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26 Korean Words Added To The Oxford English Dictionary

Korean Words Like Oppa, Daebak, And More Are Added!

Elizabeth
2 years ago

Scene from Squid Game (Source: Netflix)

As seen by the latest hit show Squid Game, Oscar-winning movie Parasite, and the popularity of BTS, Korean culture is being recognized more and more by other countries, and now it has reached the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

26 new Korean words were added into its latest addition. Also, updates were made to 11 existing Korean word entries in the dictionary.

BTS (Source: Getty Images)

International recognition of Korean culture has come a long way since "Korean" was first added to the OED in 1933.

The success of K-pop and K-dramas initially led to the surge of interest in Korean culture and words like "hallyu" (South Korean popular culture/rise of interest in the culture) and "Korean wave" were just added.

Korean food is also heavily featured in the update, with seven new entries, including "banchan" (side dishes) and "kimbap" (rice & other ingredients wrapped in seaweed). 

Below are the complete lists of added and revised words! Are there any other words you think should be added next?

Korean words added in the September 2021 update:

Revised Korean entries in the September 2021 update:


This article was paraphrased from: OED

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