13 timestamped notes explaining the Korean cultural context in this episode — customs, idioms, food, honorifics, and history, at the moment each appears on screen. These notes discuss events across the whole episode. To see them revealed scene-by-scene as you watch, use the episode page to find an airing.
108배 (baengpae) means doing 108 full prostrations — kneeling, touching your forehead to the floor, and rising — without stopping. In Korean Buddhism the number 108 represents the 108 earthly desires a person must shed to reach enlightenment. It's a common act of devotion or penance, and doing it properly is genuinely exhausting, which is why Chaeshin's friend suspects him of quietly skipping some.
지라시 (jirasi) literally means a cheap printed flyer, but in modern Korean it refers to anonymous tip sheets — originally photocopied, now circulated via KakaoTalk — that spread unverified gossip about companies, politicians, and celebrities. Financial 지라시 float around stock-market circles constantly, and while they're officially dismissed, savvy investors know they sometimes nail the truth ahead of mainstream news.
Junho defuses Myeong-hui's anger by claiming his impersonation of Vincenzo was just his 코스프레 (koseupeure — borrowed from the Japanese コスプレ) hobby. Cosplay is enormously popular in Korea and the word has leaked into everyday slang to mean "playing a role" or "pretending to be" someone, so the excuse sounds both absurd and instantly familiar to a Korean ear.
스투키 (Stukki) is a trendy succulent-like houseplant that shot to popularity in Korea in the 2010s, famous for surviving almost total neglect. Myeong-hui frames her "gift" as friendly advice about longevity, but the subtext is pointed: thrive quietly, cause no trouble, or face consequences. Bringing a plant to an office visit is a normal Korean gesture of goodwill, which makes the threat feel even more unsettling dressed in politeness.
기레기 is a cutting portmanteau of 기자 (gija, journalist) and 쓰레기 (sseulle-gi, trash). It exploded on Korean social media around 2013 to describe reporters who sensationalise, plagiarise, or act as mouthpieces for powerful corporations and politicians. Chayoung uses it without hesitation because it's fully mainstream slang — Koreans encounter it daily in online comment sections.
딱밤 is the classic Korean playground penalty: you curl your middle finger behind your thumb and release it sharply against someone's forehead. The name is onomatopoeic — 딱 is the snap sound, 밤 means chestnut (the knuckle resembles one). It's associated with childhood games and school forfeits, so Chayoung proposing it as a grown-up bet wager is deliberately silly and endearing.
극락왕생 (Geugnakwangsaeng) means "may you be reborn in Geungnак" — the Western Pure Land, Buddhism's paradise equivalent. Koreans use it in condolences and prayers for the dying or recently dead. That U-yeong says it about himself, half-joking from a hospital bed, mixes black humour with genuine Buddhist belief; his monk friend Chaeshin understands exactly what he means.
산재 is short for 산업재해, the legal term for a workplace injury or illness recognised under Korea's Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. Recognition as 산재 matters hugely: it unlocks state compensation and shifts legal liability onto the employer. Baabel's affiliated hospital denying any link to the chemical is the company's way of blocking this classification — keeping workers from ever qualifying for that protection.
마구니 (maguni) is a Korean Buddhist term for a demon or evil spirit — specifically a Māra, the tempter who tried to distract the Buddha from enlightenment. Calling someone 마구니 is the monks' way of saying they are a spiritually corrupting force, not just a bad person. Coming from an actual Buddhist monk in full robes, the label lands with theatrical weight and gives the crowd moral permission to reject the lawyer.
도신 (Dosin, "God of Gamblers") refers to the 1989 Hong Kong film starring Chow Yun-fat (주윤발 in Korean). It became a cult classic across East Asia and is the defining pop-culture image of the supremely skilled card player who can be beaten only by cheating or brute force. Vincenzo invoking 도신 to explain why a casino breaks a winner's hands is instantly vivid shorthand for any Korean viewer who grew up watching Hong Kong cinema.
고스톱 is Korea's most popular card game, played with 화투 (hwatu) flower cards. It is practically synonymous with Chuseok and Lunar New Year family gatherings — grandparents, parents, and kids crowding around a low table. 피박 and 광박 are penalty conditions that multiply a loser's debt. Joo-seong's image of a losing father flipping the board in frustration is an instantly recognisable domestic scene for Korean viewers.
Toto, the Italian restaurant owner, reacts with tearful pride when Vincenzo tastes his mother's homemade recipe and exclaims "나폴리!" (Napoli!). For many Koreans of Italian background — or any diaspora — a parent's home cooking is a powerful marker of identity and belonging. The show uses this moment to quietly humanise Toto and give Vincenzo a rare, unguarded reaction that signals genuine emotion rather than performance.
Vincenzo delivers his courtroom-steps statement in Italian: "Evil is punished by evil." It's a philosophy central to his mafia-trained worldview and functions as his personal creed throughout the series. The baffled reporters guessing "English? French? Diablo?" (a video game) is a comedic beat, but the line is deadly serious — it's the show's thesis statement delivered at the moment the real war against Babel formally begins.