[Korean Culture & Language] 오글거린다

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While many people enjoy using new slangs(신조어), others complain that many of them are difficult for older generations to understand. Some people say that King Se-Jong (the creator of Han-geul) is crying in his grave when someone uses (신조어) too often. Some 신조어s even make people think twice about doing certain things since some words for specific behaviors that didn’t have negative connotations before the advent of the slangs now have taken on negative connotations. 

The below meme states: 

‘오글거린다’ 라는 말이 나오고 사람들에게 감성이 사라졌고,
After the slang ‘오글거린다(cheesy)’ has created, people stopped expressing their feelings
(감성 usually means vibes or being sentimental, but here it’s used as ‘expressing one’s feelings’)

‘선비’ 라는 말이 나오자 절제하는 사람이 사라졌고,
After the advent of the slang ‘선비,’ people seem to have lost self-control.
(‘선비’ originally refers to scholars who served the public without holding a government position during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. They chose to live in integrity rather than living affluent and powerful lives. 선비s typically follow a strict code of conduct and believed it was their moral responsibility to guide society in the right direction. The new slang ‘선비’ exaggerates the meaning and refers to boring and stubborn people who are obsessively focused on following morals.)

나댄다 라는 말이 나오자 용기 있는 사람이 사라졌고,

Because the new word ‘나댄다 (nosy)’ has a negative connotation, brave individuals have vanished.

설명충이라는 말이 나오자 자기가 아는 지식을 나누려는 사람들이 사라졌다.

Those who enjoy sharing knowledge with others have disappeared with the introduction of the new word ‘설명충 (A bug that explains too much)’.

한글에 있는 핀

Can you think of other 신조어s that have the potential to pose problems? 

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