Uptempo Global

Hello, this is Uptempo! One of the popular YouTube videos by ‘ 남자머리 해결사송샘 (Mr. Song, the Trouble-shooter for men’s hair)’ is titled ‘ 딱 정해줄게요 . 샴푸만 해야하는지 린스도 해야하는지. ’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBQqerTgeFE&t=55s ‘ 딱 정해줄게요 ’ means ‘Let me make the right/best decision for you’ ‘ 샴푸 ’ means ‘Shampoo’ ‘ 만 ’ means ‘Only’ ‘ 해야하는 ’ means ‘should’ ‘ 지 ’ means ‘or’ ‘ 린스 ’ is directly translated to ‘rinse,’ but in Korea, ‘ 린스 ’ refers to a ‘conditioner.’ So, the title means: “I’ll make the best decision for you on whether you should only shampoo your hair or also use a conditioner.” Ex) A: 민지야 , 너 머리결이 항상 좋아 보여 . 평소에 특별한 관리 방법이 있어 ? A:  Min-Ji, your hair always looks amazing. Do you follow a special hair care routine? B: 아니 , 린스 매일 쓰는 것 밖에는 없어 . B:   Not really. I just use conditioner daily. ‘ 린스 ’ is one of the most frequently used ‘ 콩글리쉬 (Konglish)’ (Konglish is the English loanword that has been adopted into the Korean language but is not readily underst...

Hello, this is Uptempo! The below video titled ‘ 프로 불편러 시점. ’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFqSlFghBq0&t=24s ‘ 프로 ’ means ‘pro’ in ‘professional’ ‘ 불편 ’ means ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘annoyed’ ‘ 러 ’ is a Konglish for ‘-er.’ Koreans often emphasize one’s characteristics or personalities by adding the suffix ‘-er( 러 )’ to the end of words that describe them. Since many jobs in English end with ‘-er’, adding ‘-er’ to a word gives the impression that it’s almost like their job to have that particular personality.   ‘ 프로 불편러 ’ refers to someone who complains a lot or gets annoyed over little things. ‘ 시점 ’ means ‘point of view’ It starts out with a girl waiting at the traffic light. The alarm goes off and says “ 위험하오니   차도로   들어가지   마세요. ” ‘ 위험 ’ means ‘dangerous,’ ‘ 차도 ’ means ‘road,’ ‘ 들어가지 ’ means ‘enter’ or ‘step into,’ ’ 마세요 ’ means ‘do not’ It means “Do not enter the road (Step away from the road) since it is dangerous.” The alarm continues and adds “ 횡단보도 내에...

Hello, this is Uptempo! ‘ 정 ’ refers to the warm sense of attachment that those in close relationships feel for one another. Even though people from every culture have the ‘feeling of attachment, ‘ 정 ’ is a little different, and is a distinctive aspect of Korean culture, in the sense that it also includes one’s ‘warm behavior’ toward strangers.   On the other hand, one can fall out of ‘ 정. ’  ‘ 정뚝떨 ’ is an abbreviation for ‘ 정이 뚝 떨어진다 ,’ which is directly translated to “Jeong falls/drops suddenly.” It means that someone was ‘turned off’ or ‘has fallen out of love or friendship.’ The below video is titled ‘ 정뚝떨 썸남 종특. ’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWuFeeyIaak It means “The characteristics of a date who turns you off.” In the video, the guy asks a girl “ 야 , 너 밤샜나 ? 얼굴 왜 이렇게 늙었어 ?” ‘ 밤을 새다 ’ means ‘stay up all night’ ‘ 얼굴 ’ means ‘face’ ‘ 이렇게 ’ means ‘like this’ ‘ 늙었어 ’ means ‘old’ He is saying “Hey, did you stay up all night? Why do you look so old like this?” ...

Hello, this is Uptempo! The below video is titled “ 사람들이 오해하는 학과별 처참한 현실. ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJIYZrLlWMw ‘ 사람들 ’ means ‘people’ ‘ 오해하다 ’ means ‘to misconceive’ ‘ 학과 ’ means ‘department’ or ‘major’ ‘ 별 ’ means ‘each’ ‘ 처참한 ’ means ‘tragic’ or miserable’ ‘ 현실 ’ means ‘reality’ or ‘truth’ The title means: “The tragic reality of each department or major that the majority of people don’t realize.” The first meme reads: “ 안녕하세요 . 건축학부 입니다 . 저희 건축관 비 샙니다 . 그럼 20000.” ‘ 안녕하세요 ’ means ‘hi’ ‘ 건축학부 ’ means ‘architecture (major)’ ‘ 저희 ’ means ‘our’ ‘ 건축관 ’ means ‘Architecture building’ ‘ 비 샙니다 ’ means ‘leaks when it rains’ ‘ 그럼 20000’ means ‘Alright, then. Bye’ or ‘That’s about it for now. Bye.’ ‘20000’ is pronounced as ‘ 이만 ,’ which means ‘for now.’ The sentence means: “Hi, I’m an architecture major. Our Architecture building leaks when it rains. That’s about it (Alright, then). Bye.” The other meme is read: “ 안녕하세요 . 경영학과입니다 . 우리 학과 교수님 주식으로 망했습니다 . 그럼 20000.” ‘ 경영...

Hello, this is Uptempo! The below video that has received 15K likes and 1.3M views is titled “ 최악의 카카오톡 고백 월드컵. ” ‘ 최악의 ’ means ‘the worst.’ ‘ 카카오톡 (KakaoTalk),’ which is commonly referred to as ‘ 카톡 (KaTalk),’ is the most popular mobile messaging app in South Korea. It has 53 million monthly active users . ‘ 고백 ’ is ‘asking someone to be one’s girlfriend or boyfriend.’ ‘ 월드컵 ’ means ‘World Cup,’ and in this case, it means ‘contest.’ So, the title is directly translated to “The Worst Way to Ask Someone to be Their Girlfriend/Boyfriend Contest” https://youtu.be/oJcfb1OAWSo The first one reads: “ 오빠 !! 뜬금없을 수도 있는데 낼 영화 어때 !!! (Hey!! This might sound random, but why don’t we watch a movie together tomorrow!?)” The guy replies, “ 굿 . ____ 가 보자는데 당연히 콜이지 ! (Good. I’m down for it whenever ___ asks).” ‘ 콜 ’ is directly translated to ‘call,’ but the expression is usually used to mean “I’m down for it.” The girl texts, “ 아 , 미안 . ____ 오빠한테 보낸다는 게 ㅠㅠ 쏘리 !! (Oh no, I’m sorry. I ...

Hello, this is Uptempo! No one wants to sell something for less than the price they paid for it, especially when trading stocks. However, many famous stock analysts claim that one should sell a stock when it falls 7%-8% below one’s original purchase price. This basic principle of cutting losses early could spare investors from suffering a severe fall that would be impossible to recover from. In Korean, this technique is called ‘ 손절. ’ The word ‘ 손절 ’ is not only used in stock trading but also in relationships. It means ‘to cut someone out of one’s life (early enough to minimize the emotional ‘loss’ that one experiences).’ Ex) A: 민정이가 요즘 너가 전화 안 받는다고 속상해하더라 . 무슨 일 이야 ? A:  Min-Jeong has been whining to me about how depressed she is that you no longer answer or return her calls. What’s going on? B: 나 걔 손절 했잖아 . B: I cut her out of my life. A: 왜 ? 무슨 일 있었어 ? A:  Why? What happened? B: 항상 생각 해 왔던거긴 한데 , 저번주에 걔가 정말 선 넘었어 . B: I have always thought ab...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Slang words evolve over time, just like any language. The below video explains how slang words have evolved over time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_eFXqaiCyM It is titled: “ 옛날 잼민이와 요즘 잼민이의 말투차이 ” ‘ 옛날 ’ means ‘old’ ‘ 잼민이 ’ refers to ‘little kids’ especially ‘elementary students’. ‘ 요즘 ’ means’ contemporary’ or ‘now’ ‘ 말투 ’ means ‘diction’ or ‘one’s way(manner) of talking’ It is translated to “The differences between the languages kids used in the past and the languages they use now” The term ‘ 잼민이 ’ first appeared in 2019 when someone used the AI voice of a little boy named ‘ 재민 (Jaemin)’ on the internet for fun. Since many people thought it was fun to use the voice, the words ‘ 잼 (fun)’ and ‘ 재민 (Jaemin)’ were combined to form the word ‘ 잼민 (Jaemmin).’ In the video, 주둥이 (Joodoonge) lists a number of words that were once popular among 잼민이 s but are no longer in use. He says, “ 사라진 단어들이 있어요 (There are a few words that have disappeared).” Some of th...

Hello, this is Uptempo! A guy with ‘ 너드미 ’ and ‘ 찐따미 ’ has become popular among Korean girls lately.   ‘ 너드 ’ means ‘a nerd,’ ‘ 찐따 ’ means ‘a loser’ or ‘a dork’ ‘ 미 ’ means ‘beauty’ or ‘charm’ Both ‘ 너드 ’ and ‘ 찐따 ’ are quirky and socially awkward people who seem to be out of touch with modern trends, but ‘ 너드 ’ usually are recognized for their intellectual prowess. ‘ 찐따 ’ doesn’t usually have the same level of intelligence as ‘ 너드 ’. While words like ‘ 너드 ’ and ‘ 찐따 ’ can be used in both positive and negative contexts, ‘ 너드미 ’ and ‘ 찐따미 ’ are always used positively. The closest English translation would be ‘adorkable.’  It implies that one’s ‘ 너드 ’ or ‘ 찐따 ’ characteristics are part of what makes them charming. It is interesting how the word ‘ 찐따미 / 너드미 ’ is defined differently by men and women. The following video illustrates an average woman’s definition of the word ‘ 너드남 / 찐따남 ’: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fXyjP2qKj0g The girl defines a ‘ 너드남 (nerdy man)’ as “ 옷 대...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Below video is titled ‘ 예쁜 사람이 착하다는 말은 진리다. ’ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/beUEMdMDK-w ‘ 예쁜 ’ means ‘pretty’ ‘ 사람 ’ means ‘person’ or ‘people’ ‘ 착하다 ’ means ‘nice’ or ‘friendly’ ‘ 말 ’ means ‘statement’ or ‘idiom’ ‘ 진리 ’ means ‘truth’ or ‘true’ The title means “It was true that pretty girls are friendly.” The guy in the video poses as a ‘ 타이완 사람 (Taiwanese)’ and asks a girl how to get to the ‘ 동사무소 (Town hall).’ Then he abruptly changes his direction and asks how to go to the ‘ 시청 (City hall)’ instead.  “ 수원시청 (Su-won city hall)?” she asked. He continues, ‘ 동사무소 , 시청 ’. She explains that ‘ 동사무소 and 시청 ’ are two different places.   He replies, “ 좋은 거 알려주세요 (Please let me know which one is good).” ‘ 좋은 거 ’ means ‘something good’. ‘ 알려주세요 ’ means ‘Please tell me’ or ‘Please suggest to me.’ She assumes that he is asking “which one is closer,” and she explains, “ 동사무소 is smaller and 시청 is bigger.” “No,” he continues, “ 똥 싸면서 시청하면 좋은 영상. ” ‘...