Just like how in English we have dad jokes like:
"Why did the scarecrow get an award?" "Because he was outstanding in his field!"
...Korean has them too and they're also called 아재개그 (아재 = older men = 아저씨, 개그 = gag). Seems like terrible dad jokes are universal.
One of the best ways to learn and increase your depth of a language is to learn the wordplay involved with that language. Which brings us to 아재개그 - the beautiful, terrible backbone of Korean humor.
These jokes typically rely on words that sound the same but mean different things (homophones). Are they good? Debatable. Will they help you remember vocabulary forever? Absolutely. Will you inflict them on other Korean learners? Without question.
Let's dissect 6 of them and watch the magic die.
1. 가장 뜨거운 과일은? (What is the hottest fruit?)
Punchline: 천도복숭아 (Nectarine)
Here's why this works: 천도 in 천도복숭아 (nectarine) breaks down as:
- 천 = one thousand
- 도 = degrees (temperature)
The hottest fruit is literally named "thousand degrees peach." But isn't that kind of cool though, that a nectarine is a type of peach in Korean? When Koreans say 복숭아, they usually mean the fuzzy peach 털복숭아 = 털(hair)+복숭아(peach). But 천도 + 복숭아, as we have seen, refers to the nectarine.
Fun fact: 천도 (from Sino-Korean) means "heavenly peach", which comes from ancient Chinese folklore that believed that eating this kind of peach would grant eternal life or longevity. So, 천도복숭아 is technically the "heavenly peach peach".
천도복숭아 vs. 털복숭아
2. 이상한 사람들만 가는 곳은? (Where do only strange people go?)
Punchline: 치과 (Dental Clinic)
Okay, watch this. The phrase 이상한 사람 means "strange person," BUT:
- 이 = tooth
- 상한 = damaged/bad
- 이 상한 사람 = person with a damaged tooth
So "strange people" becomes "people with damaged teeth" and suddenly we're at the dentist.
3. 스님이 택시를 타고 한 말은? (What did the monk say when he got in a taxi?)
Punchline: 절로가 (Go to the temple)
This one is 🤌 because 절로 가 sounds like 저리로 가 ("go over there"), but breaks down as:
- 절 = temple
- 로 가 = go to/towards
The monk gives his destination and a direction simultaneously with the same sounds.
Go where...?
4. 참깨가 경찰서에 간 이유는? (Why did the sesame seed go to the police station?)
Punchline: 고소해서 (Because it filed a lawsuit/complaint)
고소하다 has TWO completely unrelated meanings:
- To file a lawsuit/complaint
- To have that nutty, savory, roasted aroma (like sesame seeds)
Also, 고소해서 is frequently used in Korean to describe a variety of foods with that hallmark nutty, savory quality characteristic of Korean cuisine - not just those containing sesame.
5. 가장 지루한 중학교는? (What is the most boring middle school?)
Punchline: 로딩중 (Loading...)
Middle school means 중학교, so they all end in 중 when talking about it in brief. BUT 중 also means "in progress":
- 로딩 = loading
- 로딩 중 = "loading in progress..."
The most boring middle school is just... perpetually buffering. Forever loading. Never arriving.
6. 삶은? (Life is...?)
Punchline: 계란 (Egg)
삶은 works two ways:
- 삶 (life) + 은 (topic marker) = "Life is...?"
- 삶은 (boiled) from verb 삶다 (to boil)
Add 계란 (egg) and you get 삶은 계란 = "boiled egg." Boiled eggs are incredibly popular in Korea and it's almost auto-complete that Korean people fill in "계란" when they first hear "삶은".
They are so popular you can find them every convenience store...
So this profound philosophical question - "What is life?" - gets answered with "...a boiled egg."
It even has a Kakao emoticon package...