`Some-tada,` a new Internet term in Korea

Some-tada is a new Internet term in Korea. "Some" refers to something and "tada" means to ride in Korean. This refers to sharing fluttering emotions with each other before actually going out on a date. The man is called "somenam" and the woman "somenyeo" ("nam" means men and "nyeo" means women in Korean).

"Some-tada" is popular among young people. On online bulletin boards, questions such as "The somenam is making me feel confused. Is he doing some tada or does he simply dislike me?" "How can I check if this is a some?" Most of them are middle and high school, and university students. There is also a 30-something woman feeling such shared emotions and posting what she should do about it online. Answers are pretty much detailed, including "make him/her feel nervous" and "I will tell you ways to induce some." A middle school teacher said, "The hottest topic among teenagers these days is to share messages on KakaoTalk with the boy or girl they feel shared emotions."

K-pop songs are reflecting this trend. Project group Soyu X Jeongkigo`s song "Some" hit No. 1 on the nation`s three major broadcasting programs aired between Friday and Sunday. The lyrics go, "I feel like you`re mine, other times not mine/ I feel like I`m yours, other times not yours/ I`m confused what this relationship is." Singer K Will at his song "Somenam somenyeo" sang, "Delay making confession. We can share it later." Song "I see" of singer Poy is more straightforward. It says, "Our relationship is a some tada relationship."

Comedy programs covering the topic are also popular. Corner “Some and Ssam” of Comedy Big League of tvN has maintained No. 1 or 2 since it first aired on January 11. The program shows "some" that people dream of and "ssam," the reality. "Pitapat," a corner of KBS` Gag Concert that started last year, became popular with a story of a childhood friend who is too shy to confess to the friend. Producer Kim Seok-hyeon of Comedy Big League said, "With some entering a dating stage, an increasing number of viewers are showing empathy and want to know what will come next."

Why are young people into this? A female college student said, "People around my age are forming this stage and enjoying because they don`t want to get hurt." Another female college student said, It`s hard to confess my feelings to someone due to fear of being hurt if rejected. Doing `some` is the most exciting moment."

Experts say the popularity is due to addiction to romance and self-protection sentiment. Noh Myeong-woo, sociology professor at Aju University who wrote "The Sociology of Worldly Affairs," said, "Those in their teens and 20s tend to be obsessed with feeling insecure when they are not dating even for a while. However, since the relationship doesn`t last long, they hope to use expressions like `I fell down after doing some` to resolve fear of uncertain romantic relationship."