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What does “ssikssikhada” mean in Korean?

씩씩하다 is bravery with the chin up. Korean parents and teachers reach for it constantly with children: 씩씩하게 다녀와 (“off you go, be brave”), 씩씩하게 잘 참았어 (“you held it together so well”). It is not the heroic courage of 용감하다; it is the everyday sturdiness of getting through a hard day without falling apart.

This picture book is a mother’s letter to a child spending a first night away from home: 꼭 참고 씩씩하게 보냈을 거야 — “I know you held on and got through the day bravely.” She admits she spent her own day doing exactly the same. The adverb 씩씩하게 is the form you will hear most often.