lit. a dragon comes out of a small stream)
Example
개천에서 용 났다더니, 산골 마을 출신 친구가 판사가 됐어요.
A dragon rose from a humble stream, as they say: a friend from a mountain village became a judge.
Word parts
개 open+천 stream+용 dragon
Literally 'a dragon rises out of a small stream (개천)': greatness emerging from the humblest place.
Good to know
Usually said in the past tense: 개천에서 용 났다. It also comes up in debates about social mobility: 요즘은 개천에서 용 나기 어렵다 'it's hard to rise from nothing these days.'