[Korean Culture & Language] Trying to roast beans with lightning

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Photo by mauro mora on Unsplash

Korea is notorious for its ppalli-ppalli culture. Ppalli means ‘quick’ or ‘hurry,’ and the word is frequently used when asking someone to do something fast. 

Ex) “빨리 해 주세요(Please do it faster)”
“빨리 와 주세요(Please come quickly)”

The desire for speed is tremendous in Korea, and everything is done in the blink of an eye. You will see thousands of food delivery motorcyclists on the street to deliver the food as quickly as possible. Many Koreans rush through lunch so they can “rest” or “do more work” during lunchtime so they can get off early. Even wedding ceremonies only last a couple of hours. 

However, this does not mean that Koreans always embrace ppalli-ppalli culture.


There’s a saying in Korea “번개불에 콩볶아 먹겠다 (You’re about to roast beans with lightning and eat them)”. It means to behave impatiently and hastily. 

Ex)

A: 나 다음주에 결혼해! (I’m getting married next week!)
B: Dan 이랑? (To Dan?)
A: 응. (Yeah.)
B: 근데 너네 사귄지 3주밖에 안 됐잖아. 번개불에 콩볶아 먹겠다 (But you’ve only been dating for three weeks, after all. It’s like trying to roast beans with lightning)
A: 결혼할 사람을 처음 만나면 딱 이 사람이다, 하고 안다고 하잖아 (But you “just know” when you meet the right person, right?)
B: 맞아. 축하해! (Right. Congratulations!)


“급히 먹는 밥에 목이 멘다” is another idiom that means you should take your time doing things. It literally means “If you rush through your meals, you’ll choke” You can harm yourself by doing things ppalli-ppalli. 

Matter of fact, the ppalli-ppalli culture has killed a lot of delivery drivers in the past years. One of the most important jobs of a delivery driver is to deliver the food ‘빨리(quickly)’. If a delivery driver refuses to take any calls or is unable to deliver the meal on time, they will be penalized with low ratings.  

Thankfully according to JoongAng Ilbo, Justice Party Congresswoman Sim Sang-jeung introduced a bill to provide a safer work environment for delivery drivers. It is currently pending in the National Assembly.

Is there ever a good moment to ‘roast beans with lightning’?
Is it always true that people ‘choke when they rush through their meals’?

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