From the 1990’s, and more so from the 2000’s, the presence of hanja has dramatically decreased from newspapers and nearly everywhere else. Case in point, a number of youth have Korean names but their parents either didn’t select corresponding hanja roots or they simply don’t know their own hanja as it isn’t useful outside of formal documents. The place that hanja held in the language, which was an upper class feeling, has been replaced by English and Konglish. As knowing English costs a substantial amount of money to learn, knowing English is a sign of a better education and can lead to a better future as English is a substantial part of the university entrance exam and a part of getting a respectable office job. English, and by proxy Konglish, both contribute to the elite feeling formerly reserved by hanja.

Many people will tell you that the definition of Konglish is Korean + English. While this neatly makes up the word Konglish, the truth is Konglish is better defined as Korean + loanwords from a wide variety of languages, often with changed definitions. Loanwords are nothing new to languages, as over the centuries loanwords came from Japanese or Chinese, or from outside and then through Japanese or Chinese, and later spread into Korean. A number of recent loanwords came in during the Japanese occupation, and are therefore very similar to wasei-eigo terms in modern Japanese. The biggest difference with older loanwords is the vast majority of new loanwords have English or European roots.

Misunderstanding occurs as many Koreans believe Konglish is correct English and contain not only the same pronunciation, but the same meaning and usage rules. This mistaken belief leads to frequent surprises when learning the word in question is not used that way in English or is from another language, like French or German. It is also worth noting that Konglish is uniquely South Korean as North Korea tries hard not to let new loanwords into their language. This further exacerbates linguistic differences between the two Koreas as they have changed in different ways as they been divided since the 1950s. Unlike East and West Germany after the war, where radio broadcasts crossed from one side to another, the people living within the two Koreas have had little interactions, leading to the language evolving differently on the two sides of the 38th parallel. But misunderstandings can also happen with the generational divide, as happens in any language when a younger generation creates new slang.

There is no definitive list of Konglish terms as the Korean language, like all languages, continues to change. And while an entire textbook could be made teaching Konglish words, it is impossible to list all or even most Konglish terms within this guide. The following tables are to give an idea of some of the varieties of terms and are common enough you will come across many of them while living in Korea.

If you want to learn more about Konglish it is rather difficult as websites frequently mock it or provide word lists of varying quality and sans background information. If you wish to read academic literature then you'll have a difficult time as few articles have been written and, best of our knowledge, none have yet been written in English.

Some words are the same in English

Some words are from European languages

Some words are shortened versions of English

Some are brand names

Some words have very different meanings

Some words are combinations of other words