[Korean Culture & Language] 머선 129

After living in Korea for a while, you would learn that Koreans like to abbreviate and create new words or sayings to be funny. 

One of the newest and most widely used here is “머선 129”. It reads “Musun il e goo,” and has a literal meaning of “What is going on?”. 

In standard dialect, you would say “무슨일이에요?” or “무슨일이야?”. However, in Gyeong-sang dialect, it sounds more like “moosun il e go?”. Because the numbers 1, 2, and 9 are pronounced Il, E, Goo, it almost matches the sound of “il e go” in Gyeong-sang dialect. 

Many people in Korea think it’s fun to have an accent or speak in dialect, so it is becoming widely used to ask someone ‘what’s happening?’ in a fun way.

 머선129 짤 - 짤봇 (jjalbot.com)

It is so commonly used on the internet, social media, and with friends that everyone knows what it means. There is even a Youtube program that is named “머선 129”. 

(14) 호동이 너! 학주한테 이른다아~~ 근데 나두^^ [#머선129] - YouTube

It can be used when someone suddenly acts differently, or something unexpected happens.

For example, say your boyfriend does something sweet when he isn’t usually like that. You can say “머선129?,” and I promise that he will laugh. Or, when a friend is a party-goer, but they stay home on a Friday night. You can say “머선 129?!”