Ive's Jang Won Young teaches Gen Z slang to Dustin Nippert

Jang Won Young of Ive taught "Generation Z English" to American baseball player Dustin Nippert. The sight of Jang explaining in fluent English while Nippert tilted his head, saying, "It's too difficult," drew laughter by highlighting a subtle generational gap.

On the 24th, a video titled "Ive's Jang Won Young is going to teach Nippert MZ English?" was released on the official MLB Korea YouTube channel. Nippert met with the members of Ive and shared various stories, ranging from the differences between performances in South Korea and the United States to his impressions after watching MLB.

During the conversation, Nippert confessed, "You guys are Generation Z. I have no idea at all," adding, "Not just in South Korea, but people all over the world try to teach me expressions used by Generation Z, but I just can't understand them." With a serious expression, he asked, "Please help me understand," and inquired, "What does 'vibe check' mean?"

As if she had been waiting, Jang stepped in to explain in English. Looking around at her fellow Ive members, she said, "Our team passed the vibe check perfectly," interpreting it to mean, "It means our team is the best today." Rather than providing a simple dictionary definition, she explained the expression based on the actual situation.

Nippert attempted to understand by asking, "So 'vibe check' means feeling like today's condition is the best?" Jang explained again, saying, "It means something like 'Our mood is the best today,'" while giving a thumbs up.

However, Nippert's reaction after the explanation was unexpected. He still showed difficulty, saying, "It's too hard," while Jang laughed and comforted him, saying, "But you learned it today."

Even Nippert, who has been active in South Korean professional baseball for a long time and is familiar with Korean culture, appeared like a student when faced with Generation Z expressions.

The connection between the two began at the baseball stadium. Jang drew attention as a ceremonial first pitcher ahead of the game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers held at Citi Field in New York, United States, this past July. At that time, the members of Ive visited Citi Field at the invitation of the New York Mets, and Nippert personally helped with the first pitch practice. This time, in reverse, Jang played a unique teacher-student role by teaching Nippert "Generation Z English."