Burger King released a commercial in Korea recently that was pretty funny, but probably won't make sense unless you know what it's referring to. It's called the "$4 All Day King" ad, better known as simply "4딸라!" or "4달러" (sa-dalla! "four dollars!").
To get why this is funny, you have to go back to an early 2000s Korean drama called 야인시대 (ya-in-shi-dae), translated officially as Rustic Period but could also be like "the men-of-the-soil times" or "the wild men times" or "the time of the unrefined" or something (the 야인 combines the hanja characters for "outdoors/rugged/wild/natural" and "person"). The show takes place during the harsh 1940s-1960s transitional period as Korea struggled to rise from colonization and war, back before Korea had the economic/cultural clout it does today. These were the kind of men --manly men-- who made today's Korea. You get the idea.
This show focused on the extraordinarily colorful life of historical figure 김두한 (Kim Du-han), played in the show by popular actor 김영철 (Kim Yeong-cheol).
In one particular episode, which has been a well known source of memes and humor for netizens, Mr. Kim is representing a confederation of unskilled laborers working for the US Military command. They are on strike, demanding better wages for their work loading and unloading munitions and supplies. In the show, they are making only about $1/day, which was apparently quite a bit lower than even the Korean military men were earning (apparently in real life these workers made like 44 cents a day).
The noteworthy scene occurs as Mr. Kim "negotiates" with two representatives, one from the US Army and one from the Korean forces.
I say "negotiates" in quotes, because the entire scene is a bit funny in its melodrama. The military representatives are willing to offer $1.50. But Mr. Kim demands, in a statement that will go meme-worthy for years to come, that the workers be paid "SA-DALLA" (four dollars), insisting on this over and over.
All the while the US Army authority becomes more and more agitated ("$2! $2! That's double!") and in shock.
This builds until finally the American relents and agrees to the outlandish raise to $4. Victorious, Mr. Kim then bursts out, in English, "OK! THANK YOU!"
Let's watch, but the video seems to get taken down frequently:
I'm sure you can immediately see why netizens have found this a goldmine of cringy humor, both from Mr. Kim and from the US soldier.
Bear in mind though, that while the acting and scene as a whole may seem a bit cheesy to us, especially with its blatant patriotism, the scene actually has its best and most interesting dialog at the beginning, in the argument between the Korean military commander and Mr. Kim. Both lay out, in their gun-drawing argument, the nature of their two positions:
There's also an extended version of the ad, where she makes a bigger deal ("but... this is Burger King, you can't...") and the ad ends with a bonus bit of Kim telling us that for 1 dollar more, you get 2 patties, and then the "2" he makes with his fingers forms the cute Korean heart gesture.
You're probably wondering if the scene depicted was historically accurate or not. The answer is: I don't know. Kim Doohan was a real guy, who was really involved in labor disputes in both quasi-legal and legal roles (imagine if the Godfather had ended up getting elected to Parliament). But I don't know if he himself participated in the scene. This post is taking too long and I don't have time to research it right now so if anybody else wants to give it a try, be my guest and let me know.
By the way, what does seem unusually bizarre to be real is this: It was pointed out to me that Kim Doohan's descendants are none other than the famous "Superman Returns" triplets, Daehan, Mingook, and Manse. Whoa.
And semi related, some intrepid netizens have noted that the dollar sign on a keyboard is on the number 4. So next time you use your computer, if you're a 미쿡인, look down and remember that Korea will stand up to your bullying. And if you're on the 국뽕, look down and remember the brave, strong tactics of Mr. Kim and push through. You can do it. Be firm with others and with yourself. Always remember the mantra:
By the way, I'd be remiss if I talked about 야인시대 without mentioning the absolute jewel of Korean online meme culture. Because this is also the show that brought us the immortally famous "I'm a eunuch!" (내가 고자라니!) scene. If you know anything about Korean netizen culture you've surely seen this image before:
Oliver teacher did a convenient dubbing of this scene in English. He translates "말도 안돼" as "this is crazy!" but I always prefer to translate it as simply an angry, lost, hopeless "NOOOOO!" in cases like this but that's just me, like when Anakin Skywalker learns of his and his wife's fates. And of course the worst thing is that the closest English word we have, "eunuch," just isn't as visceral. I would probably translate as "I'M DICKLESS!" or "I'M IMPOTENT" but really there's just no way to make this sound as good and as amazingly stupid as it does here. Is 고자 even a word that gets used though?
I just wanted to share the funny commercial but looks like I got roped into a lot more. If you spot any mistakes, let me know. I don't claim to be some big expert on Korean TV or meme history. Just a guy who surfs the web when he's not working. The All Day King deal, by the way, apparently was for a one month period but has been extended. So go torture yourself with a "bulgogi long chicken" set or be a real man and get the DOUBLE BEEF. Or be a real fatass like me and get 2: 1 for now, 1 for later (protip: go to a BK that uses the electronic ordering screens, and discreetly place 2 separate orders in a row so you can't be told "one special per customer"). Not like I know anything about that. Nope.
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| 사딸라! Image: Burger King Korea YouTube |
Origin of the "$4" meme
To get why this is funny, you have to go back to an early 2000s Korean drama called 야인시대 (ya-in-shi-dae), translated officially as Rustic Period but could also be like "the men-of-the-soil times" or "the wild men times" or "the time of the unrefined" or something (the 야인 combines the hanja characters for "outdoors/rugged/wild/natural" and "person"). The show takes place during the harsh 1940s-1960s transitional period as Korea struggled to rise from colonization and war, back before Korea had the economic/cultural clout it does today. These were the kind of men --manly men-- who made today's Korea. You get the idea.
This show focused on the extraordinarily colorful life of historical figure 김두한 (Kim Du-han), played in the show by popular actor 김영철 (Kim Yeong-cheol).
 |
| Kim Doo Han. Image: NamuWiki |
In one particular episode, which has been a well known source of memes and humor for netizens, Mr. Kim is representing a confederation of unskilled laborers working for the US Military command. They are on strike, demanding better wages for their work loading and unloading munitions and supplies. In the show, they are making only about $1/day, which was apparently quite a bit lower than even the Korean military men were earning (apparently in real life these workers made like 44 cents a day).
The noteworthy scene occurs as Mr. Kim "negotiates" with two representatives, one from the US Army and one from the Korean forces.
I say "negotiates" in quotes, because the entire scene is a bit funny in its melodrama. The military representatives are willing to offer $1.50. But Mr. Kim demands, in a statement that will go meme-worthy for years to come, that the workers be paid "SA-DALLA" (four dollars), insisting on this over and over.
All the while the US Army authority becomes more and more agitated ("$2! $2! That's double!") and in shock.
This builds until finally the American relents and agrees to the outlandish raise to $4. Victorious, Mr. Kim then bursts out, in English, "OK! THANK YOU!"
Let's watch, but the video seems to get taken down frequently:
I'm sure you can immediately see why netizens have found this a goldmine of cringy humor, both from Mr. Kim and from the US soldier.
Bear in mind though, that while the acting and scene as a whole may seem a bit cheesy to us, especially with its blatant patriotism, the scene actually has its best and most interesting dialog at the beginning, in the argument between the Korean military commander and Mr. Kim. Both lay out, in their gun-drawing argument, the nature of their two positions:
- the military is doing the fighting and the dying while these guys are just loading trucks all day, and a strike endangers the whole war effort, vs.
- the importance of the war effort, but also the greater importance of the people for whom the war is being fought, who anyway are being exploited with this low pay
You can pick your own side to be on. Regardless, the concession is seen as a victory for Mr. Kim's defiant, no-backing-down strongman tactics.
Burger King ad revisits the iconic scene
That brings us to the Burger King commercial where, yup, you guessed it, actor Kim Yeong-cheol reprises his iconic role to "negotiate" the price of a new Burger King combo meal.
The girl is trying to tell him the price, but gets cut off over and over as Mr. Kim insists that the price will be four dollars. Remember, $4 is basically 4,000won.
[Girl] Welcome to Burger King!
[Kim] One hamburger set
[Girl] A set will be...
[Kim] Four dollars.
[Girl] But it's got double patties...
[Kim] Four dollars.
[Girl] But it's a combo item...
[Kim] FOUR. DOLLARS.
[Narrator] Burger King All Day King, all day...
[Girl] Let's do 4,900 won.
[Kim, in English] OK, THANK YOU!
There's also an extended version of the ad, where she makes a bigger deal ("but... this is Burger King, you can't...") and the ad ends with a bonus bit of Kim telling us that for 1 dollar more, you get 2 patties, and then the "2" he makes with his fingers forms the cute Korean heart gesture.
Was the scene real?
You're probably wondering if the scene depicted was historically accurate or not. The answer is: I don't know. Kim Doohan was a real guy, who was really involved in labor disputes in both quasi-legal and legal roles (imagine if the Godfather had ended up getting elected to Parliament). But I don't know if he himself participated in the scene. This post is taking too long and I don't have time to research it right now so if anybody else wants to give it a try, be my guest and let me know.
By the way, what does seem unusually bizarre to be real is this: It was pointed out to me that Kim Doohan's descendants are none other than the famous "Superman Returns" triplets, Daehan, Mingook, and Manse. Whoa.
$4 mantra
And semi related, some intrepid netizens have noted that the dollar sign on a keyboard is on the number 4. So next time you use your computer, if you're a 미쿡인, look down and remember that Korea will stand up to your bullying. And if you're on the 국뽕, look down and remember the brave, strong tactics of Mr. Kim and push through. You can do it. Be firm with others and with yourself. Always remember the mantra:
$4!
I'm a eunuch!
By the way, I'd be remiss if I talked about 야인시대 without mentioning the absolute jewel of Korean online meme culture. Because this is also the show that brought us the immortally famous "I'm a eunuch!" (내가 고자라니!) scene. If you know anything about Korean netizen culture you've surely seen this image before:
 |
| 내가 고자라니! |
Oliver teacher did a convenient dubbing of this scene in English. He translates "말도 안돼" as "this is crazy!" but I always prefer to translate it as simply an angry, lost, hopeless "NOOOOO!" in cases like this but that's just me, like when Anakin Skywalker learns of his and his wife's fates. And of course the worst thing is that the closest English word we have, "eunuch," just isn't as visceral. I would probably translate as "I'M DICKLESS!" or "I'M IMPOTENT" but really there's just no way to make this sound as good and as amazingly stupid as it does here. Is 고자 even a word that gets used though?
Conclusion
I just wanted to share the funny commercial but looks like I got roped into a lot more. If you spot any mistakes, let me know. I don't claim to be some big expert on Korean TV or meme history. Just a guy who surfs the web when he's not working. The All Day King deal, by the way, apparently was for a one month period but has been extended. So go torture yourself with a "bulgogi long chicken" set or be a real man and get the DOUBLE BEEF. Or be a real fatass like me and get 2: 1 for now, 1 for later (protip: go to a BK that uses the electronic ordering screens, and discreetly place 2 separate orders in a row so you can't be told "one special per customer"). Not like I know anything about that. Nope.
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