[Korean Culture & Language] 실례지만 으디 ‘슈’씹니꺼?



Have you ever experienced a moment when you’re at a Korean cinema, and you’re the only one not laughing? How about the other way around? I’m sure we all have been there! We love K-pop, K-dramas, and K-food. We love the surface of Korean culture, for sure, but do we really understand the root of it?

Let’s start out learning Korean culture by understanding this BTS video

(164) [방탄소년단/BTS] 🐱 이제 우리는 예능인이야ㅣ방탄소년단 예능인 모먼트 - YouTube

In this video (6:35 / 7:53), Seokjin says “실례지만 으디 ‘슈’씹니꺼?” and everyone starts laughing.

It is really funny when you actually understand Korean culture. (Please excuse me if you don’t think it’s funny after I explain it, because you know it’s never funny when you explain a joke😉)

If you speak Korean, it’s easy to understand the literal meaning.

실례지만 = Excuse me,

으디 = 어디 = (from) where,

‘슈’ = Shoo (as in ‘Shooting Star,’ which is the name of an ice cream flavor),

씨 = last name,

닙꺼 = 입니까? = is it?

So it literally means, “where does your last name 'Shoo' come from?”


It’s supposed to be funny for two reasons:

First, he shows that he’s charmed by an ice cream (shooting star flavor) and asking where it’s from. And second, He’s quoting a famous Korean movie called ‘Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time’

There are so many Kims, Lees, Chois, and Parks in Korea, but even the same-sounding last names don’t always have the same backgrounds. For example, Kims in Korea can be Gimhae Kim that is from the Gimhae region, and Gyeongju Kim from the Gyeongju region. Like in many other countries, in Korea, a last name can say a lot about a person. So, “where does your last name come from?” can mean “what kind of background do you have?”

Try and say “으디 (last name)씨닙꺼” to your Korean friends and give them a good laugh this week! 😊



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