Money slang

The cost of purchasing small items impulsively out of stress.

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").

The fun of spending small amounts of money guilt-free, within limits that don't disrupt daily life — "wasting-fun."

Originally from a polite gamer sign-off ("enjoy the game"), it got shortened over time and repurposed to mean "forget it" or "get lost" — often used to shut down an absurd item-trade offer or dismiss someone outright.

Means "this feels so good" in an excited, thrilled sense. Its use is controversial because it originates from a stock line in Japanese adult videos.

It is an interjection used to express positive expectations in gambling or investment, but its meaning has expanded to be used when speaking of wishes.

It is the opposite of "instant millionaire." It is a neologism referring to a situation where, as real estate prices skyrocket, the wealth gap between homeowners and non-homeowners widens significantly in a short period, causing someone to become relatively destitute in an instant. While interpretations vary, it is merely a relative expression and not absolute. It is also used to describe someone who has lost their entire fortune through gambling or Bitcoin.

: It is the sequence of the basic positions of the left hand on a 2-set keyboard, meaning there is no thought.

"Temu human" — someone who looks impressive on the surface but turns out to be flimsy inside, like a cheap Temu product.

"Eat and run" — taking something (money, an item, credit) and vanishing without honoring the deal; commonly used for scams or stealing another player's in-game item.

It means overspending money or indulging in luxury. It is said that the English playwright William Shakespeare was the first to use this expression.

Crude shorthand for "hold on no matter what" — refusing to give up or sell, most often used about riding out a crashing stock or crypto position.

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).

It is an abbreviation for ‘empty account’ and is used when there is no money or insufficient funds in the account.

A deliberate misspelling of "sujun" (level/standard) — sometimes used on purpose to mock someone with poor spelling.

Slang for money, from the Chinese character for "coin/money" (錢).

He is an employee who collects a salary without doing any proper work at the company.

"An appropriate amount of impulse buying" — wanting to buy something while feeling a slight, manageable worry about the spending.

"Golden apple" — apples priced like gold, from the period when fruit prices spiked.

Having no money.

Spending real money to buy in-game currency or items, shortened from "real-money conversion."

"Chat ban," shortened — being blocked from chatting. Unrelated to the identically-spelled word for "debt."

Topping up the balance on a T-money (bus/subway) transit card.

Baby-crying sound, used to cast yourself as a helpless beginner: "waaah, I'm a stock-market baby."

Content spreading fast by word of mouth. Also used for paid promotion disguised as word of mouth.

"My part-time job pay wasn't enough to cover tuition" — a self-deprecating admission about finances.

The utility derived from psychological satisfaction relative to price.

The utility derived from price-to-performance ratio. It is an abbreviation of "price-to-performance ratio."

Cutting someone off for good. From the stock term for selling at a loss to stop the bleeding.

A no-spend challenge: getting through a day or longer without spending anything.

"If I'm satisfied, I'll open my wallet" — buying based on personal satisfaction rather than price/performance value.

Spending so much time online that you lose touch with how normal people think.

"God" + "value for money" — so good for the price it feels divine.

Short for "ballpoint-pen decorating" — customizing a pen with beads and charm parts, a 2026 Gen Z DIY craze.

To make money; to lock in a good financial deal.

"Body" + "investing" — putting time and money into your fitness. Also used for living in a run-down flat while waiting for its price to rise.

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

"Bullets" — slang for money, coined to match the slang verb "sso-da" (to 'shoot' someone a treat, i.e. pay for them).

A deliberately garbled spelling of "run away." Used jokingly to tell someone to bail out — the crypto crowd's opposite of gazua (let's go).

Money.

Spending a whole day in bed on purpose, scrolling and resting.

Short for "sorry for being a liberal-arts major" — a self-deprecating joke about humanities grads' poor job prospects (or their weak math/science).

Expensive clothing without visible logos — wealth that doesn't show off.

Short for "alone at a coin karaoke" — going by yourself to a coin-operated karaoke booth to sing.

"Healthy pleasure" — looking after your health in ways that are enjoyable rather than punishing.

Living lavishly; doing very well, especially with money.

It has the vibe of; it's reminding me of. "This outfit is giving 2000s."

"Meaning" + "coming out" — showing your values through what you buy and support.

"Me" + "economy" — spending centred on yourself and what you enjoy.

"Money" + "a scolding" — ironically "punishing" a good-deed business by flooding it with purchases to support it.

Short for "bought with my own money" — a tag on reviews to show the product wasn't sponsored.

An understated, classic, expensive-looking style associated with inherited wealth.

Short for "a monster born of capitalism" — someone who'll do anything for money, often used self-mockingly when cash changes your attitude. Spread through Korean streaming culture.

Short for "default camera, no editing" — used to stress that a photo was taken with the phone's stock camera and not retouched.

When a stock or coin price skyrockets; also used for anything suddenly blowing up in popularity. The opposite is "떡락."

Short for "scraping together even your soul" — pooling every last won, loans included, to buy a home or invest.

Short for "investing with debt" — borrowing money (loans, margin) to put into stocks or crypto.

"Ditto consumption" — buying whatever a favorite influencer, celebrity, or show uses, simply copying their choices.

A "hexagon person" — someone who scores high in every area of life (looks, education, job, wealth, family, personality), like a maxed-out stat chart in a video game.

From "You Only Need One" — a frugal mindset of buying only what you truly need; the opposite of YOLO spending.

Short for "cheaper on KREAM" — a product whose resale price on the KREAM marketplace is lower than its retail price.

Short for "the vibe that comes from experience" — the seasoned confidence and polish of a veteran. Popularized by a contestant on Show Me The Money 5 (2016).

"Time" + "value for money" — judging things by how much they're worth for the time spent, like watching videos at 2x speed.

Short for "new-build even if I freeze to death" — insisting on newly built apartments no matter the price; modeled on 얼죽아.

Samsung Electronics + SK hynix lumped together — the two chip giants investors talk about as a single bet on Korea's AI-driven market.

"Stupidity cost" — money you had to spend only because of your own mistake, like buying another umbrella after forgetting yours.

From English "dupe" — an affordable lookalike of a luxury or pricey product (not a counterfeit), as in "dupe shopping."

Hynix + "amen" — the SK hynix shareholders' version of "삼멘", a prayer for the stock to rise.

Samsung + "amen" — a half-joking prayer retail investors chant hoping Samsung Electronics stock goes up.

A playful, self-aware way of justifying spending — e.g. "If I paid cash, it's basically free. That's just girl math."

Short for "a man who became a dragon from a ditch" — a self-made man who rose to success from a poor background. The gender-neutral form is 개룡인.

"Bro" + "oligarchy" — a small group of ultra-rich male tech moguls seen as wielding political power; used critically.

A broke person — often used teasingly. "Can't even split the check? Brokie."

A meme term for an impossibly ideal, hypermasculine man, from black-and-white photos of a chiseled model that spread around 2017. Usually humorous or satirical: "Bro returned the shopping cart in the rain, absolute gigachad."

A blend of "modify" and "consumer" — someone who customizes a product to their own taste instead of following the maker's directions, like mixing two instant noodles to make jjapaguri.

A blend of "stingy" (짜다) and "financial planning" (재테크) — building savings by cutting needless spending and making the most of discounts and rewards.

A blend of "app" and "financial planning" (재테크) — earning points or small cash rewards by doing tasks in phone apps, like walking with a step counter or checking in daily.