[Curiosity Lab] The Power of Intuitive Korean Titles 'Heukbaek Yori-sa'

Domestic Black-and-White Chefs vs. Overseas Culinary Rank Wars
Despite Emphasizing Ranks, Racial Discrimination Controversy Avoided
Korean Food Popular in Hangul, but Overuse of Foreign Language Signs and Menus Regrettable

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 8th, the final episode of the Netflix variety show "Heukbaek Yorisai" was released, ranking first for three consecutive weeks in the global non-English TV category. Its English title is "Culinary Class Wars." It is a culinary class war. It is a battle between Heuksujeo and Baeksujeo. Since it is a competition between black spoons and white spoons, the English description explains it as a contest between "renowned chefs and undiscovered talents." It is a fight between the top dog and the underdog.

If written literally in English, it would be black spoon & white spoon. However, black spoon and white spoon could potentially raise racial discrimination issues in the U.S., where it might be interpreted as black and white people. Therefore, unlike the domestic title "Heukbaek Yorisai," overseas versions use the subtitle as the main title instead. As soon as the first episode was released, netizens raised racial discrimination issues, saying that black spoon implies black people, low status, and white spoon implies white people and superiority.

It is evaluated that the show succeeded domestically with an intuitive Korean title while avoiding controversy overseas. From the perspective of competing solely on taste within the class divided by black and white, not only a season 2 but also various local versions and spin-offs overseas have become possible. "Squid Game," which also made a mark in OTT history, succeeded with a concise combination of Korean and English.

While the Korean Wave is spreading worldwide and the number of foreigners learning Hangul is increasing, domestically (not only on Hangul Day), unidentified foreign languages are rather rampant. Even in places popular among young people where over 90% of customers are Korean, many places are filled with foreign languages such as English and Japanese. "M.S.G.R 7.0" is an acronym derived from the first letters of misutgaru (a traditional grain powder drink), and 7.0 means 7,000 won. It is a way of writing Korean won by deleting the thousand unit, similar to how dollars are written. 10.0 means 10,000 won. What does this mean? Recently, among Japanese and Taiwanese style restaurants, some do not sell Korean beer or soju. Instead, they sell Andong soju, kaoliang liquor, sake, or soju priced above the usual 5,000 won, as well as highballs, imported beer, and wine.

Some places even label dishes as "sharing dish" or "night dish" on the menu. Some menus lack pictures or proper descriptions of the food. Positively, this could be seen as confidence; negatively, it could be considered overconfidence without basis.

English signboard at a restaurant in Yongsan-gu, Samgakji, 'Yongridan-gil', Seoul on the 8th.
Photo by Yonhap News

The misuse of ambiguous foreign words is serious even in offices. Recently, a Pangyo dialect has become a hot topic among office workers. For example, there is a sentence: "Please resell after marriage check on the security you developed, and give me the lock and when you make up the issue." To explain: ▲ Security means security ▲ Develop means develop (work growth) ▲ Marriage check means marriage check (review of combination) ▲ Resell seems to mean re-examine in this context ▲ Make up means to resolve and supplement issues ▲ Lock and means to finalize and share.

Foreign tourists wearing hanbok visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno, Seoul, are enjoying sightseeing with hairstyles engraved with Korean consonants and vowels, showing their love for Hangul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

The word "Lean" in "Let's do it lean" originally referred to an optimized production system Toyota adopted in the 1960s by selecting core elements from Ford's production system in the U.S. However, in Pangyo, it is used to mean "Let's execute quickly even if it's not perfect." Also, while excellent people in a company are generally called "aces," in Pangyo dialect, they say "that person is funding-worthy." A person who handles marketing, HR, accounting, and more is called an "all rounder."

Additionally, R&R stands for "Role and Responsibilities," literally meaning roles and responsibilities. Tapping means "to tap," used to roughly check feasibility before starting work. Issue rising is a compound of "issue" and "rising," meaning to create an issue or raise its importance. Coffee chat means chatting over coffee, and break down means to break down the budget or estimate into detailed parts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.