· Slangdunk Editors
What does 소확행 (sohwakhaeng) mean? From a Murakami essay to a Korean trend word
소확행 (sohwakhaeng) is short for “small but certain happiness.” It's traced to a 1986 Haruki Murakami essay and took off in Korea as a trend word in 2018. It has since spawned a successor, 아보하.
At a glance
- Meaning
- Short for “small but certain happiness” (小確幸): little pleasures within reach right now, like fresh bread or a cup of coffee.
- Origin
- Traced to Haruki Murakami's 1986 essay collection “Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans.” In Korea it spread after Professor Kim Nan-do named it a trend for 2018 (Money Today).
- Numbers
- Nielsen Korea analyzed about 55,000 online posts from January to July 2018. The top associated words were “book” (4,167 mentions) and “travel” (3,224).
- Now
- As 소확행 drew fatigue from showing off and commercialization, a successor keyword appeared: 아보하, “a very ordinary day” (interview with a Trend Korea co-author).
The socks in our editor's drawer rarely match. So on the day a matching pair turns up on the first try, the mood improves. Turns out someone gave that feeling a name forty years ago. Though his example was underwear, not socks.
Forty years of 소확행, step by step
1986
Murakami's essay
In the essay “Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans,” Haruki Murakami listed tearing into fresh-baked bread by hand and a drawer full of neatly folded underwear among small but certain happiness (Money Today, The Korea Herald).
Jan 2018
A Korean trend word
Money Today reported on January 28 that the word spread after Seoul National University professor Kim Nan-do named it a trend for 2018. The piece framed it as smaller and more certain than the previous year's buzzword, YOLO.
Mar 2018
27,700 Instagram posts
The Korea Herald reported on March 11 that searching “sohwakhaeng” on Instagram returned more than 27,700 posts.
Aug 2018
Seven straight months of growth
Nielsen Korea reported about 55,000 posts mentioning 소확행 from January to July 2018, rising for seven straight months. 67% came from social media.
2018
A word of the year
KBS's “Anchor's Eye” covered 소확행 alongside 워라밸 (work-life balance) and “meaning out” as the words of 2018 that captured a changed idea of happiness.
Feb 2025
Next up: 아보하
Trend Korea co-author Han Da-hye told a Gyeonggi Province newsletter that 소확행 grew commercialized on social media and in consumer markets, and that 아보하, “a very ordinary day,” emerged as a reaction.
What does 소확행 (sohwakhaeng) mean?
소확행
Short for “small but certain happiness” (小確幸). The little pleasures you can have right now in daily life, rather than big achievements far off in the future.
In Korean: '소소하지만 확실한 행복'의 줄임말. 지금 일상에서 바로 누릴 수 있는 작은 행복을 뜻한다.
The key word is “certain.” Nobody knows when a home or a promotion will come, but a can of beer after work will definitely show up tonight. The office workers, students, homemakers and job seekers Money Today spoke to named things like tangerines with comic books and a solo drink at a street stall. If 갓생 (a productive “god-tier life”) and 오운완 (“today's workout, done”) are about a day when you got something done, 소확행 leans toward a day when it's fine if you didn't.
- 퇴근길 편의점 아이스크림이 요즘 내 소확행이야A convenience-store ice cream on the way home is my 소확행 these days.Happiness for 1,500 won
- 주말 아침 늦잠이 나의 소확행입니다Sleeping in on weekend mornings is my 소확행.A safe answer at an icebreaker
- 이모티콘 하나 샀어. 2000원어치 소확행Bought an emoticon set. 2,000 won worth of 소확행.Also the road to an empty bank account
- 소확행이 쌓이니까 카드값이 대확행이 됐어All that small certain happiness added up to one big certain credit card bill.End of the month, to a friend
- Books4167 mentions
- Travel3224 mentions
- Movies2722 mentions
- Coffee2331 mentions
- Flowers1293 mentions
- Beer1181 mentions
- Interior design1091 mentions
- Music1049 mentions
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소확행 (sohwakhaeng): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 소확행 mean?
It's short for “small but certain happiness”: little pleasures you can have right now in everyday life.
Q. Where does 소확행 come from?
It's traced to Haruki Murakami's 1986 essay “Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans.” In Korea it spread after Professor Kim Nan-do named it a trend for 2018.
Q. What's 소확행 in English?
“Small but certain happiness.” The Korea Herald also wrote it as “sohwakhaeng.” In Chinese characters, it's 小確幸.
Q. What are some examples of 소확행?
Nielsen Korea's analysis found books, travel, movies and coffee mentioned most. Murakami named fresh bread and neatly folded underwear, and people interviewed by Money Today named tangerines with comic books and a solo drink at a street stall.
Q. How is 소확행 different from 아보하?
소확행 leans toward small visible purchases and achievements, while 아보하 (“a very ordinary day”) values plain daily life regardless of who's watching. Trend Korea co-author Han Da-hye describes it as a reaction to the commercialization of 소확행.
So: 소확행 is a line from a forty-year-old essay that became a Korean consumer keyword in 2018. The fad may have worn out its welcome, but the happiness in it isn't wrong. Our editor found a matching pair of socks this morning. Who knows what Murakami would say. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 소확행 entry in the dictionary.
Sources
See ‘소확행’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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