Why “Twitter is ****ed” in South Korea (feat. Mini Korean Curse Lesson)
He should've known Korean slangs
안녕! It's Ari, your talkative Korean friend and weekend reminder 🎉 Today’s newsletter is about a protein-packed cold noodle soup, why “Twitter is ****ed” in South Korea, and how baseball fans enjoy games in the summer. Let’s start!
Ice Cold Chicken Noodle Soup To Beat The Heat
“Should I eat naengmyeon, kong-guksu, or chogye-guksu?” This is the question many Koreans ask themselves during the summer. These are the top 3 popular summer cold noodle soups in the country. Among them, chogye-guksu, or chicken noodle in chilled soup is the most nutritionally-balanced option. Unlike other noodle dishes that often lack protein, this dish is rich in protein with chicken breast toppings and chicken broth. It also contains a variety of vegetables like bell pepper and cucumber. The dish has a delightful mix of sweet, sour, and most importantly, it’s cold, which helps you beat the summer heat. I’ve found an easy & quick recipe 👆 that uses pre-made chicken broth. If you want the longer recipe, watch this. I recommend storing the soup in the freezer about 20 mins before cooking to make it icy cold. Bon appétit! 🥶
Why “Twitter is ****ed” in South Korea (feat. Mini Korean Curse Lesson)
Twitter has long been a place where the latest trends are born in South Korea. I often visit the social network to get writing ideas for my newsletter. Many of my “one last thing”s and recipes come from the social network.
Among all the things Elon Musk has done to Twitter after taking over the company, the latest one could be the biggest blow, at least in the Korean-speaking country. The social network is now being rebranded as “X,” and an “X” logo is replacing the famous blue bird logo.
Korean users’ reactions to the news have flooded platform. One short viral reaction 👆 explains why Twitter’s new name could be a big mistake. It says, “트위터 X됐다,” which translates to “Twitter became X.” Sounds innocent, right? But there’s a problem: the letter “X” is very often used as an alternative or censor word for all kinds of curses in Korea. For example, (warning: curse words that may sound familiar to K-Drama fans 🫠)
X발: 씨발 (f***)
X친: 미친 (f***)
X랄: 지랄 (bulls***)
X됐다: 좆됐다 (be f***ed)
So “트위터 X됐다” can also mean “Twitter is ****ed.” For young Koreans who often use this curse alternative, the social network’s new name looks like a profanity. Because of this and the accumulated hate toward Musk, many Korean users are defying the re-branding and tweeting “Twitter is Twitter. I don’t care what Melon Musk (his nickname in SK) calls it.”
Now that the social network has become “X,” does it mean “Twitter is ****ed” in the country? I doubt it. Though the users got furious about the change, and “Melon Musk” and “X됐다” trended, it took less than a day for other new trends like “Limbus company,” a Korean game company that recently fired a female illustrator for retweeting a post protesting illegal filming or molka, to stole their attention and cool down their urge to leave the platform. Also there’s no promising alternative yet, although there was a temporary hype for Instagram Thread.
I feel like we are all taking a never-ending endurance test against Elon Musk. Hope it’s over soon. 🙏
One last thing for today is how Korean baseball fans enjoy a game during the summer. As you can see from the above video (credit: didda_luv), at a recent basball game in Busan, water splashes were shot into the audience during the game to cool down the heat. The water is sprayed whenever the home team (Lotte Giants) scores. Red raincoats are also offered for free. The water splash games are limited-time only and available only at Busan Sajik baseball stadium for Lotte fans, so other fans envy them.
Thanks for reading! If you liked my newsletter, like 👇, leave a comment, or share, or make a donation to support me! 👈 It’ll mean a lot to me. 🤗 I take a break next week. Stay hydrated. See you the week after next! I will be back with an announcement about the membership. 안녕!