K-pop Demon Hunters explained by a Korean teacher 😈🧑‍🏫

Did you enjoy watching K-pop Demon Hunters? I also just watched it last night with my sons for the second time and really liked it. And I'm here today to give you a light Korean lesson. So if you're ready, I'm Hyunwoo and you're watching Talk To Me In Korean. And this is K-pop Demon Hunters explained by a Korean teacher without spoilers. First of all, Korean language fun facts for all Korean learners. The title K-pop Demon Hunters is the same in Korean. K-pop Demon Hunters. Is it the same? It's almost the same. But it feels longer in the Korean language. So people just call it K-dae-heon. K-dae-heon. Just taking the initials. K-dae-heon. And the boy band that works with the demon boss Gwi-ma is called Saja Boys. And it's a play on words. When you pronounce it like Saja, it means a lion. Saja, a lion. And the boy band uses lion logos everywhere. But when you pronounce it like Saja with a long vowel, it actually means an envoy or emissary. And it's also part of the word 저승사자. Which means a messenger of the underworld or the death angel. Like a Korean grim reaper. 저승 here originally means 저생. That life. Which is not this life, right? Which means death. And the opposite is 이승. Which originally was 이생. This life. So you are living in this life, 이승. And then you die and go to 저승 in old Korean shamanism. And 저승사자 take you to 저승. So the boy band members are not exactly grim reapers in the movie. But you see the connection and the wordplay being used. The demon boss is called Gwi-ma. And I haven't found an official explanation. But my guess is that it's just probably 마귀 reversed. 마귀, Gwi-ma. Because 마귀 means a demon or a devil or an evil spirit. 마 here itself already means a demon or a barrier to something that you're trying to do. And Gwi means a ghost. So 마귀, Gwi-ma. And on a lighter note. When the huntrix girls go to a Korean herbal clinic and get the herbal tonics. The clinic is called 한의원. This is also a wordplay. 한의원 as a Korean word means a Korean acupuncture and herbal clinic. And there 의원 means a clinic. If a clinic has fewer than 30 beds for hospitalizing patients. It's categorized as 의원 in Korea. And if it's a bigger hospital with 30 beds or more. It's called 병원 hospital. And plus a doctor can also be called 의원. Although it has different Chinese characters behind it. Throughout the whole movie we see a cute tiger 호랑이. And a magpie 까치. And these two characters come from a famous genre of Korean folk paintings. That were popular and widely enjoyed by common people. Hundreds of years ago during the Joseon dynasty. It's called 작호도. 작 means a magpie. And 호 means a tiger. And 도 means a painting. So it's a typical Korean style of painting. Especially with these two animals together in one painting. In the original paintings though. The magpie didn't really have the three vertical Samsung Galaxy eyes like that on one side. Also one fun fact about magpies. There's an old Korean belief that if a magpie chirps. It means a welcome guest is coming. In the old days people believed so. Because magpies are naturally very cautious birds with good memory. So if they see someone unfamiliar in the neighborhood. They will make noises. And as the story goes on. And things happen in various parts of Seoul. You can see many familiar places that you yourself might have also visited. Like the N Seoul Tower. Naksan Park etc. With slight creative modifications though. Because the N Seoul Tower doesn't really have a giant amphitheater like in the movie. But still a very good spot to visit. There were also a lot of small easter egg type elements. That probably made you go. Huh I know what that is. Or yeah that's so true. While watching the show for example. You see giant writings on the road saying. Parking prohibited. No parking. And you see cars parked right on them. Which is quite common in Korea. And when the girls eat at a restaurant. They put a napkin under the spoon and chopsticks. Which is also quite common in Korea when people eat out. And during the scene where the Saja boys first perform in public. You see people wearing all sorts of different seasonal clothing. From short sleeve t-shirts to a down jumper. And this really depicts what it's like during spring and autumn. Especially in Korea. Very very accurately in my opinion. Because the weather changes quite often during seasonal transitions. And people don't know what to wear. And people choose different outfits. And lastly you can also see a lot of really familiar snack designs. Packages and business signs that you will also recognize commonly. While visiting Korea. So I think it might be a good idea to re-watch the show. One more time before your next visit to Seoul. And now since you're still watching. Thank you very much. You're amazing. In the songs introduced in K-pop demon hunters. Even while the songs are mostly in English. There are some parts that are just in Korean. And in order to fully enjoy the songs. You want to understand what those Korean parts mean. So as a Korean teacher. Let me break down those lines for you. In the song your idol by Saja boys. You hear these expressions in Korean. First of all. Endlessly. 끝 means end. And 없다 means be not there. Or there is none. 없이 is in its adverb form. So it means without an end. As an adverb. 끝없이. And then this one is interesting. Intoxicated by my bliss. Entrancement. 내 means my. 황홀 means bliss or entrancement. And 취하다 means to get intoxicated. Or to get drunk. And this is a very poetic expression. And a more common everyday usage. Using the word 황홀. Is actually in the form of 황홀하다. Which means that something is very splendid. Or someone is entranced by something splendid. And next. It means shining or radiant. 빛 means light. And 나다 means to come out. So 빛이 나는 means from which light comes out. Next we have. 계속 means continuously. 외치다 means to shout. So 계속 외쳐. Keep shouting. And then we have 낫지 않는. We are talking about a fever that's 낫지 않는. So not healing. 낫다 means to heal or to feel better. And this is the negative form. So together it means which doesn't heal. Something which doesn't heal. Okay. And then next we have. 나를 위해 넌 존재하는 아이들. This sentence is a bit jumbled up in word order. But 나를 위해 is for me. None. You are. 존재하는 that exist or who exist. 아이들 children. Kind of like you exist for me. And in the song Golden by Huntrix. You hear these Korean expressions. In the darkened path ahead. 어둡다 means to be dark. 어두워지다 to get dark. 어두워진 that has gotten dark. 앞길. 앞 is forward. Front. 길 is path. Road. Route. 앞길 path forward. 속에 inside. So in the darkened path. And then we have 끝없이 once again appearing here. This was in your idol too right? Endlessly. And then 영원히 깨질 수 없는. Unbreakable forever. 영원히 is forever. Eternally. 깨다. 깨다 is to break. 깨지다 is the passive voice to get broken. And 깨질 수 없다 means to be impossible. To get broken. And lastly we have 밝게 빛나는 우리. We who shine brightly. 밝다 to be bright. 밝게 brightly. 빛나다 to shine. 우리 we. So that was my spoiler-free breakdown of K-pop demon hunters. From a Korean language and culture perspective, from a Korean teacher's point of view, I hope this will help you enjoy the movie even more and make you re-watch it with new eyes and ears. If you like this kind of culture and language deep dive, please let me know in the comments. And I might do more like this for other Korean shows and movies. Thank you so much for watching and learning Korean with us. I will see you next time. 안녕히 계세요. 감사합니다.