[Korean Culture & Language] Every Expertise

Hello, this is Uptempo!


You might have noticed that some fans add ‘좌’ at the end of celebrities’ names or nicknames.

Even though ‘좌’ is used more often to mean ‘left’ in Korean, like for ‘좌회전(turn left)’ or ‘좌측(left side),’ it is also used to count Buddha statues or mirrors. It comes from the Chinese letter ‘좌(座),’ which means 'seat' or 'status.' ‘좌불상 (座佛像)’ is directly translated to ‘Seated Buddha Statue’. 


The term is also used to refer to oneself when speaking to someone who is of a lower status than them, especially in martial arts fiction novels. For example, ‘본 좌 앞에서 감히 어떻게 그런 말을 하느냐?’ means ‘How dare you speak to me (who is in a higher status than you) like that?’.


After 2020, however, ‘좌’ is used to describe a person’s trait, especially regarding their skill or area of expertise.


Below is a popular meme for Brave Girls, a South Korean girl group formed by producer Brave Brothers in 2011 and managed by Brave Entertainment.



From left to right are  Yuna, Yujeong, Minyoung, Eunji.


The fans have given them nicknames: ‘단발좌 (a bob expertise)' for Yuna,’ ‘꼬북좌 (the Squirtle expertise)' for Yujeong, ‘메보좌 (Main vocal expertise)' for Minyoung, and ‘왕눈좌(A big-eyes expertise)' for Eunji.


Yuna’s nickname is a 단발좌 because the fans think no one looks better than Yuna with a bob haircut. Yujeong’s nickname is 꼬북좌 because the fans think no one looks more like a Squirtle than Yujeong. As strange as it may sound, telling someone, especially a girl, they look like the Squirtle, has become a great compliment recently.


The fans think that Minyoung sings better than any main vocals in other groups, so they gave her the nickname 메보좌.


Eunji’s nickname is 왕눈좌 because the fans think she has the biggest eyes.



What 좌 would you be?

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