[Korean Culture & Language] CarTalk

Hello, this is Uptempo!


Dad jokes are the groan-worthy, pun-laden, can’t-help-but-laugh type of humor that only dads can offer. In Korea, those jokes are called ‘아재개그’. 

‘아재’ is another word for ‘아저씨,’ which refers to ‘an older man/middle-aged man’. ‘개그’ means ‘joke’. 

Dad jokes can be so bad that they're funny. The same goes for ‘아재개그’.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Some of the 아재개그 examples are:

자동차를 톡 하고 치면: 카톡

‘자동차’ is a ‘car’
‘톡’ is an onomatopoeia for hitting
‘치다’ means ‘to hit’
‘카톡’ means ‘KaTalk,’ which is an abbreviation for ‘카카오톡 (KakaoTalk)’.

카카오톡 (KakaoTalk) is the most popular messaging application in Korea that provides an array of free call and text messaging services.


So, ‘자동차를 톡 하고 치면: 카톡’ means: ‘What do you call it if a car ‘톡’ hits you? -It is called KaTalk’. Because there is no ‘r’ or equivalent sound in the Korean alphabet, “KaTalk(KakaoTalk)’ and ‘CarTalk’ may sound similar to Koreans.


Photo by Denes Kozma on Unsplash\

발로 차를 차면: 카놀라유
‘발’ means ‘foot’
‘차’ means ‘car’
‘차다’ means ‘to kick’
‘카놀라유’ means ‘Canola oil’. However, with a Kyeong-sang accent, it also sounds like ‘the car would be freaked out’.

So, ‘발로 차를 차면: 카놀라유’ means: ‘What happens if you kick a car? - Canola Oil (The car would be freaked out)’.

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

[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] Stagnant Water

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! Stagnant water, often referred to as ‘standing water,’ provides an ideal breeding ground for biofilms. It is unsafe to drink water that has been left out or pooled in one spot for a long time because it contains bacteria or fungi that may carry various germs. Consuming them can cause waterborne diseases like legionella.   Stagnant water may also corrode metal and damage utility infrastructure. Photo by   Jordan Whitfield   on   Unsplash There is an old idiom in Korea ‘ 고인물은 썩는다 ’. It is translated as ‘ stagnant water will certainly go bad ’. ‘ 고인 ’ means ‘ stagnant ,’ or ‘ pool of’ ‘ 물 ’ means ‘ water’ ‘ 썩는다 ’ means ‘ to spoil’ https://youtu.be/jNWHNL1OWig Today, ‘ 고인물 ’ is used as a slang term to describe someone who has spent a significant amount of time in a particular social group or organization, most commonly an online community . The term originated from a gaming community, and it refers to someone who has spent a lot of time playin...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Squid Game/Red light green light

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Korean Culture & Language / Squid Game / “Red Light, Green Light”: a somewhat literary critique Translation is not just about delivering the meanings of words; it’s also about delivering the experiences that those words inspire. Therein lies the difference between literal and liberal translation. And “Red Light, Green Light” is a liberal translation of the following phrase: Korean 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 sound Mu-gung-hwa kko-chi pi-yeot-seum-ni-da meaning Mugunghwa flower has blossomed Mugunghwa is the national flower of South Korea, and it’s a very pretty flower, but of course it is not well-known outside of Korea. For this reason and others, I presume, the Netflix translator(s) took the liberty to drop the literal meaning of the original phrase while conveying the rules of the game. But I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with this translation, because it sacrifices the musical and poetic elements of the game that I love. So in this piece, I will t...
자세한 내용 보기