Spill the Tea on K-Pop Awards in Korean!

Spill the Tea on K-Pop Awards in Korean!

Hello! It’s [Maeil Hangeul], here to upgrade your Korean skills!

Have you ever watched a Korean music award show and wanted to share your excitement and opinions with your friends? The end of the year in Korea is a thrilling time filled with spectacular performances and surprising wins at big events like the MAMA Awards or the Melon Music Awards. Today, we’ll learn the essential Korean phrases you need to discuss the results like a true K-Pop pro. Let’s get started so you can join the conversation right away!

Core Expressions You Need to Know

Here are three key phrases to help you share your thoughts on the award show results.

1. 상 받을 만하다 (sang badeul man-hada)

• Pronunciation [Romanized]: [sang ba-deul man-ha-da]
• English Meaning: To deserve an award; to be worthy of an award.
• Detailed Explanation: This is a combination of 상 (award), 받다 (to receive), and the grammar pattern -을/ㄹ 만하다, which means “to be worthy of doing something.” You use this when you strongly agree with the winner. It shows you think their hard work and talent truly earned them the prize. You can change the ending for different tenses, for example, 상 받을 만했어 (sang badeul man-haess-eo) for the past tense.

2. 의외다 (ui-oe-da)

• Pronunciation [Romanized]: [ui-oe-da]
• English Meaning: It’s unexpected; surprising.
• Detailed Explanation: This is the perfect word for when a result completely shocks you! It can be used for both positive and negative surprises. If your favorite underdog group won, you could say, “와, 의외다!” (Wow, that’s unexpected!). If a group you thought would win didn’t, you can also use this expression. To use it in the past tense, you’d say 의외였어 (ui-oe-yeoss-eo).

3. 그럴 줄 알았어 (geureol jul arasseo)

• Pronunciation [Romanized]: [geu-reol jul a-rass-eo]
• English Meaning: I knew it! / I knew that would happen.
• Detailed Explanation: This is a very common and natural-sounding phrase. You use it when a result was totally predictable to you. Did your favorite group win the grand prize (대상)? You can say, “역시! 그럴 줄 알았어!” (As expected! I knew it!). It’s a casual phrase, so it’s best used with friends.

Example Conversation

Let’s see how these expressions work in a real conversation between two friends, A and B, talking about a recent awards show.

A: 어제 음악 시상식 봤어? IVE가 대상을 받았어!
(eoje eumak sisangsik bwasseo? IVE-ga daesang-eul badasseo!)
Did you see the music awards yesterday? IVE won the Daesang (Grand Prize)!

B: 응! 완전 상 받을 만했어. 올해 노래가 다 좋았잖아.
(eung! wanjeon sang badeul man-haess-eo. olhae norae-ga da joatjanha.)
Yeah! They totally deserved it. All their songs this year were great.

A: 맞아. 근데 신인상은 좀 의외였어. 나는 NewJeans가 받을 줄 알았는데.
(maja. geunde sininsang-eun jom ui-oe-yeoss-eo. naneun NewJeans-ga badeul jul aratneunde.)
Right. But the Rookie of the Year award was a bit unexpected. I thought NewJeans would get it.

B: 나도! 그래도 뭐, 축하해야지. 아, 근데 스트레이 키즈 무대 봤어? 완전 대박이었어!
(nado! geuraedo mwo, chukahae-yaji. a, geunde Stray Kids mudae bwasseo? wanjeon daebak-ieosseo!)
Me too! But well, we should congratulate them. Oh, but did you see the Stray Kids performance? It was absolutely amazing!

Culture Tip & Trend Deep Dive

If you really want to sound like a native K-Pop fan, you need to know this slang: 무대 찢었다 (mudae jjieot-eotda).

• Literal Meaning: “They tore the stage.”
• Actual Meaning: “They killed the performance!” / “They nailed it!”

This is the ultimate compliment for a live performance. When an idol or a group gives a performance with so much energy, passion, and skill that it feels like they’ve left nothing behind, Koreans say they “tore up the stage.” You’ll see this phrase all over Korean social media (like Twitter and Instagram) in comments after a music show or concert.

How to use it:
* “오늘 방탄소년단 무대 찢었다!” (Today, BTS killed their performance!)
* “봤어? 완전 무대 찢었어!” (Did you see that? They totally tore up the stage!)

Using this phrase will definitely make you sound like a true insider!

Let’s Review and Practice!

Great job today! We learned how to express agreement (상 받을 만하다), surprise (의외다), and certainty (그럴 줄 알았어) when talking about music award shows. Plus, you learned some awesome slang (무대 찢었다)!

Now, it’s your turn to practice!

1. Fill in the Blank: Your favorite artist finally won “Artist of the Year.” You feel they totally deserved it.
   • “드디어 내 최애 가수가 올해의 아티스트 상을 받았어! 정말 ______!”
     (Answer is in the post!)
2. Make a Sentence: Imagine your favorite group just had an amazing comeback performance. How would you compliment them using the slang we learned in the Culture Tip?

Leave your answers and your own opinions about recent music awards in the comments below using the phrases we learned today. We’d love to hear them