/bon-kae/
origin · Source
본캐 is shortened from 본 캐릭터, meaning a player’s main character in online games. The exact first use is hard to pin down, but it was already common in Korean gaming communities in the 2000s and later spread into TV, YouTube, workplaces, and social media as the opposite of 부캐.
ex)
2ex)
"My main self is an office worker, but my 부캐 is a weekend dessert creator."
origin부캐 began as a gaming abbreviation for 부 캐릭터, a secondary or alternate character separate from a player’s main character. The exact first year is unclear, but it was already natural in Korean online-game communities by the early 2000s, then expanded into mainstream entertainment and everyday speech as people began talking about alternate personas and side identities.
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ja-a-bi-dae
ex)
"He keeps acting like everyone is jealous of him, but honestly it just looks like 자아비대."
originThe phrase combines 자아, meaning ego or self, with 비대, meaning enlargement or hypertrophy. It existed as a descriptive Korean expression before becoming common in online criticism, where it is used less as a clinical term and more as a sharp label for inflated ego, entitlement, and self-importance. The exact first online use is unclear, so the year is approximate.
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