· Slangdunk Editors
What does 갑분싸 (gapbunssa) mean? The slang Hwang Jung-min got wrong, so everyone learned it
갑분싸 is short for 갑자기 분위기 싸해짐, “the mood suddenly went cold” — the moment one remark freezes a room. It started in internet-stream chat, came second in a 2018 “buzzword of the year” poll, and in 2026 nearly seven in ten Korean adults still know it.
At a glance
- Meaning
- Short for 갑자기 분위기 싸해짐, “the mood suddenly went cold.” Used when a tactless remark or flat joke instantly makes a room awkward.
- Origin
- In 2018 the press said it “came from internet broadcasts a few years earlier” (Financial News, Herald Economy). Namuwiki traces it to a mid-2017 community meme that got shortened in stream chats.
- Spread
- It came second (18.5%) in Incruit's 2018 “buzzword of the year” survey of 2,917 adults. In a 2026 Now&Survey poll of 1,002 adults, 67.7% knew what it meant.
- Opposite
- There's no set opposite, but 갑분핫 (“the mood suddenly got hot”) is used when things heat up (Namuwiki).
At a team dinner, someone asked, “So, how much does everyone make?” The laughter stopped dead; only chopsticks clinked. After about three seconds the youngest on the team said quietly, “Well, that's 갑분싸.” Everyone laughed, and the mood came back. 갑분싸 is the name for awkwardness — and also the spell that breaks it. Today we follow these four syllables through nine years.
Where did 갑분싸 come from? Nine years, one line
Around 2017
Shortened in stream chat
2018 news reports only said it “came from internet broadcasts a few years earlier.” Namuwiki says a mid-2017 “hidden camera” meme from an online community passed through DCInside forums and was cut down to 갑분싸 in game-stream chats. Who first used it, and when exactly, isn't confirmed.
July 17, 2018
Hwang Jung-min's wrong answer
Promoting the film The Spy Gone North on Naver V Live, actor Hwang Jung-min was asked to define 갑분싸 in a slang quiz and guessed it meant “suddenly letting loose a load of poop.” His co-stars cracked up, and the clip spread online (Sports Kyunghyang).
August 6, 2018
Scolded by his sixth-grader
On SBS radio's Cultwo Show, Hwang said his sixth-grade son had scolded him a lot over it, and that he now knew the meaning well. He added that his son then asked him what “poop” in that formal word meant (MyDaily).
December 13, 2018
No. 2 buzzword of the year
In Incruit and Doit Survey's poll of 2,917 adults, 갑분싸 came second with 18.5%, behind 소확행 (“small but certain happiness”). The survey noted that variants swapping in other nouns — 갑분O — had spread too (Financial News, Herald Economy).
September 2019
Into the slang archive
Hankook Ilbo's “2019 slang archive” listed 갑분싸 as short for “the mood suddenly turns cold.” Around then, articles and columns started using it without explanation.
October 9, 2026
Two in three adults know it
In a Now&Survey poll reported by Herald Economy (1,002 adults aged 19+, 20 slang words), 67.7% knew 갑분싸 — third after 내돈내산 (“bought with my own money,” 75.0%) and 킹받다 (69.5%).
So 갑분싸 started as chat shorthand and went national thanks to one actor's wrong answer. The person who got the meaning wrong did the most to spread it. Hwang's son probably remembers that as the most 갑분싸 moment of his childhood.
- 소확행 (small happiness)28.8%
- 갑분싸18.5%
- 인싸 (insider)16%
- 영미 (curling cheer)12.6%
What does 갑분싸 (gapbunssa) mean?
갑분싸
Short for 갑자기 분위기 싸해짐: the moment a tactless remark or flat joke suddenly makes a room awkward and cold. Someone who does this “makes 갑분싸.”
In Korean: '갑자기 분위기 싸해짐'의 줄임말로, 눈치 없는 말이나 썰렁한 농담 때문에 자리가 순식간에 어색해지는 상황.
The key word is “suddenly.” A room that was quiet to begin with isn't 갑분싸; it has to go from laughing to frozen in one sentence. It gets used two ways: to describe the moment (“instant 갑분싸”) and to name it on purpose to break the ice (“lol 갑분싸”). The second is surprisingly common — once the awkward silence has a name, everyone can laugh. It's a favorite rescue move of the 인싸 (social insiders) who rose with it in 2018; keep freezing the room, though, and your listeners will be holding back a 킹받네.
- 회식 중에 연봉 얘기 꺼내서 완전 갑분싸 됐잖아Someone brought up salaries at the team dinner and it went total 갑분싸.The next day, in the coworkers' group chat
- 아재개그 던졌는데 아무도 안 웃음… 갑분싸 죄송합니다Told a dad joke and nobody laughed… sorry for the 갑분싸.The joker cleaning up after themselves
- 생일 파티에서 전 애인 얘기를? 갑분싸 장인이네Bringing up your ex at a birthday party? You're a 갑분싸 master.Teasing a friend
- 갑분싸? 갑자기 분식이 싸다는 건가?갑분싸? Like, snack food suddenly got cheap?The department head (a politer wrong answer than Hwang's)
Are you a 갑분싸 maker?
Are you a 갑분싸 maker? Tap everything that applies
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Mood keeper. Rooms you're in rarely go cold — you're more likely the one rescuing a 갑분싸.
갑분싸 (gapbunssa): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 갑분싸 (gapbunssa) mean?
It's short for 갑자기 분위기 싸해짐, “the mood suddenly went cold” — when one tactless remark or flat joke instantly makes a room awkward.
Q. Where does 갑분싸 come from?
In 2018 the press said it came from internet broadcasts a few years earlier. Namuwiki says a mid-2017 community meme was shortened in DCInside forums and game-stream chats, but the first user and date aren't confirmed. Actor Hwang Jung-min's wrong answer in 2018 made it famous.
Q. Where is the famous 갑분싸 meme clip from?
The best-known moment is Hwang Jung-min defining 갑분싸 as “suddenly letting loose a load of poop” on Naver V Live in July 2018. We don't reproduce the clip or screenshots for copyright reasons; Namuwiki's '갑분싸' page covers it.
Q. What's the opposite of 갑분싸?
There's no set opposite. 갑분핫 (“the mood suddenly got hot”) is used when things heat up, and there are plenty of 갑분O puns that swap in other nouns.
Q. What's 갑분싸 in English?
“Awkward silence” or “the mood just died” come close. For the person who killed the mood, “buzzkill” or “party pooper.”
So 갑분싸 gives an awkward moment a name, so everyone can laugh and move on. For the record, the person who asked about salaries posted in the group chat the next day: “Sorry for yesterday's 갑분싸.” That one line fixed everything. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 갑분싸 entry in the dictionary.
Sources
- Sports Kyunghyang — "갑자기 XX를.." 황정민이 생각한 '갑분싸' 뜻 (Lee In-hye, Jul 20, 2018, in Korean)
- MyDaily — '컬투쇼' 황정민 "'갑분싸' 뜻 이제 알아, 아들한테 많이 혼났다" (Lee Ye-eun, Aug 6, 2018, in Korean)
- Financial News — 올해의 유행어? 1위에 '소확행'.. #영미 #갑분싸 #인싸 (Han Young-jun, Dec 13, 2018, in Korean)
- Herald Economy — 2018 올해의 최고 유행어는 '소확행'..2위는 갑분싸 (Jeong Se-hee, Dec 15, 2018, in Korean)
- Hankook Ilbo — [겨를] 문찐을 위한 개이득 특강 '2019 신조어 아카이브' (Sep 18, 2019, in Korean)
- Herald Economy — 갓생, 알잘딱깔센..“신조어 즐기되 자제하자” 세대공감 (Ham Young-hoon, Oct 9, 2026, in Korean)
- Namuwiki — 갑분싸 (in Korean)
See ‘갑분싸’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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