Stray Kids' "This & That": What the Title Means in Korean
The Korean idiom behind Stray Kids' 10th mini album title — what 이것저것 actually does in conversation, and why the ampersand isn't decoration.
Stray Kids just dropped the dance practice video for “This & That,” the title track off their new mini album of the same name, and the eight-member group is once again giving fans a title that looks casual on the surface but carries a lot more texture once you dig into the Korean behind it. If you’ve ever wondered why K-pop groups love titles that sound like everyday English phrases, this one is a great case study.
Breaking Down “This & That”
In English, “this and that” is a filler phrase — you use it when you don’t want to (or can’t) list every single detail. “What did you do today?” “Oh, this and that.” It’s deliberately vague, a little playful, and it implies a whole world of small, unnamed activities packed into two words.
Korean has a direct equivalent that Korean speakers use constantly in daily conversation: 이것저것 (igeot-jeogeot). Breaking down the word piece by piece:
- 이 (i) = “this”
- 것 (geot) = “thing”
- 저 (jeo) = “that” (something farther away, physically or conceptually)
- 것 (geot) = “thing” again
Put together, 이것저것 literally means “this thing, that thing” — and functionally, it works exactly like the English idiom. Koreans say it when they’re describing a pile of small errands, a scattered todo list, or even feelings that are hard to pin down. It’s a phrase that sounds ordinary but is doing real linguistic work: it lets the speaker gesture at complexity without having to explain it.
One honest caveat before going further: we’re analysing the title, not the lyrics. Whether the Korean verses actually use 이것저것 is a separate question, and we don’t reprint or paraphrase lyric content here. What we can say is that the English idiom the group chose maps almost exactly onto a phrase Korean speakers use every day — which makes a deliberate choice far more likely than a random English catchphrase.
Why the Ampersand Matters
Small detail, but worth noting: it’s stylized as “This & That,” not “This and That.” The ampersand does a specific job in title design — it visually compresses two ideas into one quick unit, almost like a logo. You see this a lot in K-pop titling (short, punchy, meme-able) because titles need to work as hashtags, chart listings, and merch graphics all at once. The ”&” also nods to duality — two sides sitting side by side, connected but distinct — which tracks well with a group whose whole artistic identity (chaotic energy next to razor-sharp choreography, mischief next to discipline) has always lived in contrasts. Treat that as a listening lens rather than a stated theme: the group hasn’t published a concept explanation built around it.
Above: “RUN IT,” the pre-release single that opened this era on June 24 — a pre-release rather than the title track.
Where to Start If You’re New
If “This & That” is your entry point into Stray Kids, here’s the shortest path to understanding what makes them different from other boy groups:
- Start with the choreography. Stray Kids built their reputation on aggressive, technically demanding dance breaks — the newly released “This & That” dance practice video is a good first taste of why fans call their formations some of the sharpest in the industry.
- Know that three members produce. Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han work as an in-house production unit called 3RACHA, meaning a chunk of the group’s discography is self-written — which is part of why their titles often carry this kind of layered wordplay.
- Expect genre-hopping. Across their catalog they’ve moved through hard rock-influenced tracks, R&B-tinged ballads, and EDM-adjacent title songs, so don’t assume one song tells you their whole sound.
Quick Release Snapshot
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Release | THIS & THAT — 10th mini album |
| Released | August 7, 2026 (JYP Entertainment) |
| Title track | ”This & That” |
| Pre-release single | ”RUN IT” (June 24, 2026) |
| Group size | 8 members |
| Recent asset | Official dance practice video, August 9 |
One thing to know before checking the music show lineups: Seungmin is sitting out part of the promotion cycle while continuing rehabilitation for an ankle stress fracture. He appears in the pre-recordings but not the live broadcasts — we cover what a partial sit-out means in detail, and the era’s confirmed dates sit on our 2026 comeback tracker.
FAQ
Is “This & That” a direct translation of a Korean phrase? The English idiom lines up closely with 이것저것 (igeot-jeogeot), which does the same job in Korean — “various things,” “this and that.” That’s a statement about the title, not a claim about what the lyrics contain.
Why do K-pop groups choose English titles instead of Korean ones? It’s largely about global reach. English titles are easier for international fans to search, hashtag, and remember, even when the song itself is primarily in Korean. Many groups, Stray Kids included, mix both languages within a single track.
Does the title hint at the song’s actual theme? Idioms like “this and that” are intentionally vague, so the title alone doesn’t confirm a specific storyline. Until official lyric translations or press statements are available, treat any deep thematic reading as speculation rather than fact.
How many members are in Stray Kids? Eight. The dance practice video for “This & That” features all eight of them.
Where can I watch the choreography first? The official dance practice video was released on August 9 and is the best place to see the full routine before any live stage performance.
Where does this sit in their discography? THIS & THAT is their tenth mini album, released August 7, 2026, and led by the title track of the same name after “RUN IT” opened the cycle in June.
Who are 3RACHA? Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han — Stray Kids’ in-house production unit, and a large part of why the group’s titles tend to carry this kind of wordplay.
Are there other K-pop titles that work like this? Plenty. Title wordplay across Korean and English is common enough that we cover it regularly — see our untranslatable Korean words guide for the concepts English keeps flattening.