January 8, 2025
SEOUL – The Oxford English Dictionary just got a K-culture upgrade.
In its December 2024 update, the dictionary added seven Korean words — “dalgona,” “hyung,” “noraebang,” “maknae,” “jjigae,” “tteokbokki” and “pansori” — reflecting the growing presence of Korean culture in the English-speaking world.
This is not the first time Korean words have made the cut. Back in 2021, the dictionary added 26 Korean terms, including K-drama, Hallyu, mukbang and daebak.
Its inclusion of Korean terms reflects the rise of K-culture as a global force.
Among this year’s seven new additions, dalgona is defined as “a Korean confection made by adding baking soda to melted sugar, typically sold by street vendors in the form of a flat disc with a simple shape such as a heart, star, etc., carved on its surface.” The dictionary also introduced an October 2022 Boston Globe article as an example of how the word is used in a sentence, which says “Netflix had just released ‘Squid Game,’ the Korean smash hit that made fans flock to dalgona candy. Many took to TikTok to recreate the inexpensive sweet treat.”
Another addition, maknae is defined as “the youngest person in a family or group; (now) spec. the youngest member of a K-pop group.”
First published in 1884, the Oxford English Dictionary is updated online every three months to capture ways English adapts to cultural influences.
According to local news reports, the dictionary is already eyeing more Korean words for future updates, including “haenyeo” (female divers of Jeju Island), “ajumma” (middle-aged women), and “bingsu” (shaved ice dessert).