[Korean Culture & Language] Open Chat

Hello, this is Uptempo!


카카오톡(KakaoTalk) is the most popular texting app in South Korea that provides a variety of free calling and texting options. It also allows you to exchange photographs, movies, and other files. 

오픈카톡 is an ‘Open-Chat feature’ on KakaoTalk that allows one to join a random chat room simply by clicking on a link. Unlike regular KakaoTalk chatrooms, 오픈카톡 does not reveal one’s personal information such as phone numbers or Kakao IDs. 

The function has both positive and negative aspects. Some so-called ‘빌런 (villains)’ have abuse this function in mischievous ways. Unlike in English, the term ‘빌런 (villains)’ in Korean is used to describe someone who does something socially unacceptable yet makes others laugh especially because they don’t usually have harmful intentions.

Below is a screenshot of a ‘오픈카톡 빌런 (Open-Chat Villain)’.

 

It reads: 

‘엄마님이 들어왔습니다,’ which is translated to ‘mom has entered’.
‘엄마’ means ‘mom’
‘들어왔습니다’ means ‘has entered’


The ‘엄마(mom)’ sends a message, “집에 큰일 생겼으니 바로 전화 좀 해라”.

집에 means home or family

큰 means big
일 means issue or problem
생겼다 means happened
바로 means right now
전화 means call
좀 means please
해라 means do

So, it means ‘There’s a big family issue. Please call’

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