Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dogshed]

There's a commercial on TV and I can't tell what it is for. They play a song with the lyrics, "It makes me want to kill myself."

What's up with that?

-Jeff

[rawiri]

Something like..."I have a mandolin....i play it all day long....it makes me want to kill myself".

Can't say i blame her really.

[bluelake]

[Natalia]

The same way Koreans should probably be aware of what the English on their t-shirts means, they should not use English songs unless they know what the lyrics mean.


It's not exactly the most fitting song for all of the smiling housewives....

[Smee]

Korea's Suicide Rate Highest in OECD in 2005
The number of suicides rose to an all-time high of 12,000 last year as more people took their own lives amid economic hardship, recording the highest suicide rate among the 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).... South Korea also recorded the highest suicide rate among the OECD member countries.

South Korea also recorded the highest suicide rate among the OECD member countries. Hungary came in second with 22.6, followed by Japan with 20.3.

What was more alarming is that suicide topped the causes of deaths last year for 20-and 30-somethings who were supposed to actively participate in economic activities.... The leading causes of death for people under 20 were traffic accidents, while cancer and blood vessel-related diseases took a grater toll than other causes for people aged 40 or older.
By Lee Hyo-sik, Korea Times (September 18, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200609/kt2006091817320510160.htm

Korea tops OECD suicide list
By Ko Kyoung-tae, The Korea Herald (September 19, 2006)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/09/19/200609190017.asp

S. Korea has top suicide rate among OECD countries: report
Yonhap News (September 18, 2006)
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060918/640000000020060918135933E0.html

[happeningthang]

Good song, but...

http://fileanchor.com/75514-d

[Bibbitybop]

That's a Magnetic Fields song. Their best lyrics are for "The Saddest Story Ever Told."

[Pligganease]

The best thing is that it's for the Xii apartments. The woman looks so happy, and when you can hear the first lyrics it says, "It makes me want to kill myself."


Yeah, I want to live there.

[captain kirk]

Seen some hip t-shirts with slogans, speaking of English phrases and Koreans knowing, or not knowing, what they mean, really. 'It makes me want to kill myself' isn't something to throw around blithely like confetti, that's for sure.

One was a pink shirt and on the front (worn by a teenage girl) it said, in big, blue letters, 'Queen of the Universe'. AH HA ha.

And the other was on the back of a pink sweatshirt, a college age girl. It said 'life is confusing'.

[Juregen]

I just love that commercial

thef irst time i saw it it made me say WTF!

[stumptown]

[Boodleheimer]

last year our school in china had a "sports day". there was a huge opening ceremony with lots of dance routines and coordinated stuff (to give you that feeling of communism -- oops! i mean, community). one of the songs they danced to had the lyrics "kissy kissy, licky licky, honey honey, baby." i just about died laughing.

[RACETRAITOR]

I saw the commercial last night and it was unsettling. It's always frightening when something on this board comes to life.

[periwinkle]

I heard that awhile ago. I mentioned it to my husband, and he promptly got on some Naver or Daum discussion board and posted about it. I don't think anyone responded, so that shows how much people care. He also wrote a quick note to Xii about it, and they never responded. Koreans don't care about the words in English songs- they only care about the melody. Actually, he read some comments on the Xii site about the song, and ppl were writing, oh what a great song! Anyway, the first couple of times I heard it, I had a good laugh, but after awhile, the lyrics are just stupid. I guess some song writers think they're being arty and cool or something, but "I have a mandolin, I play it all night long, it makes me want to kill myself" is just stupid. I listen to country music, so I don't have to suffer through non-sensical alternative lyrics.

[Boodleheimer]

the theme song for M*A*S*H is about suicide.