MONSTER – Bilingual Lyrics Korean/English

• By: Kwon Jin Ah
• Album: SAVE ME

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the emotional depth of Korean through 'MONSTER' by Kwon Jin Ah. This song is perfect for learners who want to explore poetic expressions of longing and intense emotion, while experiencing the dramatic storytelling and powerful vocal dynamics that make K-ballads unique.

[English]

Every morning, it was like that

Looking at myself in the mirror

I thought I was a monster who couldn't be loved

From the cold floor

I was crawling

And now I'm standing before the mirror again

My miserable playground

My agonizing trauma

Is my mirror somehow different?

The world remains boringly the same in the end

And my terrible self is still the same

Keep going, stay alive

I have to keep living

Even while I'm this much of a mess

Even if it's camouflage

I must survive

Endure it in this dirty game

Survive in this dirty way

In a world

Where nothing has changed

I might be a monster who can't be loved

But from the cold floor

I made a promise to myself

That I can't die like this

The playground I once loved

The trauma I'm now proud of

I'm still right there in that place

Oh, you lonely souls

Until we overcome this

Everyone, follow me and sing

Keep going, stay alive

I have to keep living

Even while I'm this much of a mess

Even if it's camouflage

I must survive

Endure it in this dirty game

Survive in this dirty way

Keep going, stay alive

I have to keep living

Don't let them fade you out babe

Even if it's camouflage

I must survive

Endure it in this dirty game

Survive in your own way

...

[Korean]

매일 아침 그랬지

거울 속의 난

사랑받지 못할 괴물인 줄 알았어

차가운 바닥에서

기어가던 난

거울 앞에 다시 서 있어

비참했던 내 playground

지독했던 내 trauma

내 거울은 좀 다른 걸까

세상은 끝내 지겹게 온통 그대론데

끔찍한 내 모습도 여전해

Keep going, stay alive

살아가야만 해

이토록 엉망인 채 난

Even if it's camouflage

살아내야만 해

버텨내 in this dirty game

살아내 like this dirty way

달라진 것이 없는

세상 속에 난

사랑받지 못할 괴물일지 몰라도

차가운 바닥에서

다짐했어 난

이렇게 죽을 순 없다고

사랑했던 내 playground

자랑스러운 내 trauma

난 여전해 그 자리에서

외로운 영혼들이여

이겨낼 때까지

나를 따라 모두 다 노래해

Keep going, stay alive

살아가야만 해

이토록 엉망인 채 난

Even if it's camouflage

살아내야만 해

버텨내 in this dirty game

살아내 like this dirty way

Keep going, stay alive

살아가야만 해

Don't let them fade you out babe

Even if it's camouflage

살아내야만 해

버텨내 in this dirty game

살아내 in your own way

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
매일 maeil Level 1	noun - every day
아침 achim Level 1	noun - morning
거울 geoul Level 1	noun - mirror
괴물 goemul Level 3	noun - monster
차가운 chagaun Level 2	adjective - cold
기어가다 gieogada Level 3	verb - to crawl
비참하다 bichamhada Level 5	adjective - miserable
지겹다 jigyeopda Level 3	adjective - boring / tedious
모습 moseup Level 2	noun - appearance / shape
여전하다 yeojeonhada Level 4	adjective - as before / unchanged
엉망 eongmang Level 4	noun - a mess
버티다 beotida Level 3	verb - to endure / hang in there
다짐하다 dajimhada Level 3	verb - to make a resolution
외롭다 oeropda Level 2	adjective - lonely
영혼 yeonghon Level 4	noun - soul / spirit

Key Grammar Structures

• 사랑받지 못할 괴물인 줄 알았어

  ➔ -ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다 (Thought/Assumed)

  ➔ The suffix "-ㄹ 줄 알았다" is used here to express a false assumption or a past belief that turned out to be wrong.

• 살아가야만 해

  ➔ -아/어야만 하다 (Must/Have to)

  ➔ Adding "-만" to the "-아/어야 하다" structure adds emphasis, indicating that there is absolutely no other choice but to do the action.

• 사랑받지 못할 괴물일지 몰라도

  ➔ -ㄹ지 몰라도 (Even if / Although it might be)

  ➔ This structure is used to admit a possibility or a fact ("even if it might be...") while contrasting it with the following clause.

• 이렇게 죽을 순 없다고

  ➔ -ㄹ 수 없다 (Cannot)

  ➔ Used to express the inability to perform an action or, as in this context, the strong refusal to accept a certain situation.

• 이겨낼 때까지

  ➔ -ㄹ 때까지 (Until)

  ➔ Indicates the endpoint or the goal until which an action must continue.

• 달라진 것이 없는

  ➔ -ㄴ/은 것 (Nominalizer)

  ➔ Converts the verb phrase "달라진" into a noun phrase, allowing it to be modified by the following nouns.

• Don't let them fade you out

  ➔ Let + Object + Base Verb (Causative)

  ➔ A common English causative structure meaning "do not allow them to make you disappear/fade away."

• 살아내 in your own way

  ➔ -내다 (Compound verb / Completion)

  ➔ The suffix "-내다" implies completing an action with difficulty, suggesting "surviving" or "living through" something hard.