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Epic Punchlines #4: Black Nut

The fourth main character of our Epic Punchlines series is Just Music’s troublemaker Black Nut. Some of you are seeing him live in London this Friday, so check his skills and learn some Korean while you’re at it!

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Epic Punchlines #3: Zico

The third part of our exclusive series is here with the mission to show you that idol rappers can write some Epic Punchlines as well. And who better to prove this than Zico?!

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Epic Punchlines #2: Tablo

Thanks to your positive feedback on the last article, Epic Punchlines is being continued as a series. To celebrate this, we’re taking a look at a pair of punchlines by another one of the top punchliners in Khiphop: Tablo!

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Epic Punchlines – Lost in Translation: Swings

When translating Korean lyrics, punchlines lose their pun and all that is left is a plain, meaningless line. Yet, you still want to understand the joke and laugh along? This article will introduce and explain to you one of Korean hiphop’s most epic punchlines, so let’s get punny!

How to Win SMTM

[Translators’ Notes] How to Win SMTM with myunDo, Mc Rap, Kidk Kidk

HiphopKR recently subtitled AKATV‘s How to Win SMTM featuring rappers myunDo, Mc Rap, Kidk Kidk, and two mysterious producers.

In 7 + 1 episodes of How to Win SMTM, a former Show Me The Money producer named Kae Jinsang (an alias translating to: The F*cking Truth) teaches the three Gimchi Hill Gang members in their humble residence how to win Show Me The Money’s fifth season. He shares his knowledge about how to write the application, when to line up for the audition, how to impress the producers, how to win the 1:1 battle, and more. He even invites a famous rapper who participated on SMTM as a producer before …

With its exaggerated humor, the show wittily makes fun of and criticizes Korea’s famous hiphop show. A lot of the jokes can only be enjoyed with a bit of background information, so we suggest you first watch each episode and then read our notes below for everything you need to know as well as some fun facts. Enjoy!

Subtitle Credits How to Win SMTM
Translations, Timing, Edit: Lena
Translation Check: Nahae
Quality Check: Lena, Nahae

Related links:
AKATV  [icon type=”facebook”]   [icon type=”instagram”]   [icon type=”play”]   [icon type=”youtube”].
AKATV’s mascot MC AKA  [icon type=”instagram”].
myunDo  [icon type=”facebook”]   [icon type=”instagram”]   [icon type=”soundcloud”]   [icon type=”twitter”]
Mc Rap  [icon type=”facebook”]   [icon type=”instagram”]   [icon type=”soundcloud”]
Kidk Kidk  [icon type=”facebook”]   [icon type=”instagram”]   [icon type=”soundcloud”]

[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true”]Episodes and Translators’ Notes[/x_custom_headline]

Episode 1: Follow Me

https://youtu.be/HKMpQeym5SY

  1. The Korean TV show ‘세상에 이런 일이’ (How Is That Possible) shows all kinds of incredible, unbelievable events.
  2. Kae Jinsang is introduced, a very frivolous and rude character who exudes a lot of hot air, constantly cusses, and lives up to his name by bluntly stating the truth. He also blithely abuses his position as a “teacher” and the fact that he is older than his three students, who, according to Korean etiquette, have to treat and address him with respect.
  3. Jinsang tells Kidk Kidk to change his name to lolol (ㅋㅋㅋㅋ) because Kidk Kidk (키득키득, read: kideuk kideuk) literally means to snicker/giggle/chuckle.
  4. Kidk Kidk is fishing for fangirls so here you go:


    You’re welcome.

  5. Kae Jinsang tells Mc Rap to move to the side because he’s been sitting in the way of the camera directed at Jinsang.
Episode 2: Writing the Application

https://youtu.be/czEZbK9K0DY

  1. The lowkey advertising in the beginning of the episode uses the well-known slogan of a drinking water brand (“Water that’s close to my body”), as well as that advertisement’s music, while Jinsang is actually drinking makgeolli.
  2. When describing Swings’ character, Jinsang refers to Swings’ famous first audition during the second season of SMTM.
  3. When deciding on myunDo’s character, they’re saying how everyone has a certain concept about myunDo in mind and urge him to voice it. They mean “ugly,” and Jinsang says it by shamelessly disguising the word “ugly man” as “fall man.” The word in question is “추남” (chunam), which is written with the characters for “ugly” and “man” (醜男) but Jinsang explains it as “秋男” with the characters for “fall” and “man” which is pronounced the same. “Fall man” (or “가을 남자” ga-eul namja, which is the Korean word for it) refers to a somewhat melancholic, sensitive, and romantic image of a man.
  4. The text on the collage of a typical fall man, where the subtitles read “The Fall Man,” refers to the Korean drama ‘The Innocent Man‘ (세상 어디에도 없는 착한 남자) with Song Joongki. The Korean title was changed from “A guy so nice you can’t find anyone like him anywhere else in the world” to “Such a true fall man you can’t find anyone like him anywhere else in the world,” further poking fun at myunDo’s looks.
Episode 3: Creating the Characters

https://youtu.be/9un43GmhnEE

  1. While watching the introduction video of former 45RPM member A. C. Lee from SMTM’s first season, a real tear-jerker after which you cannot help but pity A. C. Lee, the three rappers are actually envying him because he has such tasty food and better lodging than them. Watch A. C. Lee’s appearance on SMTM where he battled SongRapper.
  2. albamon is a word made out of ‘alba’ and ‘mon’ (probably from ‘monster’) whereas ‘alba’ (알바) means ‘part-time job’ in Korean (originating from the German word ‘Arbeit’ meaning ‘work’). albamon is a website for finding part-time jobs and famous for their commercial with Hyeri from Girl’s Day.
  3. Please note that they are by no means making fun of defectors but of the program which exploits the fact that someone is a defector. They are also poking fun at Kidk Kidk who does have the looks for the concept. That is why they laugh, and because the idea is so absurd but also shockingly true.
  4. There has been a North Korean defector on SMTM before, Kang Chunhyuk. Watch his first audition here. He also mentioned Aoji Coal Mine in his lyrics (“My mother caught tuberculosis at Aoji Coal Mine”), a place infamous for especially hard labor.
Episode 4: Entering the 1st Round of Auditions

https://youtu.be/wN-dGHtvtPw

There is nothing to note for this episode. Let us know if you have any questions!

Special Episode: Silver-Spoon myunDo

https://youtu.be/mvVmXyrqUik

  1. When Jinsang says that he would have passed Mc Rap if he had been there, he means that if he had still been working for Mnet on SMTM when Mc Rap auditioned, he would have passed him. As it turns out, he did in fact work there when Mc Rap auditioned. Oops!
  2. Jinsang abuses his status to have the food mixed with the sauce instead of dipped into it.
Episode 5: How to Pass the 1st Round of Auditions

https://youtu.be/qWiFbk44FVA

  1. Like most Korean fans who watched this video, you might be 100% sure that the new man with the mask is San E, but it is actually his younger brother Sean who effortlessly and perfectly imitates his brother, profiting from their striking resemblance. The Korean on-screen text calls him “Sean E” (샨이), hinting at this fact. (We received permission to reveal this piece of information.) myunDo immediately recognizes him and calls him “hyung” as they traveled the US together while filming Swaggers Made in USA (if you’re attentive you can spot Sean in several episodes).
  2. When myunDo raps in English, the Korean on-screen text reads !@#$%^& and then “Sorry, we can’t write down English by hearing.”
  3. When “Sean E” asks myunDo if he doesn’t want to consider plastic surgery, the on-screen thought bubble over myunDo’s head reads: “Evaluate my rap, not my face!”
  4. “I don’t rap these days, I sing ballads.” – Sean E (Just wanted to point this out because it’s so hilarious.)
  5. Mc Rap’s punchline “Because I’m Asian, music until the end” is a pun on ‘music’ (노래, read ‘norae’, lit. song/singing) and ‘yellow’ (노란, read ‘noran’).
  6. The two masked hyungs ask Mc Rap which of the three big labels (YG, JYP, SM) he wants to go to, as if they were at KPop Star and not SMTM.
Episode 6: How to Pass the 2nd Round of Auditions

https://youtu.be/2CsVecPHU0M

  1. Although we wrote in the subtitles “I was bullied for my looks,” remember that the word myunDo is using allegedly means “fall man” and not “ugly man.” However, since the latter is what they actually mean, we kept it that way in the subtitles to make it clear.
  2. Correction: myunDo says he was bullied for his looks in elementary, middle, and high school. So, basically all the time.
  3. When myunDo raps ‘Jawn Tho’, the Korean lyrics on screen write the English words in Han-geul, which is rather funny. It reads something like: yukaendo wadadu […] ttae jeondo raenmigaettae jeondo, rejeondo raenmigaettae jeondo
  4. Jinsang-hyung says “Into the fire!” because remember that when candidates are eliminated during the second round they literally go down in flames.
  5. MC Sniper is not actually a voice actor, Jinsang just mockingly calls him that because there is a lot of narration in MC Sniper’s songs.
Episode 7: How to Survive the 1:1 Battle

https://youtu.be/WBFJj4koseQ

  1. Nearly all the foul tips Jinsang-hyung gives are things that actually did happen before on the show.
  2. When Kae Jinsang demands the lesson fees, the Korean on-screen text reads: *Beware of swindlers 24/7*

 

This concludes our translators’ notes. Hit us up in case you still have any unanswered questions! And if you enjoyed the watch, do share this post or the videos and leave a comment letting AKATV and us know how much you laughed. Thank you!