What 소확행 means
Short for “small but certain happiness” (小確幸): little pleasures within reach right now, like fresh bread or a cup of coffee.
Origin
Traced to Haruki Murakami's 1986 essay collection “Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans.” In Korea it spread after Professor Kim Nan-do named it a trend for 2018 (Money Today).
Numbers
Nielsen Korea analyzed about 55,000 online posts from January to July 2018. The top associated words were “book” (4,167 mentions) and “travel” (3,224).
Now
As 소확행 drew fatigue from showing off and commercialization, a successor keyword appeared: 아보하, “a very ordinary day” (interview with a Trend Korea co-author).
Examples
“퇴근길에 붕어빵 사 먹는 게 요즘 내 소확행이야.”
Grabbing fish-shaped bread on my way home is my little happiness these days.
Word history
Community definitions (2)
Short for "small but certain happiness" — modest everyday pleasures you can count on.
'소소하지만 확실한 행복'의 줄임말로, 작지만 분명하게 느껴지는 일상의 행복을 뜻한다.
Examples
“퇴근길에 붕어빵 사 먹는 게 요즘 내 소확행이야.”
Grabbing fish-shaped bread on my way home is my little happiness these days.
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