[Korean Culture & Language] School Lunch

Hello, this is Uptempo!


The word ‘급식’ originally means ‘providing meals’. For example, if you went over to your friend’s place and their mom cooked you dinner, it would be considered ‘급식’.

However, today, the term is exclusively used to refer to ‘school meals’ or ‘school lunch’ served in elementary, middle, and high schools. 


https://youtu.be/H_0RThINqcc

Ex) 오늘 급식 메뉴 뭔지 아는 사람?
오늘 means today
급식 means school lunch
메뉴 means menu
아는 means to know
사람 means a person
= Does anyone know what today’s school lunch menu is?


Many ‘급식팬(kids fans)’ may be found on social media such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, and Tiktok. They often use ‘급식체,’ which literally means ‘a language/slang commonly used by elementary, middle, and high school students’. ㅁㅎ, ㄱㅇㄷ, ㄱㄲ, ㅇㅈ, ㅇㅈ? ㅇ ㅇㅈ, and ㄴㅇㅈ are some of the most commonly used 급식체.


Ex)
A: 내일 ㅁㅎ?
내일 means tomorrow,
ㅁㅎ? is an abbreviation for 뭐해?, which means ‘What are you up to?’ or ‘What are you doing?’
A: What are you doing tomorrow?/Do you have any plans for tomorrow?

B: 숙제 다 해서 내일 하루 종일 게임 할 수 있어!
숙제 means homework,
다 means all
해서 means did
내일 means tomorrow
하루 종일 means all-day
게임 means game
할수 있다 means can
B: I finished my homework, so I can play games all day!

A: 오, ㄱㄲ
‘ㄱㄲ' is an abbreviation for ‘개 꿀’ which is directly translated as ‘dog honey’ but actually means ‘sweet’. ‘개(dog)’ is often added to a word to emphasize how good or bad something is.

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[Korean Culture & Language] Impulsiveness and MBTI

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Hello, this is Uptempo! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become increasingly popular in Korea in 2020, owing to people’s boredom due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Since the spring, MBTI feeds have been readily available on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.   Below is a popular meme titled ‘ #MBTI 충동 (MBTI Impulsiveness) ’. This meme jokingly illustrates how ‘ 충동적인 (impulsive)’ each MBTI types are.   https://ddnews.co.kr/mbti-%EC%A7%A4-%EB%B0%88/ It reads: 전혀 충동적이지 않음 (Not impulsive at all): ENTJ, ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ 평균적으로 충동적임 (Average impulsivity): INTJ, INFJ, ENFJ, ESFJ 너무 충동적 (Very impulsive): INTP, INFP, ISTP, ISFP 엄청나게 충동적 (Extremely impulsive): ENTP, ENFP, ESTP, ESFP 전혀 means ‘ not at all ,’ 평균적으로 means ‘ to an average level ,’ 너무 means ‘ very , ’ 엄청나게 means ‘ extremely ’.   The above meme is another illustration of impulsiveness by MBTI types. ENFP says “ 요즘 자수가 너무 배우고 싶어 (I want to learn how to embroider). 근데 나 소묘도 배워...
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[Korean Culture & Language] Switching between the liver and the gallbladder

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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...
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[Korean Culture & Language] Washing one's Identity

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Hello, this is Uptempo! In July 2021, a Chinese man in his 50s got arrested for killing two people in China and fleeing to Korea. It took years to catch him because he has ‘ 신분세탁 (washed his identity) ’ . Photo by   Jeremy Sallee   on   Unsplash https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/24104555#home According to Korea JoongAng Daily, this murderer killed two people in Yantai, Shandong Province, China in 1987, when he was 20. While hiding in China, he made a new passport after ‘ 신분세탁 (washing his identification) ’. He entered Korea in 2016, and has obtained a permanent residency (F5) visa by marrying a Chinese woman who had obtained Korean citizenship a while back. The term 신분세탁 (Washing one’s identity) refers to a person’s attempt to conceal their prior identity to rebuild a new life . Prostitutes and ex-convicts, for example, are likely to strive to 신분세탁 (rebuild their lives by concealing the fact that they have ever committed a crime or worked as a prostitute).   Belo...
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