Uptempo Global

 Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!  송구영신  means to ‘ leave the old days behind and embrace the new year ’. ‘ 예배 ’ means ‘ service ’. So,  송구영신 예배  is a  church service held to mark the end of the old years and celebrate the beginning of the new one .   Even though many Koreans say ‘ 새해 복 많이 받으세요 (Wishing you the best of luck in the new year) ,’ you might see ‘ 근하신년 ’ on the cards or banners towards the end or beginning of the year. ‘ 근하신년 ’ also means  ‘happy new year ,’ but it is originally used in the Japanese ‘연하장 (cards sent in the new year)’.    source:  https://ko.wikipedia.org/   Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, but studies have shown that only a small percentage of people keep them. One of the most common reasons people fail to follow their resolutions is that they aren’t clear enough. Setting too wide, too big, or too many objectives are also common mistakes people make. There is an idiom in Korea ’ 새해 못...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Food and humility are important parts of Korean culture. So, when someone invites others over for a meal, they say “차린 건 없지만, 많이 드세요”.  차린 means prepared 없지만 means Even though not much 많이 means a lot 드세요 means eat It means “There’s not much to eat, but please enjoy”. They would say it regardless of the actual amount of food they have prepared. Sure, it’s nice to be polite and humble, but it’s not always fun! When you invite your friends over, you can say “차린건 많지만 조금 드세요” to be funny. It means “I’ve prepared a lot, but please eat little”. For a second, they would think that you are being polite, but soon they would realize that you were only being mean and funny. Another thing you can say when you invite someone over is “이렇게 누추한 곳에 귀한분이…”. 이렇게 means like this 누추한 곳 means shabby place 귀한 분 means precious person   It means “It’s an honor to have such a precious person over at my shabby place”. Many people used to say this to be humble and ...

  Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!  source:  https://program.tving.com/  Goblin  (Dokkaebi/도깨비)   is a famous romantic fantasy K-drama about a modern-day goblin (Gong-yoo) looking for a human bride (Kim Go-eun) to end his cursed immortal life. The only way to remove the sword pierced through this 939-year-old goblin’s chest was to find the bride. His life becomes intertwined with a grim reaper (Lee Dong Wook) who has lost his memory. When the goblin finally finds his bride, he suddenly realizes that he wants to live and be with her. 도깨비  stars many famous actors and actresses like Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook, Yoo In-na, and Yook Sung-jae. Its final episode had an 18.68% nationwide audience share, making it the fifth highest rated drama on Korean cable television. Like how animals occupy large portion of Aesop’s fables, 도깨비 appear in a vast number of Korean  folktales (전래동화) . 도깨비 are mythical creatures that are nature deities or spirits with ext...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Watching cute animal videos on social media can lift one’s mood.  A study conducted by the University of Leeds, in partnership with Western Australia Tourism, has revealed that watching cute animals can reduce stress and anxiety.  https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/27/us/watching-cute-animals-study-scn-trnd/index.html Puppies are one of the most popular animals watched on social media all around the world, including in Korea.  The Korean word for dog is 개 . However, since ‘ 개 ’ has a negative connotation attached like ‘wild,’ ‘low-quality,’ or ‘dirty,’ many Koreans call them “ 강아지 ,” which means puppy . For some reason, ‘ 개 ’ also is used for making some slang words more vulgar.  So when most Koreans see a dog, they say “강아지가 너무 귀엽다 (Such a cute puppy)” instead of saying, “개가 너무 귀엽다(Such a cute dog)”.  “멍멍이” is another Korean word for a “dog”. It is a cute way to call it since the word “멍멍이” comes from how they bark (“멍멍”=”Woof”)...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! VVS is a song by Mirani, Mushvenom, Khundi Panda, Munchman, and Justhis. The title is taken from the term for diamond clarity. The term VVS(Very Very Slightly Included) refers to diamonds with minuscule inclusions that are difficult even for trained eyes to see under 10x magnification. The clarity of a diamond with a VVS1 or VVS2 grading is exceptional.   The song is recognized for its amazing rhyming.  더 크게 Callin’ ma name Louder, Callin’ my name ( 더 크게 means louder) 모두 날 보고 놀래 Everyone’s surprised to see me ( 놀래 means to be surprised ) ‘미란이가 TV 에 ’ Miranni is on TV! ( 에 means on ) 떼버려 Tag Take off the Tag ( 떼버려 means to take off ) 사 새​롭게 Yeah yeah Buy new things, Yeah yeah ( 사 means to buy , 새롭게 means new ) 타고 비행 Flying up high( 비행 means flying )   The above six lines end with words that sound like ‘eh’: Name, 놀래, 에, Tag, Yeah, and 비행.   Skrr skrr 난 올라 가 Skrr skrr I go up ( 올라 means up , 가 means go ) Skrr skrr 난 빛이 나 SK...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9A2l1eyen4 Above is a popular song titled “못 먹는 감(Sour Grapes)” by San-E, one of Korea's most well-known rappers. The title is directly translated as “The persimmons you can’t eat”.   못 먹는 감 is an old Korean saying that describes a person’s negative attitude toward something, saying that something is worthless or undesirable, simply because they cannot have it themselves.   The original version of the saying is “못 먹는 감 찔러나 보자,” which is translated as “Let me poke the persimmons if I can’t eat it”. The closest English idiom is “Dog in a manger,” which refers to a greedy individual who prevents others from using something that he or she does not need. Here's how the lyric goes: 나 지금 뭐래니 나도 잘 몰라 What did I say? I’m not sure 너 조금 놀랬지 미안해 사과 Did I surprise you? I’m sorry (‘사과’ means an ‘apology,’ but it also means ‘an apple’. So, San-E hands apples in the music video) 나 내일 일어나면 When I wake up tomorrow 후회할 거 알아도 I’...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Photo by   Blake Meyer   on   Unsplash Tigers have long been associated with Korean culture and people. It can be found in Korean mythology, folklore, and a favorite subject of Korean art such as painting and sculpture. Even the mascot of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea was Hodori, a tiger character. The oldest record about the tiger can be found in the myth of Dangun, the legendary founding father of Gojoseon, told in the Samguk Yusa, or the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms. (Wikipedia). A bear and a tiger, according to the myth, wished to be human. The bear transformed into a woman after just eating mugwort and garlic for 100 days in the cave. The tiger, on the other hand, couldn’t take it and ran off, failing to fulfill its goal. There are about 600 folktales in which tigers appear, such as "Sun and Moon," and “The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon”. The tiger is so closely associated with Korean culture and history that many folk...