[Korean Culture & Language] Year of Birth

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Do you recall ‘급식체,’ ‘the language/slang commonly used by elementary, middle, and high school students’? ‘어쩔티비(So What TV)’ is one of the most popular ones as of May 2022.

It is a shortened version of “So, what do you want me to do about it? Just go watch TV or something”. 


Following video is titled ‘어쩔티비 로 08년생 이기는 김용명’.

김용명 어쩔티비 - YouTube

‘08년생’ refers to ‘someone who was born in 2008’

Since age is important in Korea not only in determining whether or not you are of legal drinking age but also in social interactions, people often introduce themselves or refer to someone as ‘(year of birth)년생’.

Ex) IVE의 장원영은 04년생이야
IVE’s Jang Won-young was born in 2004.


Ex) 나는 08년생이야. 너는?
I was born in 2008. What about you?


‘이기는’ means ‘to win’ or ‘to beat’

So, the title means ‘Kim Yong-Myung beats a girl born in 2008 with 어쩔티비’.


The girl in the video was born in 2008, which means she is a ‘급식(school meals/kids who are still attending elementary, middle, and high schools and eat school meals)’. Since ‘어쩔티비’ is a ‘급식체 (the language 급식s use),’ everyone expects the girl to beat the man in the video. Clearly, the man in the video is not a ‘급식’. The video became viral because the man surprises the little girl with his hidden ‘급식체’ skills. 

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