Mon, Nov 2, 2026 · Slangdunk Editors

What does 무야호 (muyaho) mean? The misshouted catchphrase that has lived for 16 years

무야호 (muyaho) is a Korean meme exclamation for when you're thrilled. It comes from a March 6, 2010 Infinite Challenge shoot in Alaska, where a Korean elder got the show's catchphrase wrong. The clip resurfaced in 2021, and in 2026 it even made it into a BLACKPINK song.

#무야호#muyaho#무야호 meaning#Korean slang#Infinite Challenge#meme한국어로 보기

At a glance

Meaning: An exclamation for when you're excited or happy. It has no fixed meaning; someone usually completes it with “that's how excited they are” — the 그만큼 ~거지 formula.
Origin: MBC's Infinite Challenge, episode 195, “Oh My Tent,” aired March 6, 2010. In Anchorage, Alaska, a Korean elder shouted the show's catchphrase 무한도전 as “Mu-ya~ho~” (Etoday, Kyunghyang Shinmun).
Comeback: A 2019 clip on MBC's YouTube channel 오분순삭 got it going in the comments, and in 2021 the “무야호 remix” passed 4.33 million views (Kyunghyang Shinmun).
Now: An NFT of the scene sold for 9,501,000 won in November 2021, and in March 2026 Jisoo shouting “무야호~” in BLACKPINK's new song “GO” made headlines.

Our editor's nephew was born in 2010. He has never watched Infinite Challenge when it aired. Yet last weekend, when he won a game, he yelled “무야호!” The word is exactly as old as he is.

Timeline

16 years of 무야호, step by step

Mar 6, 2010
“Mu-ya~ho~” in Alaska
Infinite Challenge episode 195, “Oh My Tent.” Yoo Jae-suk, Jung Hyung-don and No Hong-chul went to the Korean association hall in Anchorage looking for “Mr. Kim Sang-deok,” a fictional man. They asked an elder who said he knew the show to do its catchphrase, and got “Mu-ya~ho~.” Jung smoothed it over: “That's how excited he is” (Etoday).
2018
Infinite Challenge ends
The show, which began in 2005, ended in 2018. A scene that hadn't made much noise when it aired seemed set to be forgotten with it (Kyunghyang Shinmun).
2019
Rediscovered on YouTube
MBC's YouTube channel 오분순삭 posted a short clip of the episode. More and more commenters started typing “무야호” (Etoday).
Late 2020
Football fans adopt it
Images pairing José Mourinho, then Tottenham manager, with “무야호” appeared on the community site FM Korea, and it became football fans' cheer. Parodies like “Dynamite 무야호” followed (Etoday).
Mar 2021
4.33 million remix views
The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the “무야호 remix” had passed 4.33 million views, and that MBC's Omniscient Interfering View used it in a caption on March 13, 2021. An 11-year-old scene had become Gen Z slang.
Nov 12, 2021
An NFT for 9,501,000 won
MBC said an NFT of the scene sold for 9,501,000 won, the highest price of any of its NFT products (Bloomingbit).
Mar 2026
BLACKPINK's “무야호~”
Jisoo shouting “무야호~” in BLACKPINK's new song “GO” got people talking. The Korea Economic Daily reported some calling it a joke only Korean fans would get, while overseas fans looked up Korean fans' explanations to join in.

Meaning

What does 무야호 (muyaho) mean?

무야호

A meme exclamation for when you're thrilled. It comes from “Mu-ya~ho~,” a Korean elder's misshouted version of the Infinite Challenge catchphrase in 2010. It's usually followed by an interpretation: “that's how ___ it is.”

In Korean: 신나거나 기쁠 때 외치는 감탄사 밈. 2010년 '무한도전'에서 한 교민 어르신이 구호를 잘못 외친 "무야~호~"에서 나왔다.

무야호 is hard to define. Etoday admitted as much: actually pinning down what it means is “quite difficult.” So it comes with a partner. When someone shouts 무야호, someone else adds “that's how fun it is” or “that's how good it is.” Jung Hyung-don's 2010 one-liner has become the user manual. And because it began with a botched catchphrase being met with a laugh, the word carries a little kindness toward other people's mistakes. Like 밤티, which came back from a screenshot of a shut-down game, 무야호 is a meme that outlived its source.

기말고사 끝났다! 무야호~Finals are over! 무야호~The hallway after handing in the last exam
골 들어갔다 무야호!! 그만큼 신난다는 거지GOAL 무야호!! That's how hyped I am.Group chat during a football match
팀장님이 오늘 회식 취소래요. 무야호The boss canceled tonight's team dinner. 무야호.Friday, 5 p.m., work messenger
구호 틀려도 괜찮아. 무야호도 틀려서 레전드 된 거야It's fine if you get the chant wrong. 무야호 became a legend by getting it wrong.To a freshman who slipped up at cheer practice

[#무도] 레전드 짤 '무야~호~'의 시작✨ 김상덕씨 찾아 무작정 알래스카로 떠난 유돈노😎 '오마이텐트' 1편 MBC100306방송

Self-test

Are you a 무야호 person?

Are you a 무야호 person? Tap the ones that apply

When something good happens, a noise comes out before words do
You've covered for someone's mistake with “that's how ___ it is”
You've replied in a group chat with a variety-show meme
You've shouted lyrics or a chant wrong and owned it to the end
You've stayed up all night watching old variety-show clips

0 of 5 checked

You're the calm type. Still, if even one good thing happened today, it's okay to shout once. 무야호.

FAQ

무야호 (muyaho): frequently asked questions

Q. What does 무야호 mean?

A meme exclamation for when you're excited or happy. It has no dictionary definition; someone usually completes it with “that's how excited they are,” the 그만큼 ~거지 formula.

Q. Where does 무야호 come from?

From MBC's Infinite Challenge episode 195, “Oh My Tent,” aired March 6, 2010. At the Korean association hall in Anchorage, Alaska, an elder shouted the show's catchphrase as “Mu-ya~ho~.” A 2019 YouTube clip led to a big revival in 2021.

Q. Who is the 무야호 grandpa?

A Korean resident of Alaska at the time of filming. Some outlets have published his name and updates on him, but since he's a private person rather than a TV personality, we don't cover those here.

Q. What are 무야호 memes?

Screenshots of the original scene, or other people's photos with “무야호” edited in. In late 2020, edits featuring football manager José Mourinho were especially popular. The original is on MBC's official YouTube channels.

Q. What's 무야호 in English?

No exact match, but “Woohoo!”, “Yahoo!” or “Let's go!” come close — though the “funnier because it's wrong” part doesn't translate. Thanks to BLACKPINK's 2026 song, overseas fans sometimes just say “Muyaho.”

So: 무야호 is a botched catchphrase, met with a laugh, that has survived 16 years. Plenty of words were born from one TV moment and entered everyday speech, like 중꺾마 (“what matters is an unbroken spirit”), but few became legends by being wrong. Our editor showed the nephew the original clip. His review was short: “무야호.” That's how good it was. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 무야호 entry in the dictionary.

Sources

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

Open the dictionary