The Oxford English Dictionary will be adding 26 Korean words
Has the South Korean influence reached its peak?
'Squid Game', BTS, 'Parasite', the list goes on.
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It's absolutely undeniable that Korean culture has burst into the Western world with a force that is unmatched.
Just ask the #BTSArmy... if you dare.
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From music to food, to series, the culture has been accepted in a big way and has become integrated into the lives of many people across the globe.
Even if you are not a die-hard fan, there has bound to have been some South Korean influence in your life in some way over the last few years.
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Now the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which calls itself "the definitive record of the English language", is also joining in on the K-craze!
The dictionary has decided it would be adding 26 Korean words to its latest edition.
We are all riding the crest of the Korean wave.
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While a large part of the list consists of food, there is also a significant amount of pop culture representation. All in all it's a good mix to start with.
Here are a few of the Korean words that have been added to the OED:
- hallyu, n. - The increase in international interest in South Korea and its popular culture, represented by the global success of South Korean music, film, TV, fashion and food.
- K-drama, n. - A television series in the Korean language and produced in South Korea.
- manhwa, n. - A Korean genre of cartoons and comic books, often influenced by Japanese manga.
- mukbang, n. - A video, esp. one that is livestreamed, that features a person eating a large quantity of food and talking to the audience.
- banchan, noun. - A small side dish of vegetables, served along with rice as part of a typical Korean meal.
- bulgogi, n. - In Korean cooking: a dish of thin slices of beef or pork which are marinated then grilled or stir-fried.
- kimbap, n. - A Korean dish consisting of cooked rice and other ingredients wrapped in a sheet of seaweed and cut into bite-sized slices.
The adoption and development of these Korean words in English also demonstrate how lexical innovation is no longer confined to the traditional centres of English in the United Kingdom and the United States—they show how Asians in different parts of the continent invent and exchange words within their own local contexts, then introduce these words to the rest of the English-speaking world, thus allowing the Korean wave to continue to ripple on the sea of English words.
If you haven't caught up with the K-craze yet, now might be the perfect time to start your edu-K-tion.
Main image courtesy of BTS Official Twitter