[Korean Culture & Language] 댕댕이

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”). 

Then What is 댕댕이? 

댕댕이 is probably the cutest way to call a dog. It is one of the “야민정음”s, where people change the alphabets of a word in a way that it still looks similar to the original word but is pronounced differently. 

멍멍이 and 댕댕이 look similar, but they are pronounced differently. 멍멍이 is pronounced “meong meong e,” while 댕댕이 is pronounced “dang dang e”.

Because 댕댕이 is such a lovely way to call a dog, it is used even to describe a person. It can be an insult if you call someone a “개,” but if you call someone a “댕댕이,” it means they are adorable. When you google “댕댕이,” “강 다니엘(Danial Kang)” shows up as a related image. He’s known to be one of the most 댕댕이-like idols in Korea.

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

Which one is your favorite way to call a dog? 

In my next article, I’ll cover some of the 야민정음s.

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

[Korean Culture & Language] Impulsiveness and MBTI

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become increasingly popular in Korea in 2020, owing to people’s boredom due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Since the spring, MBTI feeds have been readily available on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.   Below is a popular meme titled ‘ #MBTI 충동 (MBTI Impulsiveness) ’. This meme jokingly illustrates how ‘ 충동적인 (impulsive)’ each MBTI types are.   https://ddnews.co.kr/mbti-%EC%A7%A4-%EB%B0%88/ It reads: 전혀 충동적이지 않음 (Not impulsive at all): ENTJ, ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ 평균적으로 충동적임 (Average impulsivity): INTJ, INFJ, ENFJ, ESFJ 너무 충동적 (Very impulsive): INTP, INFP, ISTP, ISFP 엄청나게 충동적 (Extremely impulsive): ENTP, ENFP, ESTP, ESFP 전혀 means ‘ not at all ,’ 평균적으로 means ‘ to an average level ,’ 너무 means ‘ very , ’ 엄청나게 means ‘ extremely ’.   The above meme is another illustration of impulsiveness by MBTI types. ENFP says “ 요즘 자수가 너무 배우고 싶어 (I want to learn how to embroider). 근데 나 소묘도 배워...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Switching between the liver and the gallbladder

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! “Saving face” has always been a very important part of Korean culture. Most Koreans try hard to “ 체면을 세우다 (build one’s face),” and “ 체면을 지키다 (maintain one’s face),” and not to “ 체면을 잃다 or 체면을 구기다 (lose one’s face).” ‘ 세우다 ’ means ‘to build’ ‘ 지키다 ’ means ‘to keep’ ‘ 잃다 ’ means ‘to lose’ ‘ 구기다 ’ means ‘to crumple’ or ‘to damage’ ‘Saving one’s face’ means ‘to build one’s reputation,’ ‘maintaining’ one’s face’ means ‘to keep one’s reputation,” and ‘losing one’s face’ means ‘to lose or damage one’s reputation.’ However, some people are more concerned about their profit than “saving or maintaining their face.” They “ 간에 붙었다 쓸개에 붙었다 한다. ” ‘ 간 ’ means ‘liver’ ‘ 붙다 ’ means ‘to stick’ ‘ 쓸개 ’ means ‘gallbladder’ It is directly translated to “It sticks to the liver for a second and then moves to the gallbladder to stick to it for another.” It describes the behavior of someone who switches between two opposing teams or groups for completely selfish reasons. The...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Washing one's Identity

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! In July 2021, a Chinese man in his 50s got arrested for killing two people in China and fleeing to Korea. It took years to catch him because he has ‘ 신분세탁 (washed his identity) ’ . Photo by   Jeremy Sallee   on   Unsplash https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/24104555#home According to Korea JoongAng Daily, this murderer killed two people in Yantai, Shandong Province, China in 1987, when he was 20. While hiding in China, he made a new passport after ‘ 신분세탁 (washing his identification) ’. He entered Korea in 2016, and has obtained a permanent residency (F5) visa by marrying a Chinese woman who had obtained Korean citizenship a while back. The term 신분세탁 (Washing one’s identity) refers to a person’s attempt to conceal their prior identity to rebuild a new life . Prostitutes and ex-convicts, for example, are likely to strive to 신분세탁 (rebuild their lives by concealing the fact that they have ever committed a crime or worked as a prostitute).   Belo...
자세한 내용 보기