[Korean Culture & Language] Sad, romantic Korean hip hop



Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Music has always been an excellent way to express and communicate feelings. Even though many people believe rap music is always about arrogance, aggression, and materialism, an increasing number of rap artists express their love, passion, and sadness through their lyrics. Some sad songs can help you grieve.





“우리집을 못 찾겠군요(Lost Without You)” by Mad Clown is a popular breakup song that helps people go through their stages of relationship grief. “우리집을 못 찾겠군요” is literally translated to “I can’t find my way home”.

우리집 means my place

못 means can’t

찾겠군요 means to find


This is how the first few lines of the lyrics go:



착해 빠진 게 독한 소리 할 때 분명 지 속도 속 아니었겠죠

When such a sweet one(착해빠진게) speaks so harshly(독한소리 할 때) I’m sure she was not herself (지 속도 속 아니었겠죠).

‘착하다’ means ‘sweet’, and ‘착해빠지다’ emphasizes how sweet someone is. Some 착해빠진 people are too sweet and selfless that they even appear foolish to others.

독하다 means ruthless, or extremely tough and persistent. For example, if someone is on an intense diet where they only eat jelly, you say “너 정말 독하다(You’re so tough)”.


지 속도 속 아니었겠죠 literally means “her heart was not her heart,” implying that she didn’t really mean what she said because she was hurt, too.


잡는 목소리 머뭇거리지도 않고 날 떠날 땐 분명 이 악물었겠죠

I’m sure it was hard for her to leave (날 떠날 때 분명 이 악물었겠죠) without hesitation(머뭇거리지도 않고) when I begged her to stay (잡는 목소리).


잡는 목소리 literally means “the begging voice”. Obviously, ‘the begging voice’ refers to the “guy’s voice, asking her to stay”.


이 악물다 literally means “clenching teeth”. People usually clench their teeth when stressed. So, when someone accepts and suffers an unavoidable pain with courage, Koreans say “이 악물다”.

Ex) 이 극한 다이어트를 이 악물고 해냈어! = I made it through the intense diet with my “teeth clenched”!


상처받지 않은 듯 돌아섰지만

I turned around(돌아섰지만), acting like I’m not hurt(상처받지 않은 듯)…

애같이 눈물을 사탕처럼 막 흘리면서 가

But my tears fell (눈물을 흘리면서) like candy (사탕처럼) as I walked away (가), as if I were a kid(애같이).


What are your thoughts on the lyrics? This is one of my favorite Korean songs of all time. Even though this is hip-hop, the lyrics are about love rather than materialism or arrogance. Do you enjoy music like this?



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