"Take the Child Away? Take the Brain Away?" What Is the "Take the L" Challenge That Has Elementary Students Nationwide Hooked?

"Take the L" Chant Sweeps Sports Days and Field Days
Dance Originated as a Way to Taunt Opponents in a Game

A game featuring a distinctive dance performed to the chant "Take the L" has recently become hugely popular among elementary school students nationwide. At sports days and field days, dozens of students have even been seen performing the same moves in unison. But some parents have been left baffled by the phrase or mistaken it for something else, leading to incidents in which they scolded their children.

Yonhap News reported on the 5th that videos of elementary school students dancing to music while chanting "Take the L" have been appearing one after another, mainly on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

A game involving a distinctive dance and the chant "Take the L" has recently become a massive hit among elementary school students across South Korea. At school sports days and athletic meets, dozens of students can even be seen performing the same moves in unison. SNS

In the videos, students form the letter "L" with their thumbs and index fingers, place it against their foreheads, and repeatedly kick their legs out to the sides, alternating between them. As the music starts, they all join in, drawing attention. Videos of groups of students dancing at fall sports days and field days have spread in particular, making this one of the most popular games among elementary school students.

"If You Lose, Admit It"... Dance From a Game 8 Years Ago Becomes an Elementary School Trend

"Take the L" is a literal translation of the English phrase "Take the L." In English-speaking countries, "W" is used as an abbreviation for "win" and "L" for "loss." "Take the L" means "accept defeat" or "admit you lost."

The dance became widely known as an emote, or dance move, featured in the popular game Fortnite in 2018. Players who won used it to tease their defeated opponents or celebrate their victory. That same year, French national soccer team forward Antoine Griezmann drew worldwide attention when he performed the dance as a goal celebration after scoring at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The trend's renewed popularity among elementary school students in South Korea is linked to the game platform Roblox and short-form video content such as YouTube Shorts. After a similar move appeared in a game on Roblox, YouTuber Kwon Root posted a video of himself doing the dance while chanting "Take the L." Related videos are said to have spread rapidly starting around August.

Kim Dan-bi of Woori Bank speaks about her goals at the opening media day for the 2026-2027 KB Star Banking Women’s Professional Basketball season, held at Hotel Riviera in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 27. Yonhap News

The trend has spread beyond elementary school students to adults as well. Actor Park Hanbyul posted a video of herself doing the "Take the L" dance on Instagram last month. Kim Danbi of the Woori Bank women's professional basketball team also chose "Take the L" as her five-character motto at the media day for the 2026-2027 season, held on Oct. 27. Public institutions have joined in, too. The Korea Environment Corporation posted a video on its official Instagram account showing its mascot, Puru, doing the dance. The post caught people's attention with the caption, "When you go out, take a reusable container with you~ (please)."

"I Scolded My Child Because I Thought It Meant 'Take the Child Away'": Parents' Baffled Reactions

The trend is familiar to children but remains strange to their parents' generation. Some parents have even said they scolded their children after mistaking the chant "Take the L" for "Take the child away" or "Take the brain away." Comments on related social media posts included: "I thought it said 'Take the brain away,' so I asked what kind of song they had learned and scolded them," and "They kept saying 'Take the child away,' so I really chewed them out."

One online user expressed surprise at how quickly the trend had spread, saying, "Seeing what my kid learned today, it seems every elementary school kid in the country knows it." Some parents said they were at a loss because their children danced at home at all hours. One parent said their child shouted the chant whenever they were in a good mood, and they did not know how to respond. A parent in their 40s with a fifth-grade son said they initially thought it was just another trendy expression like "Yareu." Even after learning what it meant, they did not stop their child, as they did not consider it particularly offensive. The parent said their child seemed to have picked up the trend from Shorts, a smartphone, and school friends, and danced everywhere, at home and at school.

Experts advise against viewing children's trends too negatively. Park Namgi, an honorary professor at Gwangju National University of Education, told Yonhap News that children enjoy singing and dancing together, strengthening their bonds with peers and emphasizing that they have beaten someone. He also noted that trends like this come and go, so parents may get the opposite result if they take them too seriously.

Instead, he advised parents to talk with their children by naturally asking what a trendy expression means, where it came from, and in what situations it is used.

However, Professor Park stressed the need to explain to children that even if something is just a joke to them, it could be perceived as aggressive by someone else. Ultimately, the important thing is not to ban the expression itself, but to help children understand the difference between a game they enjoy with friends and behavior that mocks someone.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.