[Korean Culture & Language] Sweet Potato


Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


I covered some abbreviations and portmanteaus used in Korea in my last articles. Most of them are reformed in the process, but have the same meanings as the original words. 

Other Korean words have kept their original forms but are used to mean something new.
고구마, 사이다, 유교 are some examples of the latter. 

고구마 is a “sweet potato” in Korean. 

[Why 사전] 고답 일러스트

https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/08/31/2018083101725.html

Everyone knows that sweet potatoes are highly nutritious with a lot of fiber and antioxidants. They have so many health benefits like enhancing brain function and supporting the immune system. 

However, many Koreans think that sweet potatoes are hard to digest and they easily get stuck in the throat because of their density. This might be because some people have difficulty digesting the slow-releasing carbohydrates that are in sweet potatoes. 

Koreans often describe a frustrating situation by saying, “I feel like I have something stuck in my throat/chest”. It makes sense because stress can easily affect someone’s digestive system, causing them to feel like something is stuck in their chest or throat. 

고구마짤 진짜 잘만들은거같음 - 뽐뿌:자유게시판
https://www.ppomppu.co.kr/zboard/view.php?id=freeboard&no=6445010


So, you can explain a stressful/frustrating situation by saying, “고구마 백개 먹은 것 같아(I feel like I’ve had a hundred sweet potatoes)”. 

Ex) I explained that to her so many times. She still doesn’t get it. 고구마 백개 먹은 것 같아!


The term ‘고구마’ is even used to describe politicians. So many people call President Moon a “고구마”. But he claimed during the elections that “sweet potatoes satisfy hunger”.

https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2021071815400002557


The antonym of the term “고구마” is “사이다”. I’ll explain more about “사이다” in my next article!

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