[Korean Culture & Language] Who threatened you with knife


Hello, this is Uptempo!

The term ‘누칼협’ has recently become popular in Korea. It is an abbreviation for ‘누가 칼 들고 협박했냐?’ which is directly translated to “Has anyone threatened you with a sword/knife?”


Ex)

A: 나 연희랑 연애하기 너무 힘들어… 그만하고 싶다.
A: Yeon-hee is too high-maintenance. I want to break up with her.
B: 거짓말 하지마. 너네 맨날 주위에 헤어졌다고 하고는 다음날 다시 사귀고 있잖아.

B: Stop lying. You always tell everyone that you broke up, but then we see you two back together the next day.
A: 이번엔 진짜 헤어지고싶어.
A: No, I’m serious this time.
B: 헤어져. 누칼협?
B: Then break up. Who threatened you with a knife to stay with her?


‘누칼협’ means ‘No one pressured you into… (doing something).’ It implies that one deserves a certain result (usually a bad one) because they made their own choices that have led to the unfortunate outcome they are currently experiencing.


It is unfortunate that a phrase like this is widely used in everyday life today. Instead of showing empathy for someone who is moaning and suffering, many people mock them and say ‘누칼협.’ 


In the response to the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy on Halloween, more than expected number of online users commented ‘누칼협,’ mocking the people who were in Itaewon that day instead of offering consolation to the victims and families. They argue that the people who went there were foolish because everyone knew Itaewon would be packed during Halloween.

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