Uptempo Global

Hello, this is Uptempo! 록시(Roxy) is a Korean YouTuber with 25.2k subscribers, who describes herself as a 언니(older sister) who has dated 200 men and offers advice and suggestions to her audience’. In the video below, she instructs the audience on ‘what not to do after a breakup,’ especially with one’s ‘프사 or 프로필 사진’.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT4cQPjHLOM ‘ 프사 ’ is an abbreviation of ‘ 프로필 사진 ,’ which refers to ‘ profile picture ’. She warns audiences not to ‘카톡 프사를 이용해서 상대를 자극하기 (change their profile pictures in an attempt to manipulate their ex’s feelings)’. ‘ 자극하다 ’ originally means ‘ to stimulate ’ or ‘ to spark one’s interest ’. In this particular situation, it means ‘ to spark one’s interest ’ or ‘ to manipulate one’s feelings ’.  She goes on to say that one should not post on social media about ‘얼마나 화가 났는지(how upset they are), 너 없이도 잘 산다는 것(how well they are without their ex), or 다른 이성과 노는 것 티내기 (or share pictures of them hanging out with other opposite-sex frien...

Hello, this is Uptempo! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qZ3OIOgY4Jo Above is a popular video titled ‘ 이유 모를 승리감 뭔지 알지 😉 (I’m sure you know the feeling of victory from doing this…: 😉 ) ’. The girl in the video illustrates the reaction of a girl when an ex texts. When her 전남친(ex-boyfriend) texts “ 보고싶어(I miss you) ,” her initial reaction is to be thrilled with joy. However, she immediately ignores him and then appears satisfied that she didn’t respond to his text. ‘ 승리감 ’ refers to the ‘ feeling of victory ,’ or ‘ the sense of superiority ’ that results from winning a competition. This video became popular because many people can relate to it.  The speaker in the following video explains that ‘a child needs to feel ‘ 승리감(the feeling of victory) ’ to be an excelling student at school’.  https://youtu.be/-ok2shdwAe0 Korea has one of the world’s most merciless education systems, which is often described as ‘stressful, authoritarian, ruthlessly competitive, meritocratic’. That is...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Walk into any convenience store in Korea and you’re bound to find this item that’s black, white, and rubbery plastic all over. It’s called 삼선 슬리퍼 (sam-sun slippers) , which literally translates to “ slippers with three lines. ” These slippers feature a simple design of three alternating black and white lines that can be credited to Adidas’s Adilette slippers, first released in 1972. The Adilette slippers rose to popularity among Korean teenagers in the early 2000s but because they retailed for a pricey $40, they were considered somewhat of a luxury item. Enter, the 삼선 슬리퍼 , also known as 삼디다스 (sam-didas) , a portmanteau of the words “ Adidas ” and 삼 (sam, three) . Sold for a much more reasonable 5000 won (equivalent to $4 USD), these shoes are available in a rainbow array of colors and have become a staple item for middle school and high school students.   source:  http://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/75726439  To offer some context regarding the weari...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Do you remember that the term ‘손민수(Son Min-soo)’ refers to someone who enjoys copying others, and the term ‘손민수 하다(Son Min-soo-ing)’ describes the act of obsessively copying someone? https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list?titleId=720121 In the video below, a girl tells a ‘썰(story)’ about a ‘민수(Min-soo)’ who kept on copying her.  https://youtu.be/YZMO4_21aMw 유자(Yuja - the storyteller), 민수(Min-soo), 장미 (Rose) were friends. For some reason, Min-soo started copying Yuja in every manner possible, including replicating Yuja’s Instagram posts, purchasing the same products Yuja purchased, even attempting to seduce her ex-boyfriend after they broke up. She thought it was weird, so she had to ‘장미한테 이 얘기를 진짜 힘들게 털어놨어 (get it off my chest and talk to 장미 about it)’. ‘ 털어놓다 ’ means ‘ to get something off one’s chest ’. After talking with 장미, she realized that ‘나만 따라한 게 아닌거야 (Min-soo didn’t only copy me, but also others)’. She continues, ‘다들 심증만 있잖아.’ ‘ 심증 ’ directly transl...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Have you ever wanted to change your name for good? In Korea, it is not uncommon for individuals to legally change their names as children or even later in life as adults. This practice is called 개명 (gae-myung) . source:  https://easy-law.tistory.com/25 The reasons for changing one’s name run the gamut. For some, it’s because they were ridiculed for their name growing up or simply didn’t like their name from a young age. For others, it’s because their name doesn’t align with their 사주팔자 (saju-pal-ja) , which means their fate according to Korean fortune-telling traditions . Changing their name to a more auspicious one would increase their chance of living a happier and luckier life. And for those who are on the unluckier end of the stick, they change their names because it happens to be the same as that of a serial killer. In addition, some change their name because they want to be able to write it in Chinese characters (note: many, but not all, Korean names t...

Hello, this is Uptempo!  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%EC%86%90%EB%AF%BC%EC%88%98 The caption on the first video reads ‘ 난 내 절친을 손민수 한다 ,’ which translates to ‘ I Son Min-soo my best friend ’. The second video reads ‘ 손민수 뜻 알려 드림 ,’ which means ‘ I’ll tell you what Son Min-soo means ’. Son Min-soo is a character from ' Cheese in the Trap ,' a South Korean webtoon/TV series that stars famous actors like Park Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, Seo Kang-joon, and Lee Sung-kyung.  https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list?titleId=720121 Min-soo is a shy, timid, and introverted character who has poor self-esteem. No one in school even knew her name because she was such an outsider. She gained notoriety after she began imitating Seol, the charming and popular main character, to boost her self-esteem.  When Nam Joo-yeon mixes laxatives in Seol’s drink, Min-soo exchanges Seol’s drink with Joo-yeon’s to save Seol. She admires Seol so much that Seol’s every word strongly affects her e...

Hello, this is Uptempo! While strong, confident women are usually respected in Western cultures, weak and submissive women are often praised in Korea. If a girl is too strong, they are judged and called ‘ 기가 세다 ,’ ‘ 센 언니 ,’ ‘ 센 누나 ’.  https://youtu.be/koNK8pI5Zdc ‘ 기 ’ means ‘ energy ,’ ‘ 세다 ’ means ' strong .' Even though each word has no bad connotations on its own, when two of them are combined, they produce a negative connotation. Some people define ‘ 기가 센 ’ person as ‘ stubborn ,’ ‘ aggressive ,’ and ‘ obsessive ,’ while others argue that the only reason the word ‘기가 센’ has a negative connotation is that people are jealous of the ‘센’ people’s confidence . Even though the term is usually associated with negative connotations, it may have both positive and negative connotations depending on the context and the speaker’s intention. For example, during a competition, it’s a compliment to call someone ‘기가 세다’. In that situation, it means the ‘기 센’ person seems to be winning.  ...

Hello, this is Uptempo! To what extent do you agree with the statements “Customers are always right” or ‘Customer is a King’? Koreans also say ‘ 소비자는/손님은 왕이다(A Consumer/Customer is a King) ’. Photo by   Blake Wisz   on   Unsplash Unfortunately, some customers abuse this statement and take it too far. Some clients are overly proud of themselves or hold the wrong belief that the company will fail if they do not support it. If a client is dissatisfied and becomes obnoxious, the responsibility may rest on the support staff. Some consumers are aware that they may receive an apology or even a reward from the company if they act rudely toward a customer service representative. Koreans call these obnoxious consumers ‘ 진상 ’. The term ‘진상’ is made of the Chinese word ‘進上’. 進(진) means ‘to give’ or 'to bribe’ 上(상) means ‘upper’ or ‘the king’. Photo by   Europeana   on   Unsplash The term ‘진상’ was originally used to describe ‘the act of giving or bribing superiors with...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Do you remember from the last article that ‘ 허언증 ’ means ‘ pathological lying ’? People who are ‘pathological liars’ usually create ‘ 주작 ,’ which are ‘ exaggerated stories ’ or ‘ rumors that aren’t true ’. However, ‘주작’ isn’t as bad as ‘허언증,’ since some of them are made to be funny. Below meme became famous for being a ‘주작’.  It reads: I was crossing the street on a red light. A car failed to see me and dashed toward me. Lol The first thing that sprang to my mind was that I wanted to live and that I shouldn’t be late for school. So, I jumped on top of the car and skipped over it. I tripped and then tumbled. As if nothing had happened, I dashed to school. 빨간 불 means red light 차 means car 점프 means 점프 Can you tell that this is not something that actually happened?  Below is another popular 주작:   The meme reads: My older uncle graduated from Seoul University and now works for Samsung, while my younger uncle graduated from Kyung-Hee University. My co...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Because of ‘ 약육강식 ’ and ‘ 상명하복 ’ culture in Korea, there are many Koreans who show ‘ 강약약강 ’ attitude.  ‘ 약육강식 ’ is directly translated to ‘ Weak Meat Strong Eat ,’ which means ‘ The strong take the flesh of the weak’ or ‘The law of the jungle ’. ‘ 상명하복 ’ is an abbreviation for ‘ 상 관이 명 령하면 하 관은 복 종한다 ,’ which means “ When seniors order, juniors must obey ”. ‘ 강약약강 ’ is an abbreviation for ‘ 강 한 자에게는 약 하고 약 한 자에게는 강 한 모습 (Strong attitude toward the weak and weak attitude toward the strong) ’. It refers to the act of flattering and praising a powerful person while acting dishonorably toward someone weak or in a lower position.  Ex) A: 예빈이 좀 봐. 선배들 직접 찾아가서 고기 구워주고 있어. A: Look at Ye-Bin. She is grilling meat for the seniors on the barbecue. B: 쟤 우리 앞에서는 고기 구워본 적 없다고 우리한테 다 시키지 않았나? 저기서는 잘 굽네. B: Didn’t she say that she has never grilled meat before and made us do it? She seems good at it. A: 원래 쟤가 좀 강약약강 이잖아. A: You know, she is a sycophant .  In the v...