🌐 Internet culture✂️ Clipped word😐 Deadpan
Spiciness
SK

✂️손절

/son-jeol/

Cutting ties or ending a connection. Originally from the investing term ‘stop-loss selling,’ it is now widely used to mean walking away from a person, relationship, situation, fandom, or habit.
손절 meaning visual explanation
🌀 Multiple origins🌀 MultipleFirst seen 2000

origin · Source

‘Son-jeol’ comes from ‘sonjeolmae,’ a Korean investing term for selling an asset to stop further losses. It later expanded through online communities and everyday speech to mean cutting off a relationship or situation before it drains you further. It is often used for friendships, dating, spending habits, fandoms, and toxic social ties.

ex)

3
  • "If they keep breaking promises, I’m going to cut ties too."
  • "That brand raised prices too much, so I’m done with it."
  • "I thought they were a friend, but they gossiped behind my back, so I cut them off immediately."

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ex)

"A Starbucks ban was issued at the campaign office, so I got coffee somewhere else today."

🗞️ Politics & news📰 News2026

origin‘Geum-beok-ryeong’ blends ‘geumjiryeong’ meaning ‘ban order’ with ‘Seubeok,’ the Korean shorthand for Starbucks. It spread after a Starbucks-related controversy, as people jokingly referred to calls for avoiding Starbucks stores or banning Starbucks items as a formal ‘Starbucks ban order.’ It works as a news-driven meme that compresses boycott sentiment, public backlash, and social distancing from a brand into one phrase.

ex)

"After seeing the controversy, I quit Starbucks right away."

📱 Social media𝕏 X / Twitter2026

originA blend of ‘tal’ from taltoe, meaning withdrawal or leaving, and ‘beok’ from Starbucks’ Korean shorthand. It spread in 2026 as users posted screenshots of membership deletion, refunds, and boycott participation after a Starbucks Korea controversy tied to May 18 memorial discourse.

ex)

"That smug face is so annoying, but in a funny way."

💬 Online community▶️ YouTube2018

originA slang expression built from the playful intensifier ‘king’ and the Korean verb ‘열받다’ meaning ‘to get angry.’ It spread through Korean internet and streamer culture as a meme-friendly way to describe mild, funny, exaggerated irritation.

ex)

"Don’t cry too hard about bombing the exam. Even rock bottom is rock 🤘"

💬 Online community🌀 Multiple2022

originIt comes from a wordplay on ‘narak’ meaning rock bottom: the final syllable ‘rak’ is reimagined as ‘rock’ or joy, turning a bad situation into something to vibe with. It spread through Korean online communities and social media as part of a hyper-positive meme language used to laugh through failure, chaos, or burnout.

ex)

"That comment is obvious bait. Just don’t feed the troll."

💬 Online community🌀 Multiple2010

originThe phrase spread across Korean online communities as a blunt local version of the global internet rule “do not feed the troll.” It frames attention as “food” that makes trolls stronger, so the best response is silence.

💘 Dating & relationships🌀 Blended word🎭 Dramatic
Spiciness
SK

💔썸붕

sseom-bung

The collapse or quiet ending of a flirtationship before it becomes an official relationship.
썸붕 meaning visual explanation

ex)

"We were texting every day until a few days ago, but now the replies stopped. I think the flirtationship fizzled out."

💘 Dating culture🌀 Multiple2016

originA blend of ‘sseom,’ meaning a pre-relationship flirtationship, and ‘collapse.’ It captures the moment when mutual romantic tension fails to become an official relationship and quietly falls apart, often through slower replies, vague excuses, or plans that never happen.

ex)

"I thought I was just taking a break, but I sold all my merch. I think I really 탈덕ed."

🌀 Multiple origins🌀 Multiple2000

originThe expression likely spread through Korean online fan and otaku communities in the 2000s as a counterpart to 입덕, meaning entering a fandom. The exact first use is unclear, but it is now a standard fandom-culture term used across idol, anime, game, actor, and character fandoms.

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