사딸라

Origin

"Sattalla" comes from the SBS drama Rustic Period (Yain Sidae), in which Kim Du-han, played by actor Kim Young-chul, shouts "Sattalla!" ("four dollars" in a thick Korean accent) while negotiating with the U.S. military. In a scene set around the Korean War, in talks over the wages of laborers hauling U.S. Army supplies, Kim demands a steep raise to four dollars a day. The key is that, with an interpreter between them, he never says "four dollars" in English, but repeats "sattalla" in Korean pronunciation and refuses to budge an inch.

Long after the show aired, the scene circulated online for years as images and clips labeled "Kim Du-han-style negotiation." His stubborn tactic of repeating the same word no matter what terms were offered became the punchline, and it grew into a go-to drama meme summoned in the comments whenever haggling or prices came up.

Spread

What took the meme from the internet to the whole country was a 2019 Burger King ad. In October 2018 Burger King had launched its "All Day King" menu, selling popular burger sets for 4,900 won all day, and noticing that this came to about four dollars at the exchange rate of the time, it planned a "sattalla" parody with ad agency Cheil Worldwide. In the "All Day King" ad released in January 2019, Kim Young-chul returned as Kim Du-han from the drama of about 16 years earlier, recreating not only the lines but the costume while haggling over a hamburger price, and viewers hailed it as a "perfect parody." It was produced in 6-, 15- and 30-second versions.

The ad drew an explosive response. According to Cheil Worldwide's blog, it had passed 5 million YouTube views by February 19, 2019, a little over a month after release, and the comment section became a playground for trading lines and images from the drama. Brand Brief reported that franchise store sales rose 50 to 70% after the ad launched, cumulative sales of the product passed 10 million units, and the ad ranked first on the Top 100 list of Korea's largest advertising portal. In November 2019, Hankyung Business reported that two Burger King ads had reached 5.6 million and 6.8 million views, citing "sattalla marketing" as a driver of Burger King's growth after its 2018 operating profit rose 510% year over year to about 9 billion won.

Usage

• Repeating nothing but "Sattalla!" when refusing to give ground in haggling or negotiations
• Mocking a stubborn attitude that repeats the same demand no matter what the other side says
• A reflexive comment whenever a price or number with a 4 in it comes up

Sources

• Brand Brief, "Rustic Period summoned by memes: Burger King's 'Sattalla' ad is a hit" — the SBS drama's U.S. military negotiation scene circulating for years as memes, the January 2019 ad release, Kim Young-chul's reprise and costume recreation, Cheil Worldwide's 6-, 15- and 30-second versions, 4.12 million views and first place on the ad portal, 50–70% franchise sales growth and 10 million units sold
• Cheil Worldwide blog, "[creativity] No negotiation at Burger King either! Sattalla! Burger King Sattalla!, All Day KING" (February 20, 2019) — 5 million YouTube views as of February 19, comment reactions, the 4,900 won ≈ four dollars concept
• Hankyung Business, "Burger King enters a new heyday... operating profit up fivefold on sattalla marketing and menu development" (November 2019) — the October 2018 All Day King launch at 4,900 won, 5.6 million and 6.8 million views for two ads, 510% operating profit growth in 2018