관짝소년단

Origin

Gwanjjak Sonyeondan ("Coffin Boys") is the Korean nickname for the dancing pallbearers of Ghana in West Africa, who carry coffins on their shoulders while dancing. In English the meme is known as the Coffin Dance. The Korean name is a play on BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), inspired by their matching suits and crisp, synchronized moves.

The meme came from combining footage and music created at different times. Ghana's dancing funeral processions were already known from a video uploaded to YouTube by the channel Travelin Sister on January 22, 2015 (2.9 million views over five years), and drew international attention when BBC News Africa reported on the practice on July 27, 2017. Group leader Benjamin Aidoo explained Ghana's custom of sending the dead off joyfully: "Why should you cry when your parents did everything for you?" The music is Vicetone's 2014 remix of "Astronomia," an electronic track released by Tony Igy in 2010.

The earliest documented post combining the two is a TikTok video from February 26, 2020 by @lawyer_ggmu (then @khvichagogava), which set the pallbearer footage to "Astronomia" and gained 4.5 million views and 474,700 likes within a month.

Spread

In March 2020 the format settled on TikTok as a "fail" meme: freeze a clip just before someone falls or crashes, then cut to the coffin dance, implying the person is about to end up in a coffin. Videos by @trickshot0977 on March 6 (2.9 million views), @xacamnhuong on March 12 (2.7 million) and @.minh_hieu on March 14 (7.2 million views, 478,400 likes) blew up in quick succession.

Because it coincided with the spread of COVID-19, the meme was also put to work for public health messaging. Police in India danced it with stretchers, Peruvian officers imitated the moves, and protesters in Lebanon made coffins out of banknotes to protest economic collapse. On May 4, 2020, the BBC published a follow-up in which the pallbearers thanked healthcare workers. Aidoo's own business, meanwhile, was hit hard by the pandemic, as funerals were limited to 25 attendees with no music or dancing. He employs 100 people and said he hoped to expand abroad once restrictions lifted.

It was even drafted into political messaging. On May 26, 2020, Donald Trump's presidential campaign posted a political remix using the coffin dance on Facebook, reaching 2.8 million views in three hours. Know Your Meme's entry holds 88 videos and 64 images. In Korea the edit of tacking the dance onto the end of accident clips caught on under names like gwanjjak-chum (coffin dance) and gwanjjak-meme.

Usage

• Freezing a clip right before an accident or blunder and cutting to the coffin dance and "Astronomia"
• Comments like "call the coffin boys" under risky or reckless stunts
• Campaign videos that deliver a "this could end badly" warning with humor

Sources

• Know Your Meme, "Coffin Dance" — the January 22, 2015 Travelin Sister video, the July 27, 2017 BBC News Africa report, "Astronomia" (Tony Igy 2010, Vicetone remix 2014), the first combined video by @lawyer_ggmu on February 26, 2020 and its figures, figures for March TikTok fail videos, the May 4, 2020 BBC follow-up, the May 26 Trump campaign remix, video and image counts
• Seoul Shinmun, "'Coffin Boys' become a meme, drawing attention amid COVID-19" (May 14, 2020) — leader Benjamin Aidoo and his explanation of funeral culture, parodies by police in India and Peru and protesters in Lebanon, pandemic limits on funerals and the hit to his business, 100 employees and plans to expand abroad