9 phrases you hear on every Korean variety show
Watch enough Korean variety, with or without subtitles, and a set of words starts to repeat: at the introductions, in the games, on the captions that slide in when someone falls over. They are the grammar of the format, and once you know them the show reads differently.
The nine below cover an episode from the first bow to the last. Guests speak formally to hosts throughout, which is why so much of it is -ㅂ니다 speech, while the caption words are casual exclamations aimed at nobody.
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잘 부탁드립니다.
jal butakdeurimnida.
Please take good care of us.
Literally: (I) humbly request well.
The line after a group introduces itself, bow included. There is no English for it; it asks the hosts and audience to be kind in advance. Formal -ㅂ니다 speech, which guests keep up with hosts all episode.
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개인기
gaeingi
Party trick
Literally: Individual skill
The host asks 개인기 있어요? and someone does an impression, a dance or an animal noise. Every idol is expected to have one ready, and the groan when it fails is part of the format.
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정답
jeongdap
Correct
The quiz segment word, often shouted by the contestant as they slam the buzzer, as in 정답, 김치. Wrong answers get 땡, the sound of the buzzer, said out loud by the host.
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벌칙
beolchik
Penalty
What the losing team gets: the flour, the ice water, the dance in a costume. 벌칙 받다 is to take the penalty, and 벌칙 게임 is a game played only to decide who takes it.
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대박
daebak
Wow, no way
Literally: Big hit, jackpot
The all-purpose reaction, good or bad. Captions use it for anything surprising. It is a little worn now, which is why you hear it most from hosts and least from the youngest guests.
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미쳤다
michyeotda
That's insane
Literally: (It) went crazy
Praise, not an insult, when it follows a high note or a dance break. The plain -다 ending makes it an exclamation to no one in particular, which is why it works on a show full of people you should be polite to.
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멘붕
menbung
Mental breakdown
Literally: 멘탈 붕괴, mental collapse
A caption word for a member who has just been caught out or lost a game they were sure of. The compound is Konglish plus Sino-Korean, which tells you how it was coined: online, fast, by young people.
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막내
mangnae
The youngest
The youngest member of a group, a role as much as a fact: teased, protected, and made to do the 개인기. Fans spell it maknae, but the Korean pronunciation shifts the ㄱ, which is why Revised Romanization writes mangnae.
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수고하셨습니다.
sugohasyeosseumnida.
Thank you for your hard work.
Literally: (You) have toiled.
The closing line of any recording, said by everyone to everyone, and also how Korean offices end the workday. To a group of people your age or younger you can shorten it to 수고했어요.
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A pattern worth noticing: the formal lines (잘 부탁드립니다, 수고하셨습니다) are the same ones Koreans use at work, and the casual ones (대박, 미쳤다, 멘붕) are the same ones friends text each other. Variety shows are a tidy sampler of both registers at once.