AKMU · Korean · 39 words

사춘기 下

사춘기 下 (2017) closes the adolescence project 사춘기 上 opened, still under the credit 악동뮤지션, and it is the colder half — money running short, a breakup told without blame in 「오랜 날 오랜 밤」, and the long walk home in 「집에 돌아오는 길」. The Korean here is the everyday adult kind: tight budgets, packed trains, sighs, and the vocabulary for feeling out of place in a room. 「CHOCOLADY」 and 「YOU KNOW ME」 are heavily English, so only their Korean lines are drawn on.

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
탯줄	an umbilical cord	탯줄이 잘리는 순간을 놓치지 마Don't miss the moment the cord is cut
놓치다	to miss; to let something slip past you	나를 더 더 더 놓치지 말아줘Don't let any more of me slip away
곧이어	right after that; and then immediately	곧이어 울었지and then right after, I cried
몽유병	sleepwalking (as a condition)	몽유병이 도져My sleepwalking flares up
도지다	of an illness or old habit, to flare up again	몽유병이 도져 잠에서 깨보니My sleepwalking flared up, and I woke to find
빠듯하다	to be tight; only barely enough (of money or time)	택시 타긴 버는 돈이 빠듯해What I earn is too tight to take a taxi
지옥철	"hell train" — slang for a brutally packed rush-hour subway (지옥 + 전철)	그렇다고 지옥철엔 사람 가득해But the hell train is packed with people
잔고	the balance left in a bank account	통장 잔고를 확인할 땐When I check my account balance
일일이	one by one; each and every last one	다 일일이 따지기엔To go through every single one of them
시리다	to ache with cold — used of hands and teeth, and of a heart	이런 것 땜에 다들 마음 시렸던 거야This is what left everyone's heart aching
머뭇거리다	to hesitate; to falter before saying or doing something	사랑해란 말이 머뭇거리어도Even when the words "I love you" faltered
흐느끼다	to sob quietly	흐느껴오는 너의 목소리your voice coming through in sobs
흔적	a trace; the mark someone or something leaves behind	당신의 흔적이 지울 수 없이 소중해The traces of you are too precious to erase
밉다	to be hateful to someone; to be the object of their resentment	밉게 날 기억하지는 말아줄래요Please don't remember me with hate
맘을 다잡다	to steady oneself; to pull one's heart back together (fixed expression; 맘 is spoken for 마음)	하늘이 참 뿌옇고 맘을 다잡아야 하죠The sky is so hazy, and I have to steady my heart
허구한 날	day in and day out — set phrase, always with a note of complaint	허구한 날 놀려 못생겼다고Day in and day out they tease me for being ugly
놀리다	to tease; to make fun of someone	날 더 이상 놀리지 않겠지Then they won't tease me anymore
약 올리다	to wind someone up on purpose (fixed expression, literally "to raise someone's bile")	어이구 또 약 올려Oh great, winding me up again
주눅 들다	to shrink; to lose one's nerve in front of others (fixed expression)	왜 웃고들 있는 거지 주눅 들어Why is everyone laughing? It makes me shrink
불공평하다	to be unfair	사람을 차별해 이건 불공평해It treats people differently — that's unfair
심상치 않다	to be out of the ordinary; not something to brush off (fixed expression)	걸어들어오는 모습부터가 심상치 않아Even the way she walks in is out of the ordinary
걸음걸이	one's gait; the particular way a person walks	카운터로 오는 걸음걸이 역시 심상치 않아Her walk up to the counter is no ordinary walk either
시큼하다	to be sharply sour	레모네이드는 시큼해Lemonade is too sour
홀리다	to bewitch; to put someone under a spell	그대가 말하는 주문이 날 홀리게 만들어The order you place casts a spell on me
표정관리	keeping your face under control so it doesn't give you away	이런 상황에선 표정관리가 안 돼In a situation like this I can't keep a straight face
철없다	to be immature; not yet grown up in judgment	내가 덜 크고 철없다고 봐주지만You let it go, saying I'm just young and immature
낯가리다	to be shy with people you don't know	내가 낯가리는 줄 알아You think I'm just shy with strangers
어색하다	to be awkward; unnatural in a way everyone can feel	분위길 어색하게 만드는 것 같아I feel like I'm making the mood awkward
막막하다	to be daunting and without a visible end; to leave you at a loss	끝이 막막한 계단은 땅을 보며 걸어On stairs with no end in sight, I walk watching the ground
한숨	a sigh	하루를 끝내고 나오는 한숨the sigh that comes at the end of a day
버겁다	to be more than you can carry or handle	새로운 걸 다시 시작하기엔 버겁고It's too much to start something new again
짊어지다	to shoulder; to carry a burden on your back	짊어진 가족의 꿈을 향해toward the family's dream I carry on my back
눅눅하다	to be damp and clammy	날 적시는 밤공기는 눅눅해The night air soaking me is damp
오르막길	an uphill road; a climb	허릴 굽혀 오르막길을 올라Bending at the waist, I climb the hill
깨닫다	to realize; to come to understand	어느 순간 깨닫게 되지At some point you come to realize it
첫발을 떼다	to take the first step; to start something out (fixed expression)	첫발을 함께 떼어 달려왔던 친구들the friends who took that first step with me and ran
흩어지다	to scatter; to be dispersed	저 좁은 길가로 흩어져scattered off down those narrow roadsides
순수하다	to be pure; unmixed and unspoiled	화려하고 순수했던 꿈dreams that were brilliant and pure
서투르다	to be clumsy at something; not yet practiced	서투른 삶 걸음으로 상처를 입고Getting hurt with clumsy steps through life