What does 트민남 (teuminnam) mean? Korean slang for the guy who's always on the latest trend

A line outside a pop-up store in Seongsu-dong. Emily, an American who moved to Seoul a year ago, glances at the phone of the person in front of her and spots the hashtag #트민남. The characters are made up; every fact in their conversation has a source.

• Emily (28)Jiho, what's 트민남? Tremin… is that a brand?
• Jiho (27)트렌드에 민감한 남자 — a man who's sensitive to trends. The guy who tries the new thing first. For women it's 트민녀.
• Emily (28)So standing in this line makes us 트민남 and 트민녀?
• Jiho (27)Exactly. According to Etoday's slang column, you don't have to buy the newest phone — trying the food people line up for, or a new app, is enough.
• Emily (28)Who came up with it?
• Jiho (27)Nobody knows who made the word. But say it and everyone thinks of one person: the TV host Jun Hyun-moo.
• Emily (28)Why him?
• Jiho (27)On MBC's “I Live Alone,” he started decorating his place with whatever was trending, and the nickname stuck. A 2022 Tenasia article said that, as a result, 트민남 became the word in front of his name.
• Emily (28)Just the one nickname?
• Jiho (27)No way. A 2022 Newsis headline went “Museukia → 트민남 → Mudeun Ramsay” — Basquiat when he paints, Gordon Ramsay when he cooks. 트민남 is the one that lasted.
• Emily (28)Is it a compliment or a tease?
• Jiho (27)Both. In January 2026 he talked about the Dubai chewy cookie on TV, and people online started calling him a “trend cutter” — the joke being that once he mentions it, the trend is over. Xports News wrote up the reaction.
• Emily (28)So it's like being trendy, but a little bit late?
• Jiho (27)Bingo. But that “a little late” is part of the charm. Oh — we're up. Photos first.

• 벌써 그 팝업 다녀왔어? 완전 트민남이네You already went to that pop-up? Total 트민남.Monday morning, looking at a coworker's weekend photos
• 우리 아빠 키오스크로 주문하고 AI로 사진 보정까지 함. 트민남 다 됐어My dad orders at kiosks and edits photos with AI now. Full 트민남.Like Etoday's example of a “senior 트민남”
• 트민녀 언니가 추천한 립밤이면 믿고 산다If the 트민녀 unnie recommends a lip balm, I'm buying it.Using 트민녀
• 부장님이 그 챌린지 하시는 거 보니까 이제 유행 끝났나 봐… 아니 트민남이시네요!If the boss is doing that challenge, it must be over… I mean, what a 트민남!A 0.5-second save

Because it turned chasing trends from something embarrassing into something endearing. A 트민남 doesn't set trends; he chases them earnestly, and the earnestness is the joke. Being tied so firmly to one TV personality means it needs no explanation. Lately it turns up alongside 영포티 (“young forty”) when older people try to keep up, and hunting for your 추구미 (the look you aspire to) is part of a 트민남's routine. And when he finds a trend he loves, he says 완내스 — “totally my style.”

So 트민남 isn't the name for the person at the front of a trend — it's for the one running hard to catch it. Emily clipped the keyring she bought at the pop-up to her bag and posted “I'm 트민녀” in the group chat. Perfect usage for year one in Korea. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 트민남 entry in the dictionary.