PK-SwiftLocalizationUXDev Log
Global UX Is 200 Tiny Fixes: The Day I Removed Two Korean Words
A small localization fix in PK-Swift turned into a bigger lesson on product trust for international users.
by Jay··2 min read·PK·SWIFT B.LOG
Series: PK·SWIFT B.LOG
- 1. Smart Parse Saved My Sanity, AI Parse Saved My Weekend
- 2. Global UX Is 200 Tiny Fixes: The Day I Removed Two Korean Words ← you are here
- 3. SEO, AdSense, and Coffee Buttons Without Looking Desperate
- 4. Buy Me a Coffee Setup Playbook for Solo Builders
One of my favorite commits is technically tiny:
7b8bbc1(2026-02-15): remove Korean labels from BE analysis options.
The diff was only this:
<option value="preclinical">Preclinical (KR label)</option>
<option value="clinical">Clinical (KR label)</option>
to this:
<option value="preclinical">Preclinical</option>
<option value="clinical">Clinical</option>
Two words removed. That's it.
But here is the bigger point: mixed-language UI makes users pause, and pause kills trust.
The hidden cost of almost-localized products
When part of your UI is English and one random area slips into Korean, users do not think "minor translation oversight."
They think:
- is this page unfinished?
- is this region-specific only?
- if text quality is inconsistent, is the math also inconsistent?
That last one hurts most in science tools.
Practical Tips for Non-Developers
- Do a language audit by screenshot, not by file list. Visual review catches what grep misses.
- Maintain one mini glossary for critical terms (dose, Cmax, AUC, lambda-z). Do not improvise labels page by page.
- Use a release checklist that includes "no mixed-language fragments."
- Fix small wording bugs immediately; they compound into brand noise.
- If your product is technical, consistency is part of correctness.
Side quest
I used to treat localization as polish.
Now I treat it as functionality.
Because if users cannot instantly understand what an option means, the feature may as well not exist.