[Korean Culture & Language] 주작

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 cousins are currently enrolled at Hongik University and Dongguk University, respectively. Seoul University, Kyung-Hee University, Hongik University, and Donggukk University are considered to be the top schools in Korea. Likewise, Samsung is one of Korea’s most in-demand workplaces. When they asked ‘what I wanted to be when I grow up,’ I panicked and said, “I’m not sure what I’ll be when I grow up, but I’m sure I’m not going to be like you guys who can’t think outside the box. Did that answer your question?” They clapped.

Because of Korea’s ‘respect/obey the elders’ culture, it is doubtful that someone would actually say that to someone who’s older than them. This story is likely to be ‘주작’.

Do you know of someone who likes to tell ‘주작’? Why do they do it?