KEY TO KOREAN (키 투 코리얀)

II.Contemporary Korean Slang

16. 까도남 - An abrasive city-man

Short for 까칠한 (abrasive) 도시 (city) 남자 (man), this word is used to describe a certain type of guy who is usually arrogant, rich and full of himself.

17. 대박 - Awesome

You may well have heard this one a million times before, but it is still popular and widely used. 대박 is an exclamation that's meaning has changed from 대박나다 (to be very successful) to now mean "awesome" or "wow" or to describe anything that is shocking or amazing!

18. 엄친아 / 엄친딸 - Someone who is good at everything

Short for 엄마친구의 아들 (my mom's friend's son) or 엄마친구의 딸 (my mom's friend's daughter), these phrases are used to describe "the perfect child" or someone who is good at everything. It originates from the fact that Korean parents like to talk to their children about how "so and so's" son or daughter did so well on his/her tests, got into a great school or just got a new job at a big company.

19. 행쇼 - Let's be happy

Short for 행복하십시오, this phrase just means "let's be happy!" You can use it to suggest to others to cheer up and be happy while at the same time sounding cool!

20. 갑/갑이다 - The boss

This word was popularized by a comedy program, and 갑 has come to mean "the boss" or the person with the power dynamic in a group.

21. 현웃 - LOL

From 현실에서 웃음, this word means "laughter (웃음) in real life (현실에서)." This is equivalent to "laugh out loud" in English, and could be used, for example, while watching a video or reading a text message. It is used instead of just ㅋㅋㅋ to show you literally laughed out loud.

22. 빵터지다 - To laugh really loudly (like a bomb)

Very similar to 현웃, 빵터지다 is a slang verb that means "to laugh really loud" with the emphasis being on the LOUD part! 터지다 usually means "to burst" and 빵 is the sound a gun or bomb makes! So when you put them together, you get the picture of someone who is laughing explosively!

23. 언플 - Media play

This is a shortened version of 언론플레이, which means "media play." However, this is not all fun and games! In this case, 플레이 (play) is not referring to playing or fun, but rather to "manipulation." It is used to express the act of using the media to create a beneficial image for a corporation or celebrity, etc.

24. 멘붕 - Mental breakdown

Ever have a mental breakdown? You can express this idea with "멘붕", which is a combo of 멘탈 (mental) + 붕괴 (deconstruction or collapse). In Korean, this is more often used to express yourself when your mental status is on the fritz! It's used in various situations where this is the case. For example, you could say it when at the last minute you realize you have to work on the weekend and you have a huge date that you can't cancel!

25. 헐 - OMG

This exclamation is usually used after something shocking or surprising is said or seen. It's really similar to "OMG" in English!

26. 뭥미 - What the heck / What is it?

This is a purposeful typo of 뭐임, which means "what is this?" or "what the heck". When you are typing fast, you can easily input characters in the wrong order, and this internet slang rose out of this common misspelling! However, it still retains the same meaning! When you see something you are unsure of, you can say "이게 뭥미?"

27. 레알 - Real/Really

This word means "real" and if you read it in Korean, you can see that it is actually the phonetic pronunciation of the same word in English! Use it in place of intensifiers like 진짜 (really) and sound cool in the process!

28. 돌직구 - To say or do directly

This word literally translates to "rock fastball" and that's exactly what it's meaning is intended to portray, although in this case we're not talking about baseball! When someone says something in a very direct manner or behaves very forward, you can use the word 돌직구 to describe it and in doing so, compare the action to throwing a fastball with a stone!

30. 짤 - Photo

This is a new internet slang word that simply means "photo" and you can use it in place of 사진 (picture or photo).