Uptempo Global

Hello, this is Uptempo! One of Korea’s oldest and most popular children’s songs is ‘ 원숭이 엉덩이는 빨개 ,’ which means ‘ Monkeys have red butts ’. No one knows exactly when the song was made. However, many believe it was around 1909, when Japan downgraded Changgyeonggung Palace to Changgyeongwon Zoo and imported Japanese monkeys, as Korea had never had monkeys before. https://youtu.be/m6pG1uyOjHM The song goes like this: 원숭이 엉덩이는 빨 ~ 개 Monkeys have red butt 빨가면 사과 ‘Red’ is for apples 사과는 맛있어 Apples are yummy 맛있으면 바나나 ‘Yummy’ is for bananas 바나나는 길어 Bananas are long 길면 기차 ‘Long’ is for trains 기차는 빨라 Trains are fast 빠르면 비행기 ‘Fast’ is for planes 비행기는 높아 Planes are ‘high’ in the sky 높으면 백두산 ‘High’ is for Paektu Mountain 백두산은 커 Mt. Baekdu is huge 크면 고래 ‘Huge’ is for whales 고래는 헤엄처 Whales swim 헤엄치면 금붕어 ‘swim’ is for Goldfish 금붕어는 예뻐 Goldfish are pretty 예쁘면 장미 ‘Pretty’ is for roses 장미는 빨개 Roses are red 빨가면 사과 ‘Red’ is for apples 사과는 맛있어 Apples are yummy… And the song continues. ...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Hello, this is Uptempo! Summer is approaching, which is the ideal time for people to splash in the water and cool themselves. ‘Splash’ is an onomatopoeia that describes the sound of an object or a person hitting a liquid. ‘ 어푸 ’ is a Korean onomatopoeia that describes the sound of a person splashing or swimming in water. To be more specific, ‘ 어푸 ’ describes the sound a person produces when breathing in or out of the water, particularly when their breath strikes the water. https://youtu.be/7n9D8ZeOQv0 The following are the lyrics of IU’s ‘ 어푸 (Ah-Puh)’: I'm such a good surfer 가라앉지 않기 I tried not to fall/drown 비틀 비 비틀 거리다가 풍덩 uh I stumble, s, stumble and splash 빠지더라도 구명복 따윈 졸업 Even if I drown, I have graduated from life jackets (I will not wear a life jacket). I'm such a good surfer 휩쓸리지 않기 I will not be swept away 게워내더라도 지는 건 난 못 참아 It’s fine if I throw up, but I can’t stand losing. 제일 높은 파도 올라타타 라차차우아 Let’s get on the highest wave. 해일...

Hello, this is Uptempo! When you type quickly on your phone, you’re likely to make typos. The iPhone’s keyboard has autocorrect turned on by default, which means it will correct a misspelling like ‘adn’ to ‘and’. The function is useful most of the time, but it can get annoying sometimes. It sometimes makes poor guesses that lead text senders into some very awkward situations.   Same in Korea. Below is a screenshot of texts between a couple who are arguing. They are having a serious conversation, but the autocorrect function is distracting them.     It reads: Boyfriend: 넌 항상 니 맘대로지 남자친구 : You always have to get your own way B: 뭘 내 맘대로야 니야말로 이기자 부대 이기적이지 When did I get my own way? You’re the… 27th Infantry Division Selfish one Boyfriend: 내가 너랑 무슨 말을 하겠냐 남자친구 : I’m speechless   B: 지금 헤어드라이기 Now hairdryer 헤어지자는거지 ? Are you implying that we should break up? 니가 그런 식으로 말라 비틀어진 도라지 잖아 . You’re the one who dried platycodon root like that 말하잖아 who talks lik...

Hello, this is Uptempo! The song "Tomboy" by the South Korean girl group (G)I-dle for their first studio album I Never Die was released by Cube Entertainment as the album's lead single on March 14, 2022.   Congratulations to (G)I-DLE for winning first place on SBS's “Inkigayo” for Tomboy ! The song is about a girl discovering her true freedom and breaking the stereotypical image of an 'ideal’ girlfriend. https://youtu.be/Jh4QFaPmdss The lyrics are as follows: Look at you 넌 못 감당해 날 . 못 means can’t 감당하다 means handle Look at you , You can’t handle me . Ya, took off the hook Look at my toe, 나의 ex 이름 tattoo Look at my toe, there’s a tattoo of my ex’s name on it I got to drink up now, 니가 싫다 해도 좋아 (ah!) 싫다 means ‘ no ’ or ‘ don’t like ’ 좋아 means ‘ ok ’ or ‘ I like it ’ I got to drink up now, I don’t care even if you say no (ah!) Why are you cranky, boy? 뭘 그리 찡그려 너 ‘ 찡그리다 ’ means ‘ to frown ’ Why are you frowning? (What’s the deal with you?) Do you want ...

Hello, this is Uptempo! The expression ‘ 알잘딱깔센 ’ has become increasingly popular after BTS members have mentioned it on a variety web series called ‘ 달려라 방탄 ( Run BTS )’. The following is a video clip from the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISyurDSjrVE The video shows a situation where RM and Jin pose a question to the other members, to which they must answer.   RM says, ‘ 이게 웃기긴 할 것 같은데 (I think this would be funny), ’ and Jin responds, ‘ 오케이 이거 한다 (Okay then, let’s do this one) ’. Jin reads ‘ 알잘딱갈센 ’ to the group.   Three of them scream for their chance to answer the question. When 지민 gets picked, he answers by saying, ‘ 알아서 잘 딱 깔끔하고 센스있게 ’. ‘ 알아서 하다 ’ means ‘ Figure it out yourself, ’ ‘ 잘 ’ means ’ well’ ‘ 딱 ’ means ‘ right ’ ‘ 깔끔하게 ’ means ‘ flawlessly, ’ ‘ 센스있게 ’ means ‘ tactfully ’ Ex) A: 그 회사는 디자인 어떤 식으로 해 달래 ? What type of design are they looking for? B: 뭐라고 했겠냐 ? What do you think they said? A: 음 … 알잘딱깔센 ? Umm… ‘ Figure it out for you...

Hello, this is Uptempo! Photo by   Dmitriy Koryas   on   Unsplash Can you believe that nectarines are the hottest fruit on Earth? It may sound confusing, but some Koreans believe it to be so. ‘ 세상에서 제일 뜨거운 과일은 ? 천도 복숭아 ’ is one of Korea’s oldest jokes. ‘ 세상에서 ’ means ‘ on earth ’ or ‘ in the world ’ ‘ 제일 ’ means ‘ the most ’ ‘ 뜨거운 ’ means ‘ hot ’ ‘ 과일 ’ means ‘ fruit ’ ‘ 천도 ’ means ‘ 1000°C ’ ‘ 복숭아 ’ means ‘ peach(es) ’ In this case, ‘ 천도복숭아 ’ refers to ‘ Nectarines ,’ which is a type of ‘ 복숭아 (peach) ’. Photo by   Julien Pianetti   on   Unsplash Then, what do you call an apple that is half bitten? ( 한 입 베어먹은 사과는 ? ) A typical Korean 아재 (older man/middle-aged man) would say the answer is ‘ 파인애플 (Pineapple) ’. ‘ 한 ‘ means ‘ one ’ ‘ 입 ’ means ‘ mouth ’ ‘ 베어먹다 ’ means ‘ to take a bite out of and eat ’ ‘ 사과 ’ refers to ‘ an apple ’ ‘ 파이다 ’ means ‘ hollowed ,’ ‘ carved , ’ ‘ bit off ,’ ‘ dent ,’ etc So, pineapple may sound like a ‘ dented apple ’ in Kore...

Hello, this is Uptempo! What do sprinters eat before a race? – Nothing. They fast.   I wish Covid-19 had started in Las Vegas. Because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. When it comes to dad jokes, it appears that there are either fans or haters. However, they are the most basic type of humor that will last as long as there are dads on the planet. Koreans also have a love-hate relationship with dad jokes ( 아재개그 ). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginseng ‘ 세사람만 탈 수 있는 차 : 인삼차 ’ is directly translated to ‘ What do you call the car that only three people can ride? – Ginseng tea’ . 세 means three 사람 means people 탈 means ride ~ 수 있다 means can 인삼 means ginseng 차 means car or tea In Chinese letters, ‘ 인 ( 人 )’ stands for ‘people ,’ ‘ 삼 ( 蔘 )’ stands for ‘ginseng’ and ‘ 차 ( 茶 )’ stands for ‘tea’ Because ‘ 삼 ’ means both ‘ ginseng ’ and ‘ three ,’ and ‘ 차 ’ means both ‘ car ’ and ‘ tea ,’ the above statement makes sense. Photo by   Nacho Fernández   on   Uns...