“Tomboy” is a song from Korean band Hyukoh’s first official album “23” released in 2017.
Both the album and the song achieved critical acclaim, winning both the “Best modern rock album” and “Best modern rock song” at the 2018 Korean Music Awards. But their popularity with listeners was something of an outlier in the charts where bands don’t often make an appearance, let alone such a long run as this song did.
The chart success of “Tomboy”
In the 17th week of 2017, Hyukoh’s “Tomboy” peaked on Gaon’s Digital Chart at number two, just missing the number one spot to the queen of Korean pop music, IU. But the song stayed on the top 100 of the Digital Chart for months, up to the 37th week of 2017.
Music critics attribute the success of the song partly to the brooding lyrics to the song resonating with younger listeners in Korea who were (and still are) struggling to make a life for themselves and having to contend with an uncertain future. Youth unemployment remains high, suicide is the number one cause of death among South Korean youth, among other bleak statistics.
Korean Music Awards committee member Jung Jin-young writes that Hyukoh’s “Tomboy” was able to “achieve the status of being an ‘ode for youth’ by bringing up their anxiety and concerns more honestly than any other song.”
Translation Note: The below is based on my own interpretation of the lyrics and is not an official English translation of the song provided by the artist.
Translated lyrics to “Tomboy” by Hyukoh (혁오)
In the translation below, some of the words are in brackets. These words are not explicitly mentioned in the original Korean lyrics but have been added for fluidity. You’ll notice these words are all subjects (i.e. the thing, person that is ‘doing’ the action for e.g. I, we, it). Unlike in English, subjects can be omitted in Korean without sounding unnatural. But it also means that, especially when it comes to song lyrics, Korean is more open to interpretation.
I’m awkward around the love my mum always gives me
Maybe that’s why (it’s) always hard
Even in the greed I was afraid of losing
There is still something pretty
I’m happy now, that’s why I’m anxious
Like the sea is always calm before the storm
(I) can’t let myself catch on fire and burn so quickly
I cheer for love
In our youth, our growth rings are hard to see
Blinded by the bright lights, (we’re) dimming away
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
An adult who is sad is always going backwards
And you’ve entered your terrible twenties and seem bored
(We) can’t let ourselves catch on fire and burn so quickly
(We) cheer for our love
In our youth, our growth rings are hard to see
Blinded by the bright lights, (we’re) dimming away
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
That’s right, I didn’t know it well then
We’re only alike in our differences
You’re all grown up and the first to have fallen
Now I’m like you too
In our youth, our growth rings are hard to see
Blinded by the bright lights, (we’re) dimming away
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
