[Korean Culture & Language] Yummy is for bananas


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One of Korea’s oldest and most popular children’s songs is ‘원숭이 엉덩이는 빨개,’ which means ‘Monkeys have red butts’. No one knows exactly when the song was made. However, many believe it was around 1909, when Japan downgraded Changgyeonggung Palace to Changgyeongwon Zoo and imported Japanese monkeys, as Korea had never had monkeys before.



The song goes like this:
원숭이 엉덩이는 빨~개
Monkeys have red butt

빨가면 사과
‘Red’ is for apples

사과는 맛있어
Apples are yummy

맛있으면 바나나
‘Yummy’ is for bananas

바나나는 길어
Bananas are long

길면 기차
‘Long’ is for trains

기차는 빨라
Trains are fast

빠르면 비행기
‘Fast’ is for planes

비행기는 높아
Planes are ‘high’ in the sky

높으면 백두산
‘High’ is for Paektu Mountain

백두산은 커
Mt. Baekdu is huge

크면 고래
‘Huge’ is for whales

고래는 헤엄처
Whales swim

헤엄치면 금붕어
‘swim’ is for Goldfish

금붕어는 예뻐
Goldfish are pretty

예쁘면 장미
‘Pretty’ is for roses

장미는 빨개
Roses are red

빨가면 사과
‘Red’ is for apples

사과는 맛있어
Apples are yummy…

And the song continues.


‘Yummy is for bananas’ makes sense in terms of history. Bananas used to be expensive in the old days, and only a few people could afford them. As a result, it was considered luxury fruit. In addition, bananas in the past were usually of Gromichel kind with higher sugar content, while the bananas we consume today are usually Cavendish.

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