0:00 The video starts with a black digital clock. In the music video, it says REDRED, but the design itself feels extremely familiar. There was a time when this kind of digital clock was everywhere in old Korean restaurants.
The moment I saw it, I remembered a naengmyeon restaurant I often went to with my parents when I was in elementary school. That restaurant had almost the exact same kind of clock. Back then, it was such a normal object that nobody cared. These days, I do not see it as often, probably because it feels a bit old-fashioned now.
0:06 Then comes another very Korean restaurant detail: the instant milk coffee vending machine. In many old Korean restaurants, after finishing your meal, you could get a tiny paper cup of sweet milk coffee from a vending machine near the entrance.
Most of the time, it was free. Of course, if the owner was a little strict or stingy, you might have had to pay 100 won. But either way, this tiny cup of sweet coffee after a meal was a very familiar Korean restaurant habit.
0:13 The self-service corner also feels very Korean. In many Korean restaurants today, customers refill side dishes by themselves. It is convenient, but honestly, it is also a way for restaurants to save on labor costs.
0:20 Even the bathroom looks like an old Korean restaurant bathroom. It does not feel like the production team was trying to make a fancy or beautiful scene. It feels like they chose a place that already had a strong everyday Korean mood.
0:25 The members are holding tongs and chopsticks and eating ssam. This is one of the most Korean things in the whole video. Samgyeopsal is not just pork belly. Honestly, it is close to the Korean soul.
In Korea, eating pork belly usually means grilling meat together, sharing side dishes, wrapping meat in lettuce or perilla leaves, adding garlic, ssamjang, kimchi, and whatever else you like. It is not just about eating. It is also about sitting together, cooking together, and talking over the grill.
0:45 Some Korean barbecue restaurants give free ice cream after the meal. Usually, there is a large commercial ice cream tub with cones, and the flavors are simple: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate.
In the music video, there seems to be a green flavor too, maybe green tea. That is a little less common, but it is funny because the whole REDRED and Green theme makes it fit perfectly.
1:09 The red welcome mat is such a Korean detail. It says “Welcome,” and this kind of red mat is often seen in older restaurants. The best part is that it does not look new or clean. It looks worn out, which makes it feel more real.
1:27 The pork skin scene is also funny because Koreans really do grill pork skin. And yes, it can pop while cooking. If you are trying it for the first time, be careful. It probably will not fly as dramatically as it does in the music video, but it can still jump and hit your face.
2:32 Near the end, there is a giant hanging wall calendar. Old Korean restaurants used to have these all the time. The key detail is that it includes lunar calendar dates too. That tiny detail made the scene feel even more Korean.
2. The Old Arcade
1:15 The arcade scenes also felt very familiar to me. When I was a teenager or in my twenties, going out with friends in a busy downtown area often meant stopping by an arcade at some point.
Old Korean arcades had their own little ritual. Many machines used coins, so you had to bring cash, put your bills into the coin exchange machine, and then start playing with a heavy handful of coins. That feeling is very specific, and it instantly brings back memories.
1:19 The punching machine is a classic arcade game in Korea. Someone always wants to try it, especially when they are with friends. It is loud, a little silly, and perfect for showing off.
1:21 The baseball game is another familiar one. These sports-style arcade machines were common in older arcades and entertainment areas.
1:25 Whack-a-mole appears too. It is simple, childish, and still strangely fun. Seeing it in the music video made the location feel even more like a real old arcade.
1:55 The claw machine is something Koreans still see often. Even outside arcades, claw machines can appear in shopping streets, near movie theaters, or around busy areas.
2:00 Air hockey is also a classic friend-group game. It is not uniquely Korean, of course, but the way it appears inside this older arcade setting feels very familiar.
2:05 The basketball arcade game completes the feeling. The video does not show a sleek, modern arcade. It looks older and rougher, and that is exactly why it fits the song.
These days, many arcades in Korea are much cleaner and more modern. But the arcade in REDRED feels like an older place that has survived for a long time. That roughness makes the video feel more alive.
3. Goyang Lafesta Street
0:40 At this point, the members are walking through Lafesta in Goyang. You can even see “Goyang” in the background.
Lafesta is not a traditional Korean landmark. It is more like a shopping and entertainment area that many Koreans would recognize right away. That is why it works well in this video. It feels like a real place, not a set made only to look pretty.
1:01 The inflatable “Welcome” tube man with flapping arms is another very everyday Korean street object. You can see these in front of stores, restaurants, phone shops, or event spaces in busy areas.
It is so common that I almost never think about it. So seeing it in a K-pop music video was funny. It is not glamorous at all, but that is exactly why it feels real.
1:42 The Green Academy flyer on the street was one of my favorite details. It advertises classes for elementary, middle, and high school students. This is such a Korean neighborhood detail.
Even today, around apartment complexes or on utility poles, you can see flyers for private tutoring, small academies, or study programs. Some of them have phone numbers printed in little strips at the bottom so people can tear one off.
To Koreans, that paper-strip design has a very nostalgic feeling. The bottom part hangs like squid legs. I am not sure if foreign readers will immediately understand the image, but many Koreans will know exactly what I mean.
4. The Retro North Face Moment
0:34 One of the tall members recommends an orange The North Face padded vest. This moment made me laugh because The North Face has a very specific memory for many Koreans.
When I was a teenager, The North Face padded jackets were a huge status symbol among students. Everyone seemed to want one. It was not just winter clothing. It almost worked like a signal of teenage wealth or belonging.
So when that orange padded vest appeared in the music video, I felt like it was chosen on purpose to create a retro Korean feeling. It is not just a random fashion item. For Koreans who grew up around that era, it carries a whole social memory.
What is interesting is that the members are not dressed in extremely fancy stage outfits. A lot of the clothes look quite ordinary. But once they start dancing, the ordinary clothes suddenly look cool.
That is one of the charms of CORTIS in this video. They do not look cool because everything around them is expensive or polished. They look cool because their movement changes the space.
5. Why These Details Feel So Korean
The reason REDRED feels Korean to me is not because it uses famous Korean symbols. Actually, it does the opposite. It uses things Koreans usually do not even notice because they are too ordinary.
A milk coffee machine after a meal. A self-service side dish corner. A worn-out red welcome mat. A pork belly restaurant bathroom. A coin arcade. A hagwon flyer on the street. A giant calendar with lunar dates. These are not dramatic, but they are real.
That is why the video feels fresh. It does not show Korea as a beautiful postcard. It shows Korea as a place people actually live in. A place with barbecue smoke, old arcades, street flyers, plastic cones, coin machines, and slightly outdated restaurant objects.
And because CORTIS brings such strong energy into these ordinary places, the familiar details suddenly look cool. The video makes everyday Korea feel alive again.
To me, that is the most Korean thing about REDRED. It does not try too hard to explain Korea. It just shows the kind of Korea many Koreans grew up seeing, then lets the members run through it with raw energy.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why does the CORTIS REDRED music video feel Korean?
A. It feels Korean because it uses very ordinary Korean places and objects: a samgyeopsal restaurant, a self-service side dish corner, an old arcade, a milk coffee vending machine, a red welcome mat, a giant wall calendar, and hagwon flyers. These are not traditional symbols, but they are deeply familiar to Koreans.
Q. Is this traditional Korean culture?
A. Not exactly. This is not the Korea of palaces, hanbok, or historical scenery. It is closer to everyday Korean culture. The video shows small details that Koreans recognize from restaurants, streets, arcades, and shopping areas.
Q. Why are timestamp notes useful for this MV?
A. Many of the Korean details appear very quickly. A timestamp review helps viewers go back to each moment and notice the small things they might have missed the first time, such as the old digital clock, the free coffee machine, the arcade games, and the hagwon flyer.
Sources
Official MV|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6BDbXIah-Y
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