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Note: These lyrics are about two stereotypes of Korean women (one in particular). Find them explained in the info boxes below to fully understand the lyrics.
[x_alert heading=”김치녀 (kimchi nyeo, kimchi woman)/김치여자 (kimchi yeoja, kimchi woman)/김치년 (kimchi nyeon, kimchi b*tch)” type=”info”]Origin and development: Everything started in Greater China, where people have apparently been referring to women and men of other countries by using the representative food of each country and adding ‘man’ or ‘woman’. E.g. Taiwanese women are ‘milk tea women’, Japanese woman ‘sushi women’, and Korean women ‘kimchi women’.
The term was shipped to Korea, where it first referred to women who lack common sense, are irrational and selfish. Starting 2010 though, the term’s meaning broadened, returning to its roots by referring to Korean women in general. The nuance changed for the worse though, turning the term into an insult toward Korean women.
Definition: There is no clear definition, but one Facebook page about kimchi women says that a kimchi woman is a woman who
- escapes responsibilities and duties but insists on her rights.
- only asks for equal rights when she’s in a disadvantage.
- sees men as money.
- has double standards like “It’s OK for women but not for men.”
(Source)[/x_alert]
[x_alert heading=”된장녀 (doenjang nyeo, doenjang (soybean paste) woman)” type=”info”]A misogynist insult toward Korean women, originated online. Due to the government’s decision to abolish a certain law about giving former soldiers bonus points when they’d take tests for becoming low-level government employees, feminists and everyone else were in huge disagreement (you can read about it in detail here). To find a word to refer to those radical feminists with, ‘doenjang woman’ first came up around 2005. Its meaning is “a woman who has nothing but shit in her head,” aka “a woman who cannot tell doenjang from shit,” which was then shortened to ‘doenjang woman’. It also refers to women who use men for their money to buy expensive goods. There are also other, more specific characteristics, like that a doenjang woman always buys Starbucks coffee.
Basically, the term is the forerunner of ‘kimchi woman’, which is why Iron mentions this in the lyrics several times (the doenjang girl I went out with before; she seems like your ex). (Source)[/x_alert]
Intro)
I think I’m going crazy
Hook)
Kimchi woman, something smells sour
With her exotic looks that I think I’ve seen somewhere before,((This is most likely a reference to her having had plastic surgery which makes her look like any other woman who has had plastic surgery done on her face.))
all she’s doing is grabbing people’s attention((Pun with ‘looks’ (imokgubi) and ‘grab attention’ (imokkkeulgi) which both sound similar and both contain the words for ‘eyes’ (i) and ‘neck’ (mok).))
Kimchi woman, awoo awoo, gold di-didi-digger((‘Gold digger’ is said to be the translation for both ‘kimchi woman’ and ‘doenjang woman’; but as you know from reading the explanations above, the meaning of the Korean terms is much broader.))
Verse 1)
Hey, I’ll introduce my new girlfriend
Her name is Chiwoman (“Oppa!”)
Her last name is Kim, a rarer beauty
than the doenjang girl I went out with before
“Hey, she is pretty
but she seems like your ex which is a bit ominous”
It’s alright, I am lenient toward it all
Why? Because her face is pretty (Awoo!)
The meals: “Oppa pays for them”
The movies: “Oppa pays for them”
So, she’ll at least pay for the coffee?
Oh shit, again: “Oppa pays for them”((This refers to the fact that the idea exists that men have to take women on certain ‘date courses’ and pay for all of it, since they are ‘the men’. It’s a case where the kimchi woman insists on her femininity and doesn’t ask for equal treatment.))
Then where do you spend your money?
“What do you think? Obviously I spend it all
to look pretty for you when we go out
So, I bought clothes for myself”
Hook)
Verse 2)
A handsome face, a height of 180((This paragraph describes a kimchi woman’s ideal man.))
Of course, vroom vroom, gotta have a car
No domestic car though
His annual income should not be less than 6,000 (No!)
“I prefer a man who loves me more
than the man I love”
Question: “Sir, what do those words mean?”
It means to do everything the woman tells you to((This implies that the woman does not care about being in love with someone, she wants to be worshipped materialistically as in: “Show me how much you love me by spending a lot of money on me.”))
The harmful effect of Korean TV dramas
A Cinderella stuck in her imagination (Shit!)((This refers to those dramas where the rich hero buys everything for the heroine, and the overall image of women is very conservative, depicting them as weak, passive, dependant and girly, and being all about looking pretty.))
A phenomenon that derives from idiots
who care about women’s looks (Right!)((Iron argues that superficial men are the reason for the kimchi woman phenomenon; also see the Narration below.))
Why on earth
does the name include our food kimchi? (Ha!)((“What did kimchi do wrong?” he’s asking; you’ll know if you read the explanation above.))
Just like curses come home to roost like chickens,((He’s saying that those who insult women as being ‘kimchi women’ are shooting an own goal.))
what did the blameless Professor Chinyeon Kim do wrong?((The information that there is a male professor of the name ‘김치년’ (Kim Chinyeon = kimchi b*tch) spread amongst netizens who had a good laugh at the blameless man.))
Hook)
Narration)
- Look, my oppa gave me this since it’s my birthday.
- Shouldn’t your oppa give you at least a handbag for your birthday?((This is a kimchi woman speaking.))
- The thought counts, who cares about the money?
- No, no! Men just care about a woman’s looks, therefore we women should just care about a man’s money, that’s the basics!((Iron’s argument in a nutshell))
Hook)