[TALKING TRENDS] 'Vu jàdé'

"You know what the opposite of déjà vu is? Vu jàdé." While the word "déjà vu" refers to something that feels like you have already experienced, "vu jàdé," refers to something you've got used to suddenly feeling strange.

Seo Jeong-minThe author is a senior reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo. Yoo Hai-jin, a well-known Korean actor, is winning over viewers with his unique dad jokes on “Europe Outside Your Tent,” a variety show aired on tvN.

In one episode, he jokingly called the Orion constellation “Choco Pie,” a reference to the popular snack manufactured by Korean company Orion. When talking in English to an employee at a bicycle rental company, he said: “My last name is Yoo. Me? No, Yoo.”

Most dad jokes are corny, but Yoo’s jokes are gaining popularity. Why? It is probably because he finds something to talk about with others, rather than just trying to make other people laugh. In order for a joke not to be random, the person who tells it should have sharp insight and good general knowledge.

Among his many dad jokes, one about the opposite of déjà vu broadcasted last month was very original. When his costars Jin Seon-kyu and Yoon Kyun-sang said that it was like déjà vu because they experienced a similar change in the weather in Italy and Switzerland, Yoo asked them “You know what the opposite of déjà vu is? Vu jàdé."

It’s quite hard to believe, but Yoo didn't actually come up with vu jàdé, it was used first by Prof. Robert I. Sutton at Stanford University. He coined the word to explain “12 Weird Ideas” in his book Weird Ideas That Work (2003). While the word “déjà vu” refers to something that feels like you have already experienced, “vu jàdé,” refers to something you’ve got used to suddenly feeling strange.

The author wrote in his book that through “vu jàdé,” a weird idea with which we can see something old from a different perspective can sharpen our imagination. Where can we find the limitations on our ability to come up with weird ideas?

BY SEO JEONG-MIN [meantree@joongang.co.kr]