Praise slang

"King" (English) plus the Chinese character for king (王) plus "jjang" (the best) — the best of the best. Reportedly discovered during a "find the worst username" event on DC Inside's World of Warcraft gallery.

Doing it perfectly, neatly, and with style

Used to mean "amazing/novel." Originated with World of Warcraft players, drawing on the nickname for the Paladin class ("sinseong-gisa," shortened wordplay to "sinbak," which also puns on "cockroach"). It spread so widely that many Koreans now think of it as standard vocabulary.

Greatest Of All Time.

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).

Said when something is so amazing your wig flew off — pure astonishment.

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

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).

Short for "the touch is still alive" — praise for someone whose skill or instincts are clearly intact. Opposite: gamdajuk.

"Working hard" (shortened) — praise for a celebrity's looks or a brand's product performing impressively, e.g. "her beauty is working overtime" or "this Etude product is really working hard for me."

To look amazing or deliver an impressive performance.

"I'll make you a superstar" — a playful, exaggerated compliment.

Represents a shivering/trembling sound ("deol-deol"), used when something is impressively intense, scary, or shocking. An intensified form is "ㅎㄷㄷ" (hu-deol-deol).

"The final boss" — the toughest enemy that appears at the very end of a game. Used to mean the best (or worst) of something.

From a webtoon artist's comic on a comedy site — used to mean "wow, impressive."

The best possible; peak quality. Sometimes used sarcastically for something bad.

From "shout-out" — publicly giving someone credit or praise.

"God" + "masterpiece," with myeong respelled as tting because the letters look alike — an all-time great work.

"Aura farming" — deliberately doing things that look cool to build up an air of coolness, as if grinding for XP.

A term coined by *Ddanzi Ilbo* in December 2003, referring to a person with a good physique.

"I pissed myself" — used as an exclamation of awe at something incredibly good. Crude, but usually meant as high praise.

Describes someone deeply consumed by something, or someone with extraordinary skill — used in forms like "jjeonda" (that's insane/amazing) or "jjeoreum" (the state of being amazing).

: A neologism originating from 'Lucky Jjang', it is the opposite of 'petty person'. It refers to a righteous person who is generous and broad-minded, giving and helping others a lot.

"A to the B," meaning "from A to B" — inserted between words for emphasis, e.g. "dae to the bak!" ("totally awesome!").

A photo or video posted mainly to attract attention and compliments on your looks.

Someone living a gatsaeng — a disciplined, productive, admirable daily life.

Great, excellent. "That's gas." To gas someone up means to hype them up.

Looking great — fashionable and put together.

A suffix or standalone word meaning "the best," attached to the front of another word — from the Chinese character 將 (jang, "general/chief").

"Eye cleansing" — purifying your eyes, usually after "eye terror," by looking at something beautiful — gorgeous scenery, an attractive person, etc.

Excellent, amazing.

From "legend" — something so good (or so bad) it'll be talked about forever.

From English "class," in the sense of "tier/level" — usually used to describe how impressive someone or something is.

Doing things on purpose to look effortlessly cool.

"G.O.A.T." — Greatest Of All Time, said of the best there has ever been.

"Text" + "hip" — the trend of reading books, and being seen reading them, as something cool.

"The finisher" — someone at the very top of their field, similar in meaning to "kingwangjjang." "Jonggyeol" means to bring something to an end, so combined with "person," it becomes someone who ends all competition — implying further competing against them would be pointless.

Considered one of the greatest; excellent. From GOAT.

An exclamation of amazement or admiration, often drawn out.

An excellent song, usually one that makes you want to dance.

An exclamation for something amazing or a huge success — "jackpot."

Said of a woman who is iconic and inspiring in what she does.

He's the real deal, the best at what he does.

Very cool or excellent.

Brutally honest or ruthless in a way that's impressive.

To do something extremely well, or to look amazing. "You slayed that presentation."

Short for "forced sucking up" — praising or defending someone with no real basis; the opposite of 억까.

Praising someone excessively, over the top.

Saying what you think without caring what others think — often said approvingly.

From English "hip" — cool in an of-the-moment, slightly alternative way.

Amazing, awesome.

Excited or flattered; also exhausted.

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

"Nuclear insider" — the ultimate social butterfly who's at the center of every group and leads the vibe.

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."

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

Short for "Oh, this one knows how to have fun?" — a playful compliment for someone who clearly knows how to party or fit in with the cool crowd.

Short for "lost, but fought well" — said when a team loses yet put up a great effort worth applauding.

A respelling of "tough" meaning cool or impressive — "That jacket is so tuff." Sometimes used ironically.

An exclamation (from "goddamn") of surprise or admiration, usually at someone's large butt; also used as a noun for the butt itself. Also spelled "gyatt."

Initial-consonant shorthand for "레전드" (legend) — used for something epic, iconic, or hilariously memorable.

Originally meant alert to racial and social injustice; now often used disapprovingly, mainly by critics on the right, for progressive views seen as extreme — "They called the ad too woke."

Attractively curvy or full-figured, especially in the hips and thighs; a deliberate spelling of "thick," used as a compliment or jokingly — "That cat is thicc."

An ironic meme portraying Joe Biden as a ruthless, laser-eyed power figure, spun off from "Let's Go Brandon"; mostly used by his supporters as praise, though sometimes still mockingly.

"God" + "ordinary person" — fandom slang, often joking or self-deprecating, for someone outside otaku/fan culture; also used for an amateur with impressive skills.

A TikTok phrase that took off in late March 2026, with a loose meaning: it can be praise ("you're the star of the show") or a tease for someone being over the top. Context decides which.

An imaginary score for how cool someone is, gained by doing cool things and lost by doing embarrassing ones — "Tripping in front of everyone cost him 1,000 aura points."

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."

Shocked or left speechless, usually by something amazing; from drag culture. "Her outfit had me gagged."

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

Short for "best face" — a very good-looking person; a 2000s internet term that also spread abroad as "ulzzang."

A standard word for "satisfying," but in slang it means "awesome" or "insane." It spread through teen speech (급식체) and also works as an intensifier, as in 오지게 많다 ("a crazy amount").

Short for "person who works well" — someone who gets things done quickly and accurately at work. Used as a compliment among office workers.