[Korean Culture & Language] Fun-Min


Hello, this is Uptempo!

‘잼민이’ is a new term coined on Twitch between 2019 and 2020 to describe ‘children,’ particularly those with bad internet etiquette. The name '잼민’ comes from the name of a character ‘재민(Jaemin)’ from Toonation. They placed the word ‘잼/재미(fun)’ at the front of the’민’ instead of a ‘재’ because the character was funny and had a voice that represented many kids.

The word ‘잼민이,’ however, isn’t equivalent to ‘elementary school kids’ because it can also refer to someone who is older yet acts immature or juvenile. The use of this word is often criticized because many 꼰대s (condescending old people/ know-it-alls) use it to belittle others.

They often say ‘너 잼민이지? (You’re a little kid, right?)’ when someone expresses an opposing viewpoint from theirs. It is an irrational hatred toward a specific social class or age group.


Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Ex) 

A: 나 어제 동생이랑 싸웠어.
I had an argument with my little brother.

B: 왜? 무슨 일이야?
Why? What happened?

A: 숙제 안 하고 계속 티비 보고 게임만 하길래 내가 한 마디 했더니 “내 맘인데? 내 맘인데? 어쩔티비 저쩔티비~” 이러잖아.
He spent all day yesterday playing video games and watching TV and didn’t do his homework. So, I told him to finish his homework first. He responded, “Whatever! Why do you care? What are you going to do about it? What?”

B: 윽… 네 동생 완전 잼민이네
Ugh… Your brother is acting like a kid.


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