Korean Girl’s Weight Loss Plan Went Viral

“You should stop unless you want to disappear.”

안녕! It’s Ari, your talkative Korean friend and weekend reminder 🎉 Today’s newsletter is about a spicy cold noodle, a Korean girl’s impossible weight loss plan, social background info about Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and how to order in Korean in super-advanced level.

img credit: giphy

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img credit: 10,000 recipe

Bibim-guksu

During hot summer days, it’s always good to have a cold and spicy noodle to beat heat. Bibim-guksu is one of many Korean summer noodle food including kong-guksu that I introduced two newsletters ago. While kong-guksu looks like a creamy pasta, bibim-guksu is like a spicy tomato pasta. It’s red and spicy because it’s made with red pepper powder and/or gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). It’s a great food to have whenever you feel exhausted from high temperature 🥵 It’ll cheer you up! You can add vegetables you want like chopped cucumber or any leafy vegetables like lettuce. You can also add toppings like a hard-boiled egg to get some protein. Watch the cooking video and try for yourself!

Don’t forget to sprinkle sesame seeds! 🪄

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S.K. President Yoon Seok-yeol’s approval rating from June 3rd week to July 3rd week (red: disapproval, blue: approval)

President Approval Rating Diet

A Korean girl’s weight loss plan recently went viral. The title of her post was, “I set my weight loss goal based on President Yoon’s approval rating.” Every week, South Korean president’s approval rating is announced. Since the current less-than-3-months-old president’s approval has been going down every week, it looks like she planned to lose weight according to his approval. For example, on the third week of June, the rating was 48% ☝, then her weight goal for the week is set to 48 kilograms (about 106 lbs). However, as weeks go by, the rating unexpectedly nosedived. For example, in just one week, from the fifth week of June to the first week of July, the number went from 44.4% to 37%. According to the most recent poll, his approval rating is only 33.3%. In another poll, it’s 26.4% or 58 lbs 😱 With the record-low number, people started to be worried about the girl who unexpectedly set an impossible weight loss goal. She shared her progress about two weeks ago saying, “This is so hard. I lost 4 kgs (about 9 lbs) in just one week but still I can’t keep up with his rating.” One comment said, “You should stop unless you want to disappear.”

According to her most recent post, she said she’s still on a diet but, fortunately, switched to another reasonable weight loss plan which is “TEEN TOP diet.” 😌

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A scene from Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Social Background For Kwon Min-woo

The current 👑 of K-Drama, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, is being praised for reflecting Korean society very well from viewers. The series is about Woo Young-woo, an attorney who tackles challenges in the courtroom and beyond as a newbie at a top law firm and a woman on the autism spectrum. In episode 8 which went on air last week, there was a scene where Kwon Min-woo, one of her colleagues who’s hostile to Woo Young-woo, shouts, “This is an unfair game. Woo Young-woo wins against us every time and yet, we shouldn’t attack her. Why? Because she has autism. We always have to be considerate of her, help her, and give up our seats. Don’t think that Woo Young-woo is the weak.”

Many Korean viewers found his words very familiar. It’s actually pretty widespread narrative in the country especially among young Koreans. A few months ago, there had been series of demonstrations by disabled people at a subway station in Seoul which caused train delays. They demanded “the right to move,” or the right to use public transportation since it’s almost impossible for them to use it. While majority of Koreans related to their sufferings, according to a recent poll about the demonstrations, men in 20’s and 30’s were the only respondent groups that chose “I can’t tolerate my schedule being delayed due to the protests” more than the opposite, “I’m okay with my schedule being delayed due to the protests.” (Big difference with other groups who chose the latter much more than the former.) So Kwon Min-woo isn’t some random bad character. He’s a representative of the group who believes in distorted? fairness in which everyone is treated exactly the same regardless of one’s physical condition or financial background.

Did you know that Extraordinary Attorney Woo got adapted into a webtoon? 🎉 It’ll be available in foreign languages soon!

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Wrapping up 🎤

제가 좀 급해서 그러는데 여기서 제일 빨리 되고 맛있는 걸로 부탁드려도 될까요? “I’m in a hurry so can I order the menu that is the fastest to prepare and delicious here (in this restaurant)?”

I picked a line from a Korean BL (Boys’ Love) movie, To My Star (2020) which you can use at a cafe/restaurant when you’re in a hurry. The line would be like how to order in Korean in super-advanced level so you’re not wrong if it looks crazy difficult 🤯 It’s from a scene where the two lead characters meet for the first time as a customer and a chef at a restaurant.

Words to pick up,

1. 급하다 V. To be in a hurry

2. 제일 The most

3. 빨리 Quickly, fast

4. 여기(서) Here

5. 맛있다 V. To be delicious

👄 Practice speaking the line with my podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or others. Don’t forget to record your voice and send me your voice message 👇 If you send it by 8 pm Sunday, August 7th ET, your voice will be on the next podcast episode!

Before you go, do you remember the theme park part-timer whose rap went viral in Korea? She’s now a big ad star. Watch her new ice cream ad she featured with her theme park colleagues 👇

Thanks for reading! If you liked my newsletter, like, share, or leave a tip ❤!

📢 I take a summer vacation break next week. Take care & stay hydrated! See you the week after next! 안녕 👋

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