SEVENTEEN turn themselves into 손오공 (Son Ogong), the Korean name for Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from the old Chinese story Journey to the West. He is the cheeky, unstoppable hero who rides a cloud and swings a magic staff, and the whole song borrows his gear. The hook says it plainly: "마치 된 것 같아 손오공" [It feels like I've become Son Ogong]. The 근두운 in "pull up my 근두운" [pull up my flying cloud] is his somersault cloud, and "늘어나라 하늘로 여의봉" [stretch up to the sky, Ruyi staff] is his staff that grows on command.
Under the cartoon fun is a very SEVENTEEN message about grinding and never quitting. "힘을 다하고 쓰러져도 포기를 모르고 날뛰는 중" [even if I give it everything and collapse, I don't know how to give up, I'm still running wild] is the mood of the whole track. Then the chorus flips into pure team spirit with "I love my team, I love my crew", which is sweet coming from a group with thirteen members. A small learner tip: 영웅본색 is the Korean title of the Hong Kong film A Better Tomorrow, and here it just means showing your true hero colors.
The bridge gets oddly wise for a second ("진실은 때론 잔혹해" [the truth is sometimes cruel]), then goes full anime power-up with "Ener-energy 기 모아" [gathering energy, ki]. And the last line is my favorite joke: "이 노래는 이 만화의 엔딩송이다" [this song is the ending song of this cartoon]. They know exactly how silly and fun this is.
Did you know?
In addition to reading lyric translations, you can now learn Korean with music and lyrics from your favorite artists.
Yes, including 손오공 Super (sonogong Super) by SEVENTEEN!
No more boring lessons. You can now learn with engaging and culturally relevant lyrics from the best artists.