[Korean Culture & Language] Funny Usernames

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Do you love K-dramas and K-pops? What about K-history?

If you’re interested in Korean culture and language, you would know who created the Korean writing system, Hangul: King Sejong (Sejong the Great)

He was the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, and is considered the best King in Korea.

But what about other Kings? Is it important to remember them all?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eviUYrMgP88

Above is a song that Korean kids learn that helps them memorize the names of the Kings during Joseon Dynasty. It’s a good learning song that goes like: “태정태세문단세예성연중인명선광인효현숙경영정순헌철고순”. Because it is hard to remember the names of all the Kings, they took the first letters of the Kings’ names and made into a song. It’s an abbreviation of “태종, 세종, 문종 단종, 세조, 예종, 성종...” and so on.

But why is it on humor blogs?

https://hygall.com/195863418

Above are lists of the funniest usernames chosen during 2019-2020. Do you see “태정태세문단속잘해라”? It looks the same as the original song up to “태정태세문,” but “문단속잘해라” means “you better lock up”. It’s supposed to be funny because it’s so random. Almost everyone in Korea would recall the Joseon dynasty song for a second, but then it randomly reads “You better lock up”.

Another one that I really liked was “그대 내게 햄버거 주는 사람”. It means “You’re the one who gives me a burger”. It came from a popular old song titled “그대 내게 행복을 주는 사람,” which is translated as “You’re the one who gives me happiness”. It’s funny because it’s originally a deep, romantic song, and no one would expect to hear “햄버거(burger)” in that song. “행복을(happiness)” and “햄버거(burger)” sounds really similar in Korean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A2dw_JNUek

The last one I want to share is “자축인묘진샤오미보조배터리”. This comes from “자축인묘진사오미신유술해,” which is a Chinese zodiac. Like the Joseon Dynasty song, Korean kids learn Chinese zodiac song to remember the order of the signs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E53u4_Z1L0

ttps://www.koreanclass101.com/blog/2020/07/03/12-korean-zodiac-elements-and-their-personality-traits/

https://rotiboykorea.tistory.com/entry/12%EA%B0%84%EC%A7%80-%EB%8F%99%EB%AC%BC%EC%88%9C%EC%84%9C-12%EA%B0%80%EC%A7%80-%EB%9D%A0%EC%88%9C%EC%84%9C-%EC%9E%90%EC%B6%95%EC%9D%B8%EB%AC%98%EC%A7%84%EC%82%AC%EC%98%A4%EB%AF%B8%EC%8B%A0%EC%9C%A0%EC%88%A0%ED%95%B4-%EC%9D%98%EB%AF%B8

So why is this funny? This username has a twist ending just like the Joseon Dynasty one. “자축인묘진사오미” and “자축인묘진샤오미” sound similar, but the second one is “샤오미,” which is “Xiaomi”. “샤오미배터리” means “Xiaomi portable charger”. So if you don’t look carefully, the username looks like a list of Chinese zodiac sign, but it actually ends with “Xiaomi battery” which is so random.

Did you like the random humor in these usernames? Which one is your favorite?

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