· Slangdunk Editors
What does 많관부 (mankwanbu) mean? How “please show lots of interest” shrank to three syllables
많관부 (mankwanbu) is Korean slang shorthand for 많은 관심 부탁드립니다, “please show lots of interest.” It's the sign-off for plugging a new album, show, video or shop. Nobody knows who coined it, but by 2020 it was common enough to make a newspaper's slang dictionary.
At a glance
- Meaning
- Short for 많은 관심 부탁드립니다, “please show lots of interest.” Used when plugging a new release, video, shop or event.
- Who uses it
- Asia Business Daily described it in November 2020 as a favorite of entertainers launching new work and of people joining a new organization. Today it's a standard YouTuber and influencer sign-off.
- Origin
- Who first used it, and when, isn't known. It's built the usual way: take the first syllable of each word in a long phrase.
- Variants
- The phonetic spelling 만관부 also works, and 만팔부 asks for follows instead (Senior Times).
A newly retired dad has opened a YouTube channel. His first video: harvesting peppers from his balcony garden. That evening he hands his phone to his daughter. “Someone commented ‘많관부.’ Is that an insult?” The people are made up; every fact in the conversation has a source.
What does 많관부 (mankwanbu) mean? A daughter explains
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)I keep seeing ‘많관부’ on other people's videos, so I figured someone left one on mine. But I don't get it. Is it some government office?
- Daughter (27)Not an office. It's short for 많은 관심 부탁드립니다, “please show lots of interest.” First syllable of each word: 많, 관, 부.
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)That whole phrase in three syllables? Kids these days compress their manners too.
- Daughter (27)There are tons like that. There's even 별다줄, which abbreviates “they abbreviate everything.”
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)So since when do people say it?
- Daughter (27)Nobody's confirmed who started it. But Asia Business Daily covered it in its slang dictionary column in November 2020, so it was already pretty widespread by then.
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)It made the paper? Who uses it, mostly?
- Daughter (27)That article said entertainers starting out with a new show or album, and people joining a new company or group. These days it's mostly YouTubers like you, at the end of a video.
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)Asking for “interest”… sounds a bit like asking for favors.
- Daughter (27)That's literally the article's headline: a pure request for interest, not a “fine, here's some attention.” It's not shady, it just means “please check it out.”
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)Someone else wrote ‘만관부.’ Typo?
- Daughter (27)It's spelled how it sounds, so that works too. A Senior Times column says there's also 만팔부, “lots of follows, please.”
- Dad (61, new YouTuber)Got it. Next video title: “Peppers, Part 2 — 많관부.”
- Daughter (27)Perfect. But Dad, that's what the person posting says. That comment was probably someone plugging their own channel.
많관부
Short for 많은 관심 부탁드립니다, “please show lots of interest”: what you say when plugging a new release, video, shop or event and asking people for attention and support.
In Korean: '많은 관심 부탁드립니다'의 줄임말. 새 작품, 음반, 영상, 가게, 행사 등을 알리며 관심과 응원을 부탁할 때 쓴다.
- 드디어 첫 단독 앨범이 나왔습니다. 많관부!My first solo album is finally out. 많관부!An idol's social post on release day
- 저희 가게 이번 주 금요일 오픈해요. 동네 분들 많관부 ㅎㅎOur shop opens this Friday. Neighbors, 많관부 :)A neighborhood community board
- 오늘부터 마케팅팀에서 일하게 된 신입입니다. 많관부 드립니다!I'm the new hire on the marketing team, starting today. 많관부!First hello on the office messenger — the welcome dinner already [캘박](/w/ko/%EC%BA%98%EB%B0%95)'d
- 베란다 고추 수확 2탄 올렸습니다. 많관부Balcony pepper harvest, part 2, is up. 많관부The new-YouTuber dad's video description
- 많관부? 많이 관두는 부서라는 뜻인가?많관부? The department lots of people quit?The department head (touchy during review season)
Why is 많관부 everywhere?
Because attention is the scoreboard now. Senior Times notes the phrase is a favorite of view-count-conscious creators posting new work. Shrinking an eight-syllable request to three makes it easy to tack onto any post, and takes a little of the awkwardness out of asking. And for a generation used to first-syllable acronyms like 알잘딱깔센, it's easy to decode. From where our editor sits, its real advantage is that it's less blatant than “like and subscribe.”
많관부 (mankwanbu): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 많관부 (mankwanbu) mean?
It's short for 많은 관심 부탁드립니다, “please show lots of interest.” People use it when plugging a new release, video, shop or event.
Q. Where does 많관부 come from?
It takes the first syllable of each word in a long, polite phrase. Who first used it, and when, isn't confirmed. Asia Business Daily introduced it as slang in November 2020, by which point it was already common among entertainers and on social media.
Q. What's 많관부 in English?
There's no matching abbreviation, but “please show some love,” “please check it out” or “your support means a lot” do the same job. On YouTube, “like and subscribe” is the closest counterpart.
Q. Are 많관부 and 만관부 different?
They're the same. 만관부 is the phonetic spelling; 많관부 is correct, but both are understood (Senior Times). There's also 만팔부, asking for follows.
Q. Can I say 많관부 to my boss?
The full phrase is a polite request, so it isn't rude. But to people who don't know the abbreviation it can look like code, so in formal settings it's safer to spell out 많은 관심 부탁드립니다.
So 많관부 is the shortest, least awkward way to say “please watch this.” In the end Dad did write 많관부 under Peppers, Part 2. The first like came from his daughter. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 많관부 entry in the dictionary. 많관부.
Sources
See ‘많관부’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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