Have you ever felt like love could keep you warm even in the coldest winter? Yerin Baek’s “Antifreeze” beautifully captures that feeling through poetic Korean lyrics that paint vivid imagery of ice, snow, and warmth found in another person. This beloved cover song has touched countless hearts with its message that true love won’t freeze, no matter how harsh the world becomes.
For intermediate Korean learners, this song is a treasure trove of natural expressions and useful grammar patterns. You’ll encounter the future tense ending -ㄹ/을 거야 used repeatedly throughout the chorus, making it perfect for reinforcing this essential pattern. The lyrics also feature emotional expressions using -아/어하다, helping you describe feelings more naturally. The vocabulary ranges from everyday words to beautifully poetic phrases, giving you exposure to how Korean expresses abstract emotions through concrete imagery.
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Lyrics Preview
| 한국어 | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 우린 오래전부터 어쩔 수 없는 거였어 | u-rin o-rae-jeon-bu-teo eo-jjeol su eom-neun geo-yeo-sseo | We were inevitable from long ago |
| 우주 속을 홀로 떠돌며 많이 외로워하다가 | u-ju so-geul hol-lo tteo-dol-myeo ma-ni oe-ro-wo-ha-da-ga | Wandering alone through the universe, feeling so lonely |
| 어느 순간 태양과 달이 겹치게 될 때면 | eo-neu sun-gan tae-yang-gwa da-ri gyeop-chi-ge doel ttae-myeon | When the sun and moon overlap at some moment |
| 모든 것을 이해할 수 있을 거야 | mo-deun geo-seul i-hae-hal su i-sseul geo-ya | You’ll be able to understand everything |
| 우리 둘은 얼어붙지 않을 거야 | u-ri du-reun eo-reo-but-ji a-neul geo-ya | The two of us won’t freeze |
| 바다 속의 모래까지 녹일 거야 | ba-da so-gui mo-rae-kka-ji no-gil geo-ya | We’ll melt even the sand in the sea |
| 춤을 추며 절망이랑 싸울 거야 | chu-meul chu-myeo jeol-mang-i-rang ssa-ul geo-ya | We’ll fight despair while dancing |
Want to see the full lyrics? Check them out on Bugs!
Key Expressions
Here are the must-know expressions from this song!
어쩔 수 없다 eo-jjeol su eop-da
This expression means “can’t be helped” or “inevitable.” It’s used when something is beyond your control or was destined to happen.
우리 만남은 어쩔 수 없는 운명이었어.
Our meeting was an inevitable fate.
외로워하다 oe-ro-wo-ha-da
This means “to feel lonely” or “to be lonely.” Notice how -아/어하다 is attached to the adjective 외롭다 to express showing or feeling the emotion.
강아지가 혼자 있으면 많이 외로워해요.
The puppy feels very lonely when left alone.
얼어붙다 eo-reo-but-da
This verb means “to freeze solid” or “to be frozen stiff.” It combines 얼다 (to freeze) with 붙다 (to stick), creating a vivid image of something completely frozen.
겨울에 호수가 완전히 얼어붙었어요.
The lake completely froze over in winter.
스며들다 seu-myeo-deul-da
This beautiful verb means “to seep in” or “to permeate.” It’s often used poetically to describe how feelings or warmth gradually enter someone’s heart.
네 따뜻한 말이 내 마음에 스며들었어.
Your warm words seeped into my heart.
기다려주다 gi-da-ryeo-ju-da
This means “to wait for someone (as a favor).” The -아/어주다 ending adds the nuance of doing something for someone else’s benefit.
조금만 기다려줄 수 있어요?
Can you wait for me just a little?
Grammar Points
-ㄹ/을 거야 (Future Tense / Prediction)
This grammar pattern is used to express future actions, intentions, or predictions. It’s one of the most common ways to talk about the future in casual Korean speech. Attach -ㄹ 거야 to verb stems ending in a vowel, and -을 거야 to stems ending in a consonant. This pattern appears many times in the chorus of “Antifreeze,” emphasizing the singer’s confident predictions about their love.
| 한국어 | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 우리 둘은 얼어붙지 않을 거야 | u-ri du-reun eo-reo-but-ji a-neul geo-ya | The two of us won’t freeze |
| 내일 비가 올 거야 | nae-il bi-ga ol geo-ya | It will rain tomorrow |
| 다 잘 될 거야 | da jal doel geo-ya | Everything will be okay |
-아/어하다 (Expressing Others’ Emotions)
In Korean, descriptive verbs (adjectives) like 외롭다 (to be lonely) or 슬프다 (to be sad) typically describe the speaker’s own feelings. When describing someone else’s emotions, you add -아/어하다 to the stem. This transforms the adjective into an action verb that means “to feel” or “to show” that emotion. In the song, 외로워하다가 describes the experience of feeling lonely while drifting through the universe.
| 한국어 | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 많이 외로워하다가 | ma-ni oe-ro-wo-ha-da-ga | While feeling very lonely |
| 동생이 선물을 받고 좋아했어요 | dong-saeng-i seon-mu-reul bat-go jo-a-hae-sseo-yo | My younger sibling was happy to receive the gift |
| 고양이가 목욕을 싫어해요 | go-yang-i-ga mo-gyo-geul si-reo-hae-yo | The cat hates baths |
Culture Note
Yerin Baek is one of Korea’s most beloved singer-songwriters, known for her distinctive voice and emotionally rich music. She debuted in 2012 as part of the duo 15& before launching her successful solo career in 2015. What makes her unique in the K-pop landscape is her artistic independence and her tendency to write songs in English, showcasing her bilingual abilities developed during two years of training in New York and New Jersey.
“Antifreeze” is actually a cover of a song originally by The Black Skirts, included in Yerin Baek’s 2021 cover album called “선물” (Gift). The album title reflects the spirit of the project, as these covers were meant as gifts to her listeners. The song’s title cleverly plays on the concept of antifreeze, the liquid that prevents engines from freezing. Just as antifreeze keeps things running in cold weather, the love described in this song prevents two hearts from freezing despite life’s hardships.
Fun fact! The chorus of Yerin Baek’s “Antifreeze” features backing vocals from some very special people: her own father, members of the band The Volunteers, and staff from her record label Blue Vinyl. This heartwarming detail adds an extra layer of meaning to a song about love and warmth, showing that the people closest to her literally helped create the sound of togetherness in the recording.
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