Uptempo Global

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Ranking the highest suicide rate in the OECD, South Korea is notorious for its high-stress professional and educational environments. Staying up late working or studying is the norm.  Many students feel like their entire life depends on a single college entrance exam, the Suneung. It is held in November every year, and it is so important to not distract the kids from the exam that even planes are grounded on Suneung day.  Because there are only three colleges that are considered top tier by their potential employers, the exam is extremely competitive. According to Yonhap News, over one-third of middle and high school students considered suicide over the past year due to academic pressures ( https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210419007000315 ) An alarming 53% of young South Koreans who confessed to feeling suicidal said that poor academic achievement was the major reason for such feelings ( https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/opinion/sunday/south-ko...

 https://youtu.be/7PtxByaK5M0 Alicia Keys I Need You (너가 필요해) ​ The sand loves when The waves come The sky can't wait For the light of the sun ​ 파도가 모래를 적셔줄 때 모래는 너무 좋아해 하늘은 애타게 기다려 햇빛이 돌아오기를 ​ So how could you Look me in my eye and not see what What I feel inside Tell me, how could you Doubt the fact that I I love you? I love you ​ 그런데 넌 어떻게 내 눈을 똑바로 보면서 그렇게 내 마음을 모를 수가 있어? 말해봐 도대체 어떻게 의심할 수가 있어? 내가 널 사랑하는 걸 널 사랑하는 걸 ​ Don't you ever think like that Don't you ever, never do that There will never be two things That go together better than you and me ​ 그런식으로 생각하지마 그런식으로, 그건 하지마 이 세상을 다 살펴봐도 너와 나만큼 잘 맞는 한쌍은 없을 거야 ​ North needs South East needs West And no needs yes, yes, yes Up needs down Life needs death And no needs yes, yes, yes ​ 북쪽은 남쪽이 필요해 동쪽은 서쪽이 필요해 그리고 no는 yes가 필요해 위는 아래가 필요해 삶은 죽음이 필요해 그리고 no는 yes가 필요해 ​ I need you ​ 난 너가 필요해 ​ So how could you Look me in my eye and not see what What I feel inside Tell me, how could you Doubt the fact that I I love you? I love you ...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Do you love K-dramas and K-pops? What about K-history? If you’re interested in Korean culture and language, you would know who created the Korean writing system, Hangul: King Sejong (Sejong the Great) He was the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, and is considered the best King in Korea. But what about other Kings? Is it important to remember them all? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eviUYrMgP88 Above is a song that Korean kids learn that helps them memorize the names of the Kings during Joseon Dynasty. It’s a good learning song that goes like: “태정태세문단세예성연중인명선광인효현숙경영정순헌철고순”. Because it is hard to remember the names of all the Kings, they took the first letters of the Kings’ names and made into a song. It’s an abbreviation of “태종, 세종, 문종 단종, 세조, 예종, 성종...” and so on. But why is it on humor blogs? https://hygall.com/195863418 Above are lists of the funniest usernames chosen during 2019-2020. Do you see “태정태세문단속잘해라”? It looks the same as the original song...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! Westerners say “don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” when someone depends on something hoped for before he or she knows for certain that it will happen.  What about Koreans? The closest Korean idiom is: The equivalent Korean proverb is ”떡 줄 사람은 생각도 않는데 김칫국부터 마신다”. source: https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%96%A1 떡 is rice cake 줄 is give 사람 is person 생각 is think 않는데 is doesn’t 김칫국 is Kimchi soup 마신다 is drink It means to “drink Kimchi soup before someone gives you rice cakes.” Koreans used to eat rice cakes with kimchi soup in the old days because kimchi soups are known to assist digestion. However, Kimchi soup here refers to 동치미 instead of a regular Kimchi soup we eat today. 동치미, which literally means “winter water kimchi,” is mild water-based kimchi. It is made with a white radish called dongchimi mu during the kimjang (kimchi making season) and eaten during the winter.  Radishes are known to be high in roughage and fiber and co...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! As I covered in my last article, Koreans like to eat. In fact, they even “eat” age, heat, blame, and bribe! ‘ 먹다 ’ means to ‘eat’ in Korean, and they say 더위(heat)를 먹다 , 욕(blame)을 먹다 , and 뇌물(bribe)을 먹다 . What does it mean to “eat age” in Korean?  “나이를 먹다” means “to age” .  Below is a popular meme that reads, “The scariest thing about eating age is that I can’t say ‘Oh, I’m too young to know that’ anymore”. Did you get it? It basically means that the writer is scared of getting old, because he can’t just say “Oh, I didn’t know that” when he makes a mistake. He has to be more responsible for what he does. What about “eating heat”? “더위,” means “heat,” and “먹다” means “ to eat”. “더위를 먹다” means “to get heat exhaustion”. When you think about it, it makes sense that someone would get exhaustion from ‘taking in’ too much heat. To use it in a sentence: “나 더위 먹은 것 같아” = “I think I have a heat exhaustion” By now, you might have realized that ‘먹다’ can...

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers! ‘밸런스게임,’ which roughly translates to “balance game,” is a popular game in Korea that is similar to “would you rather?”. The participants are given a limited amount of time to choose between two extreme possibilities.  [밸런스게임 질문 모음] 50문제 웃긴 질문 / 재미있는 질문 싹쓰리 !!! - YouTube "Would you rather not brush your teeth for the rest of your life or not shower for the rest of your life?" or "Would you rather hear consoling words or get honest critique after you've messed up your presentation?" are some of the questions in the above YouTube movie. This game has grown in popularity to the point where it is now played by everyone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd61rG4_-Sc&t=296s They also played the 밸런스게임 on 러닝맨(Running Man), one of the most popular Korean variety shows in Korea. The question goes: “더 싫은 상황은? 1. 남사친과 1박2일 여행가는 애인 2. 전남친과 밤새 술 마시는 애인”  더 means more; 싫은 means hate ; 상황 means situation . Do you remember 남사친 from the othe...