The Oxford Dictionary has been updated with new foreign words. What are they about?

Seven new Korean words have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, reflecting the growing presence of Korean culture in the English-speaking world. This was reported by The Korea Herald, as noted by UNN.

Details

Specifically, the December 2024 update includes seven Korean words: "dalgona," "hyung," "noraebang," "maknae," "jjigae," "tteokbokki," and "pansori."

It is worth noting that Korean words have appeared in the Oxford Dictionary before. For instance, in 2021, 26 Korean terms were added, including "K-drama," "Hallyu," "mukbang," and "daebak."

Among the seven new terms this year, "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 cut into its surface, such as a heart or star." This treat is well-known to fans of the series "Squid Game," where one of the games involved cutting shapes out of "dalgona."

As an example of the word's usage in a sentence, the dictionary cited an article from the Boston Globe in October 2022: "Netflix just released 'Squid Game,' a Korean hit that had fans 'flocking' to 'dalgona' candies. Many turned to TikTok to recreate the inexpensive sweet treat."

Another addition, "maknae," is defined as "the youngest person in a family or group; (currently) particularly, the youngest member of a K-pop group."

It is reported that the dictionary is already considering more Korean words for future updates, including "haenyeo" (female divers from Jeju Island), "ajumma" (middle-aged women), and "bingsu" (a dessert made of shaved ice).

Reminder

The Oxford Dictionary selected the term "brain rot" as the word of the year for 2024 after a vote involving 37,000 people. The term describes the decline in mental state due to excessive consumption of online content.