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This phenomenon displayed in a new Korean slang 시발비용(fuckit-expense) is real. Econ problems are not making millennials more frugal; rather, they’re making them give up on long-term goals like housings & spend away salaries on small stuffs that make daily life slightly happier
My “fuckit-expenses (시발비용)” list: 1) sushi delivery after surviving on bananas the whole day, 2) spending a whole week-worth of salary on a cute humidifier on my desk, 3) getting a MacBook Pro for reading and then surviving on bananas again (and then back to 1).
This sense of long-term despair leading to a pursuit of small short-term happiness (소확행) is also displayed in the recent Korean best-seller, 죽고싶지만 떡볶이는 먹고싶어 (I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki)
For folks who want to pronounce this, it’s [shee-bal-bee-yong].
Now that this tweet blew up overnight, let me ask you a favor: please reply with similar slang s or phenomenon you can see in your country. I’ll be writing this up for @ForeignPolicy soon, thanks to @BeijingPalmer.
Now that this tweet blew up overnight, let me ask you a favor: please reply with similar slang s or phenomenon you can see in your country. I’ll be writing this up for @ForeignPolicy soon, thanks to @BeijingPalmer.
For example, I’ve been hearing a lot about Avocado Toast phenomenon in America (what is this btw), @bts_bighit lyrics in Go Go, and shikata-ja-nai in Japan.
And also “treat ya self” and “YOLO”.
Keep ‘em coming friends, so far I got examples from folks in Indonesia, Japan, Philippine, United States, Malaysia, Peru, China. Examples in your local language plus English translations are the best.
#fuckitexpense #LIVE 15K people around the globe today gave me courage to #shibalbiyong all over the place, so here’s me taking a 15$ cab ride home after staying in the library the whole day reading political theories. Nice retro Korean songs+kind ajosshi driver just made my day!
