1. Introduction to the text
This article discusses how the CEO of Toss, a fintech company in South Korea, made a “joke” on April Fools’ Day last year about sending employees on a trip to Okinawa, Japan, and then actually made that promise a reality this year.
2. Vocabulary
| Korean Word | Romanization | English Meaning | Contextual Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 사장님 | sajangnim | CEO, company president | The CEO made an announcement on April Fools’ Day. |
| 만우절 | manujeol | April Fools’ Day | The CEO’s “joke” announcement on April Fools’ Day became a reality. |
| 지난해 | jinnannyeo | last year | The CEO made the announcement on April Fools’ Day last year. |
| 토스 | Toss | a fintech company in South Korea | Toss is expanding its business beyond online payments and remittances. |
| 대표 | daepyo | CEO, representative | The CEO of Toss purchased Tesla vehicles for employees. |
| 직원 | jigwon | employee | Toss is increasing the number of employees as it expands its business. |
| 계열사 | gyeryeolsa | subsidiary company | Toss is sending around 100 employees from its subsidiary companies on a trip to Okinawa. |
| 무작위 | mwajjwi | random | Toss randomly selected employees to send on the Okinawa trip. |
| 추첨 | chucheon | drawing, lottery | Employees were selected for the Okinawa trip through a random drawing. |
| 사비 | sabi | personal funds | The CEO used his own personal funds to purchase Tesla vehicles for employees. |
| 격려 | gyeokryo | encouragement | The CEO organized the event to encourage and boost the morale of employees. |
| 사기 진작 | sagi jinjjak | morale boost | The CEO’s surprise event was intended to boost the morale of employees. |
| 매출 | maechul | sales, revenue | Toss’ first-quarter sales increased by 29.1% compared to the same period last year. |
| 진출 | jincheol | expansion, advancement | Toss is expanding its business to include offline payments and overseas operations. |
3. The main text in both Korean and English
지난해 4월 1일, 토스 대표는 직원들에게 “만우절 선물로 오키나와 단체여행을 보내겠다”라고 발표했다. 이 말은 당시 모두가 거짓말이라고 생각했지만, 올해 실제로 그 약속이 실현되었다.
Last year on April 1st, the CEO of Toss announced to employees that as an April Fools’ Day gift, he would send them on a group trip to Okinawa. At the time, everyone thought it was just a joke, but this year, that promise has become a reality.
이번 여행은 토스 계열사 직원 100여 명을 무작위로 추첨해 다음 달 보내는 것이다. 이 대표는 지난 2022년 테슬라 이벤트에 이어 또 한 번 직원들을 위한 깜짝 이벤트를 준비했다. 당시 그는 사비로 테슬라 10대를 구매해 추첨에 뽑힌 직원들에게 1년간 무상으로 대여했다.
This trip will send around 100 employees from Toss’ subsidiary companies, randomly selected through a drawing, to Okinawa next month. The CEO has prepared another surprise event for employees, following the Tesla event in 2022. At that time, he used his own personal funds to purchase 10 Tesla vehicles and provided them to the randomly selected employees for free use for a year.
토스 관계자는 “이 대표가 그동안의 성과를 격려하고 사기 진작을 위해 깜짝 이벤트를 준비한 것으로 안다”라고 말했다. 실제로 토스의 올해 1분기 매출은 전년 동기 대비 29.1% 증가했다. 토스는 최근 온라인 결제·송금 외에도 오프라인 결제, 토스뱅크·증권의 해외 진출 등 사업 영역을 확장하며 직원 수를 늘리고 있다.
A Toss representative said that the CEO organized the surprise event to encourage and boost the morale of employees in recognition of their achievements. Indeed, Toss’ first-quarter sales this year increased by 29.1% compared to the same period last year. In addition to online payments and remittances, Toss has been expanding its business to include offline payments and overseas operations of Toss Bank and Securities, leading to an increase in the number of employees.
4. Reading comprehension questions
- What was the “joke” announcement the Toss CEO made on April Fools’ Day last year?
- How did the CEO follow through on that “joke” announcement this year?
- What other surprise event did the CEO organize for Toss employees in the past?
- How has Toss’ business been expanding recently, and how has that affected their number of employees?
- What was the purpose of the CEO’s surprise events for Toss employees?
5. Cultural and historical notes
April Fools’ Day is a popular tradition in many countries, where people play harmless pranks or make joke announcements. In this case, the Toss CEO’s “joke” announcement on April Fools’ Day last year about sending employees on a trip to Okinawa unexpectedly became a reality this year, demonstrating the company’s commitment to employee morale and recognition.