아빠와 딸이 손을 잡는 이유

What does “좀” mean in a Korean request?

좀 literally means “a little,” but its most common job is softening a request. 손 잡아 줘 is “hold my hand”; 손 좀 잡아 줘 is “hold my hand, would you?” 좀 makes a request less blunt, but it doesn’t make it polite by itself: the ending matters too. 손 좀 잡아 줘 is still casual, for family and friends; 손 좀 잡아 주세요 is polite.

The -아/어 줘 ending means “do it for me,” and you’ll hear 좀 in almost every ask, from 물 좀 주세요 (“some water, please”) to 좀 도와줘 (“help me out a bit”). In the clip a dad out walking with his kids keeps asking: 손 좀 잡아 줘, then 아 손 한번만 잡아 줘 (“just once!”). When that fails he tries guilt: 아빠 손에 뭐 가시가 있냐?, “what, does Dad’s hand have thorns on it?”