Sun, Nov 1, 2026 · Slangdunk Editors

What does 기레기 (giregi) mean? Korea's harshest name for a journalist, 12 years after Sewol

기레기 (giregi) blends 기자 (journalist) and 쓰레기 (trash): a slur for reporters seen as copying, sensationalizing or slanting the news. It spread after coverage of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster — and that year, 7 in 10 Korean journalists told a survey the label was fair.

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At a glance

Meaning: A blend of 기자 (journalist) and 쓰레기 (trash). A slur for reporters seen as copying without checking, sensationalizing, or slanting the news.
Origin: It spread right after the April 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, amid anger at the false “all rescued” reports and sensational coverage (Maeil Shinmun, Money Today). Whether it was used this way before is unconfirmed.
Journalists' verdict: In a 2014 Journalists Association of Korea survey, 68.7% of 303 reporters said the label was accurate.
Careful: It's a clear slur. Today people on every side of politics often aim it at any reporter whose story they disagree with.

One of our editors once got a “기레기” comment on a story — over a single typo. After the fix, another comment appeared: “Still 기레기.” Every Korean reporter knows where the word comes from. April 2014.

Timeline

12 years of 기레기, step by step

Apr 16, 2014
The “all rescued” report
On the day the Sewol ferry sank, broadcasters reported that all Danwon High School students had been rescued. It was false. According to Nocut News, KBS corrected it with “regret” rather than an apology. Copy-paste coverage and aggressive pursuit of grieving families followed, and the anger condensed into one word.
May 7, 2014
Junior reporters' self-criticism
About 40 KBS reporters from the network's 38th to 40th hiring classes posted ten messages titled “We reflect” on the internal board. Nocut News headlined its story with a question: “기레기?”
Aug 11, 2014
Into the opinion pages
In a Maeil Shinmun column titled “Iron rice bowls and 기레기,” Kyungpook National University professor Kim Kyu-jong explained 기레기 as short for “reporter trash,” a word carrying public anger at media that transcribe whatever the powerful hand them.
Aug 13, 2014
68.7% of reporters: “fair”
In a survey for the Journalists Association of Korea's 50th anniversary (Hangil Research, 303 reporters), 68.7% said the label 기레기 was accurate, and 90.5% said the media bore responsibility in the Sewol disaster.
Apr 4, 2020
Same story, opposite comments
Money Today noted the word had been in use for six years since Sewol, and showed how the same article drew “the reporter worships the president” on Naver and “accurately reported” on Daum. Its diagnosis: the portals had become playgrounds for political camps.
Jun 16, 2026
Trust at 30%
Citing the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026, Nocut News reported that overall trust in news in Korea stood at 30%, seven points below the 48-country average of 37%.

Meaning

What does 기레기 (giregi) mean?

기레기

A slur blending journalist and trash: a reporter seen as copying without checking, sensationalizing, or slanting the news.

In Korean: '기자'와 '쓰레기'를 합친 멸칭. 받아쓰기·선정·편파 보도를 하는 기자를 낮잡아 이르는 말.

At first the target was clear: false reports, copy-paste journalism, reporters hounding bereaved families. Over time the target widened. Now the label lands not only on stories with wrong facts but on any story the reader disagrees with. As Money Today showed, the same article can be 기레기 on one portal and “a real journalist” on another. The word holds two things at once: criticism of 뇌피셜 stories that present guesses as fact, and partisan 내로남불-style double standards.

보도자료를 토씨 하나 안 바꾸고 올렸네. 이러니 기레기 소리 듣지They posted the press release word for word. No wonder people call them 기레기.About a copy-paste story
확인도 안 하고 속보부터 냈다가 정정했대They ran it as breaking news without checking, then had to correct it.Online reaction after a false report
제목만 자극적이고 본문엔 아무 내용이 없잖아The headline's all clickbait and there's nothing in the article.Criticizing a clickbait headline
나랑 의견이 다르다고 다 기레기는 아니지Not everyone who disagrees with me is 기레기.The pushback when the word gets overused

[영상구성] 최초 신고부터 '전원 구조' 오보까지…국가는 없었다 / JTBC 뉴스룸

[알고보니] 세월호 가짜뉴스와 혐오의 10년‥사실은? (2024.04.16/뉴스데스크/MBC)

Is “기레기” a fair label? What Korean journalists said (2014, 303 reporters)

Completely accurate20.4%
Mostly accurate48.3%
Not very accurate23.7%
Not at all accurate5.8%

Data = 한국기자협회 창립 50주년 조사 (한길리서치, 2014.7.31~8.1)

Self-test

Before you comment “기레기”: are you a careful reader?

Am I a careful news reader? Tap the ones that apply

I read the whole article, not just the headline
I looked for one more outlet's story on the same event
I checked the date and the reporter's name
I separated “factually wrong” from “I disagree”
I checked whether a correction had been issued

0 of 5 checked

Maybe hold off on the comment. If the headline alone made you angry, both the story and you may be losing out.

FAQ

기레기 (giregi): frequently asked questions

Q. What does 기레기 mean?

It's a slur blending 기자 (journalist) and 쓰레기 (trash), used for reporters seen as copying without checking, sensationalizing, or slanting the news.

Q. When did 기레기 start being used?

It spread right after the April 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, amid criticism of false and sensational reporting (Maeil Shinmun, Aug 11, 2014; Money Today, Apr 4, 2020). Whether it was used in this sense before then is unconfirmed.

Q. Is 기레기 an insult?

Yes. It compares a whole profession to trash. It's widely used in media criticism, but aimed at an individual reporter it can be taken as a personal insult.

Q. What's 기레기 in English?

There's no exact match. “Trash journalist” or “hack” come close, and the English-language internet slur “presstitute” (press + prostitute) fills a similar slot. Japan has マスゴミ (masugomi, “mass-media garbage”).

Q. Do Korean journalists accept the label?

In the 2014 Journalists Association of Korea survey, 68.7% of reporters said the label was accurate, and 90.5% said the media bore responsibility for Sewol coverage. Since then, as the word turned into attacks on individual reporters, some have argued the focus should be on industry structure and practices instead.

So: 기레기 began with the self-criticism of 2014 and runs into the distrust of 2026. It hurts to hear and it's easy to say. Our editor now rereads every story once more after fixing a typo — thanks to that comment. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 기레기 entry in the dictionary.

Sources

See ‘기레기’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.

Open the dictionary