Food slang

Slang for something that looks expensive but is actually low quality for the price. Named after a convenience-store meal series fronted by singer Kim Chang-ryul, whose small portions and poor quality relative to price made "Changryul" a byword for a bad deal. Used as a noun ("Changryul") or adjective ("Changryul-hada").

It refers to a student who buys bread at the school store, in other words, an errand boy.

"Mukbang" — an eating broadcast, short for "eating while broadcasting." Took off after a scene of an actor eating gimbap in the film Sea Fog struck audiences. Meant to make viewers hungry watching someone else eat.

An exclamation of joy, like "yay!" or "let's go!" — popularized by YouTube clips and short-form challenges.

A slur for overweight people, supposedly from the labored "pao-hu, kumcheok-kumcheok" breathing sound an overweight person makes — originally the sound one particular mukbang streamer made while eating.

A suffix built from "haneunim" (God), swapping in the name of anyone you want to praise or worship — e.g. "Yu-neunim" (broadcaster Yoo Jae-suk), "Chi-neunim" (fried chicken).

Started when a DC Inside user posted a comic about people in Busan mixing completely mismatched foods together, quoting a Busan dialect line, "Just mix it and eat!" ("Ma! Sseuka mugeura!"). The comic went viral, and afterward "seuka" came to mean mixing incompatible foods, with "Seuka-guk" ("Mix Country") used as a derogatory nickname for Busan. The term spread from DC Inside to many other Korean communities.

"Stomach-tempting photo," shortened — a photo of delicious-looking food.

A prefix meaning "god-" — attached to something's name to praise it as god-tier, e.g. "god-meshi" (a god-tier meal), "god-hanminguk" (Korea as a god-tier country), "god-su" (a rich person with no job).

"The more you know, the less likable" — a pun on the name of the short-rib dish "galbi."

"Chewing doctor" — someone who knows every good restaurant and what to order, an expert in eating.

Doing something really well right now: "She's cooking."

Short for "national rule" — the default everyone agrees on, the obvious way to do something. "Chicken with beer is gungnyul."

A play on "MLB Park," a baseball community site with a large KIA Tigers fanbase, blended with a slur ("hongeo," a fermented skate dish) used to belittle the Jeolla region.

It says that a certain food is very delicious.

A blend of "burger" and "station zone" (how close somewhere is to a subway stop) — measures how many burger places are within easy reach. Some services even score locations by nearby fast-food density.

It means that Korean chicken is delicious.

"Chicken for dinner tonight?" — a casual invitation.

From English "even" — evenly, uniformly. Took off from judging comments on the cooking show Culinary Class Wars.

Chicken + Beer

"Obviously, all chicken is right/justified" — a jokey declaration that chicken is always a good choice.

"Half fried chicken, half seasoned chicken, extra pickled radish," shortened — a common chicken-delivery order.

It is used for foods that have both sweet and salty flavors, or for situations where sweet and salty foods are eaten alternately.

: A term likened to blood alcohol concentration, used to describe how often one has eaten mala dishes.

"Stock" + "child" — a beginner investor. The "-rini" suffix now marks beginners at anything (gym, cooking).

Jokingly taking a bite of a friend's food. Named after streamer Fanum.

Dopamine + "farming" — actively hunting for quick hits of stimulation, like binging short-form videos or extreme food challenges.

"My mouth is already watering" — anticipating something delicious.

A low-effort meal made of snacks and leftovers, framed as a treat.

A pun on 그 자체 ("itself") swapping in japchae, the noodle dish — used to say something is the very embodiment of a quality, e.g. "cuteness itself."

Extremely good, especially food. "This ramen is bussin."

A nonsense exclamation of satisfaction or glee, e.g. after a great meal or nailing a task — used more for its sound than any literal meaning.

"Sexy food" — food that looks and tastes amazing; usually exclaimed as an over-the-top "WOW, sexy food!" while pointing at the dish.

Grandma (할매) + millennial — young people's taste for old-fashioned, grandma-style things like yakgwa, black sesame, or floral cardigans.

"Rice police" — the opposite of 밥도둑 ("rice thief"): a side dish so unappetizing that it keeps your rice untouched.

Literally "to mix up (a drink) for someone"; fans use it as an over-the-top "to do," praising how perfectly an artist pulls off a concept, e.g. "the Y2K vibe only they can serve."

A cute word for a dog — 멍멍이 ("woof-woof") rewritten as look-alike letters 댕댕이.

An exaggerated way to say "delicious," popularized by a Gyeongsang-dialect sketch on the YouTube channel Psick Univ; a newer alternative to JMT.

"Natural Wegovy" — a food combo said to keep you full and curb appetite like the weight-loss drug, classically boiled eggs with olive oil and pepper.

Short for "meal promise" — a plan to grab a meal together, especially between senior and junior students at university.

Describes something whose process looks sloppy or shaky but whose result turns out surprisingly well, after webtoon artist Kim Poong's improvised-but-successful cooking.

A state of being unapologetically lazy, messy, or self-indulgent, ignoring social expectations. "I went full goblin mode this weekend — snacks in bed, no shower."

Short for "a kid crazy about their mom" — a young adult whose favorite hangout buddy is their mother; usually a proud, affectionate self-label rather than an insult.

Short for "turn around, meals; turn around, meals" — the endless cycle of cooking one meal after another at home.

Short for "pour and eat" vs. "dip and eat" — whether you pour sweet-and-sour sauce over tangsuyuk or dip it, Korea's classic endless food debate.

Doing the boring, responsible tasks of grown-up life, like paying bills or running errands — "Did my taxes and meal-prepped today, I'm adulting so hard."

A blend of "이모" (auntie, a friendly word for a restaurant's owner or server) and "omakase" — a casual Korean spot where the auntie decides what to serve based on that day's ingredients.

A derogatory slur for Chinese people or China, likely from the Chinese word for "shopkeeper"; also older slang for Chinese takeout. Considered offensive.

A playful word for someone who can't handle spicy food — people often use it about themselves. It's the opposite of 맵부심, pride in eating spicy food.

An imitative word for wolfing food down, similar to "hurriedly." Its reading is disputed: some treat it as an anti-male slur, while others say it's just a harmless sound word — the fight peaked around 2021.

Literally "open run" — rushing into a store the moment it opens, or lining up before opening, to get something in short supply. Common with luxury goods, limited editions, and popular restaurants.