We all know that Charlie Dizon underwent K-Pop training in South Korea years back. She even worked and became friends with K-Pop superstar Nancy, who is now part of the Korean girl group Momoland.
If you are curious whether she speaks Korean, the answer is ‘yes.’ And she’s so good at it. In this edition of Kapamilya Chat, the 24-year-old award-winning actress gives Korean lessons to Jameson Blake, her partner in the upcoming series “Viral.”
Since it’s the love month, Charlie helps Jameson learn Korean words related to love, relationships, and all things kilig.
Charlie mentioned that Koreans have unique V-Day traditions including girls giving boys chocolates or flowers. On the 14th of March, it’s the guys’ turn to give gifts, and they call it ‘White Day.’
The first word she taught was ‘boyfriend’ which is ‘namjachingu’ in Korean, while ‘girlfriend’ translates to ‘yeojachingu.’
In Hangul, ‘I love you’ is said as ‘saranghae’ or ‘saranghaeyo.’ They basically mean just the same. ‘Saranghaeyo’ is just more formal, so its best said to people older than you and if you two are not yet that close or comfortable with each other. ‘Saranghamnida’ is the most polite among the three.
You’d be surprised to know that you can even express kilig in Korean. According to Charlie, the closest translation is ‘maeum dugeun-dugeun.’ The word ‘maeum’ means heart (as in relating to emotions) while ‘dugeun-dugeun’ is the Korean sensory word imitating the heartbeat. Meanwhile, ‘kasuem’ refers to the chest.
You can also say ‘chiri chiri’ to mean kilig. Charlie learned it from Nancy herself. She explained, “’Yung pinerform namin ni Loisa sa ASAP before na ‘Chiri Chiri,’ kanta nila Nancy ‘yun. So, tinanong ko kung anong meaning ng chiri chiri. Sabi niya, ‘It’s like kilig in Philippines.’ Kasi parang may electricity daw sa body, parang ganu’n daw ang feeling. So, I guess, it’s kilig nga.”
You can call your crush ‘gwiyeowoyo’ which means ‘cute.’ Asked how to invite someone on a date using Hangul, Charlie’s funny response, “Hindi ko naranasan makipag-date, eh. Hindi ako naaya, eh. Hindi ko narinig.”
Kidding aside, she said the best translation is, ‘kachi nolja’ which means ‘let’s hang out’ or ‘let’s play together.’
Watch this video and get free Hangul lessons from Charlie!