Unpacking K-Drama Title Translations

K-drama titles tend to be the same between English and Korean (e.g., Queen of Tears/눈물의 여왕, Squid Game/오징어 게임 ) but sometimes there is a huge divergence in what the titles mean when translating between languages.

So, this week we're going to break down some popular K-drama titles in both English and Korean and see what's up.

Let's get started with the absolute tearjerker of a show that recently took over Korea for a hot minute.

1. 폭싹 속았수다 / When Life Gives You Tangerines 🍊

Given the fact that the show was set in Jeju-do, the title is in the Jeju dialect of Korean (which is actually difficult for even Koreans to understand if they don't already speak it!)

폭싹 is a Jeju dialect word that implies a sense of thoroughness or completeness.

속았수다 is the Jeju dialect form of 수고했어요 (the past tense form of 수고하다) which means "great job" or "you've worked hard".

So, the title really translates to "You’ve truly worked hard," or "You’ve been through a lot." If you've watched the show (and if you haven't, grab a box of tissues and go watch it and come back), you know that this is almost an understatement for the generations of difficulty that the family needed to struggle through to prosper.

The English title, "When Life Gives You Tangerines," is a twist on the (perhaps overused) idiom, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Jeju is absolutely packed with tangerines come wintertime and it's a fitting adaptation of the phrase given the island's most popular fruit.

Next up:

2. 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나 / Something in the Rain ☔️

This one caught me off-guard when I first learned about it. Let's break it down:

So, the literal translation is "Pretty Older Sister Who Buys Me Meals Often/Well." A 누나 buying meals for a younger guy ( 동생 ) can signify a close relationship between the two and even a budding romance if the context allows (and oh, did the context allow it in this show).

Let's also take a moment to appreciate that the title makes use of the fact that you can chain as many descriptive forms together as you want. So, for instance, say that 누나 was also tall. Then we can say something like this:

밥 잘 사주는 키가 큰 예쁜 누나

The order also doesn't matter either! So, the following is just as correct:

키가 큰 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나

Meanwhile the English title is Something in the Rain because, well...

3. 사이코지만 괜찮아 / It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

Let's dive in!

사이코 is a loanword from English literally meaning and sounding like "psycho".

-지만 corresponds to the word "but" in English. So, put together with 사이코 to make 사이코지만 means "Crazy but...".

Then the last word, 괜찮아 means "Okay" or "Alright".

So, put together the phrase is "I'm a psycho but it's okay" or "Even if you're a psycho, it's okay". The drama took place in a psychiatric hospital, with characters having a variety of different psychological conditions, but at the same time the leading actors were also a bit...psycho in love?

But before the next one, just wanted to point out how useful -지만 is. You can place it after any verb or adjective to use it the same way you do "but" in English.

• 바람이 불 지만 줍지는 않아요 (It's windy but not cold)
• 작 지 만 깨끗해요 (Small but clean)
• 어렵 지만 재미있어요 (Difficult but fun)

Moving on!

4. 정숙한 세일즈 / A Virtuous Business 💸

This one's title is slightly similar, but there is a hidden part to the title (more on that later).

So, first word is 정숙한 = 정숙하다 + 은 (to make it into descriptive form) which means virtuous, chaste, demure.

The second word, 세일즈 is another loanword from English: "sales". Easy peasy.

So, the title literally means "Virtuous Sales" or "Chaste Sales." This is already an interesting juxtaposition given the nature of the business in the drama, where is selling lingerie and sex toys to the people of their community.

BUT

What the English title misses is that the main character’s name is 이 정숙 . So, 정숙 한 세일즈 also includes the name of the lead character! Clever, eh?

Last one!

5. 지금 우리 학교는 / All of Us Are Dead ☠️

This one is slightly jarring when switching between English and Korean. The English title gives a bit of a spoiler that it is a zombie show where the outbreak starts at their school. Meanwhile, the Korean title is almost understated. Let's take a look.

지금 = now

우리 = our

학교는 = 학교 + 는 (topic marker)

So, the title translates to "As for our school right now...". Which adds a bit more intrigue, no?

I'll hold off on adding a screenshot of the show for this one just to save your eyes 🧟