· Slangdunk Editors
What does 자만추 (jamanchu) mean? Korean slang for wanting to meet someone naturally (or extra dumplings)
자만추 (jamanchu) is short for “pursuing a natural meeting”: wanting to meet a partner in everyday life rather than through blind dates or apps. Its opposite is 인만추. Thanks to a famous wrong answer on a 2019 variety show, it also means “jajangmyeon with extra dumplings.”
At a glance
- Meaning
- 자만추 (jamanchu) is short for 자연스러운 만남 추구, “pursuing a natural meeting”: wanting to meet a partner organically through school, work or hobbies instead of blind dates or dating apps.
- Opposite
- 인만추, “pursuing an arranged meeting”: blind dates, matchmaking and dating apps (Edaily).
- Second meaning
- In 2019, Yoo Jae-suk guessed “jajangmyeon with extra dumplings” on a slang quiz. The wrong answer went viral and was added to a portal's open dictionary (Wikitree, Edaily).
- Careful
- Some people twist it into a sexual meaning, so read the room before using it with someone you've just met.
A friend who moved to Korea a year ago spots 자만추 on a coworker's profile and messages a Korean friend about it. The characters are invented, but every fact in their conversation has a source.
What does 자만추 (jamanchu) mean? A Korean friend explains
- Emma (27, UK)A coworker's profile says 자만추. Is that some kind of spell?
- Seoyeon (26)Not a spell. It's short for 자연스러운 만남 추구, “pursuing a natural meeting.” It means they'd rather meet someone naturally than on a blind date.
- Emma (27, UK)Naturally? Where?
- Seoyeon (26)School, work, a club. An Edaily column described it as getting to know someone over time and building up feelings.
- Emma (27, UK)So what's the opposite? I met my boyfriend on an app.
- Seoyeon (26)That's 인만추, pursuing an arranged meeting: blind dates, matchmaking, apps. Fate is 운만추, and anyone-will-do is 아만추.
- Emma (27, UK)Koreans really commit to abbreviations. Since when?
- Seoyeon (26)It was already going around as “pursuing a natural meeting” in 2018 (Wikitree). Then in 2019 Yoo Jae-suk answered a slang quiz with “jajangmyeon with extra dumplings.”
- Emma (27, UK)LOL, that's wrong.
- Seoyeon (26)Wrong, but so funny it went into a portal's open dictionary as a second meaning. In 2023 the actor Cho Jin-woong answered “OK, extra dumplings” on a variety show too.
- Emma (27, UK)So is my coworker talking about dating or Chinese food?
- Seoyeon (26)On a profile, dating. But some people use it with a dirty meaning, so don't be the first to ask someone you just met.
- Emma (27, UK)Got it. Then for lunch today I'm going 자만추. Jajangmyeon, extra dumplings.
- Seoyeon (26)That's pointlessly perfect.
자만추
Short for “pursuing a natural meeting.” A dating philosophy: wanting to date someone you got to know in everyday life, rather than through blind dates or dating apps.
In Korean: '자연스러운 만남 추구'의 줄임말. 소개팅이나 데이팅 앱 대신 일상에서 자연스럽게 알게 된 사람과 연애하고 싶다는 연애관.
- 소개팅은 됐어. 나 자만추야No more blind dates. I'm 자만추.Turning down a third set-up
- 자만추 하려면 일단 집 밖으로 나가야 하는 거 아냐?Don't you have to leave the house first to do 자만추?To a friend who stays in bed all weekend
- 자만추 기다리다가 결국 인만추로 갈아탔다I waited for 자만추 and ended up switching to 인만추.An office worker who just installed a dating app
- 점심 메뉴는 자만추. 자장면에 만두 추가로Lunch is 자만추: jajangmyeon with extra dumplings.A pun-loving manager outside a Chinese restaurant
Why has 자만추 lasted so long?
자만추 sums up a whole dating philosophy in three syllables. No need to say “blind dates aren't really my thing…”; “I'm 자만추” does the job. With its opposite 인만추 and its cousins 운만추 and 아만추, it grew into a word family. And the famous wrong answer, “extra dumplings,” keeps pulling it back onto variety shows and into memes. For more dating slang, see 플러팅 (peulleoting, flirting) and 삼귀다 (samgwida, the stage before dating).
자만추 (jamanchu): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 자만추 mean?
It's short for “pursuing a natural meeting”: wanting to meet a partner organically through school, work or hobbies instead of blind dates or dating apps.
Q. What are the two meanings of 자만추?
The original, “pursuing a natural meeting,” and the pun “jajangmyeon with extra dumplings.” The second spread after Yoo Jae-suk gave it as a wrong answer on a slang quiz in 2019.
Q. What's the difference between 자만추 and 인만추?
자만추 means meeting someone naturally in everyday life; 인만추 (“pursuing an arranged meeting”) means meeting through set-ups made for the purpose: blind dates, matchmaking, dating apps.
Q. What's 자만추 in English?
There's no single word, but “I'd rather meet someone naturally” or “meeting someone organically” captures it.
Q. Does 자만추 have a bad meaning?
Reports say some people twist it into a sexual meaning. Most use the original sense, but with someone you don't know well, read the context first.
So 자만추 means you want love to happen naturally — and sometimes it just means you want dumplings. Either way, step one is leaving the house. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 자만추 entry in the dictionary.
Sources
See ‘자만추’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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