Cushion Terms 'Bamti' and 'Jang Won-young' Reflect Youth Culture

The Chosun Ilbo · Lee Gi-woo · 2026-11-05 14:46 UTC

Cushion Terms Bamti and Jang Won-young Reflect Youth Culture Cafe 2030 Neologisms soften harsh evaluations, offering indirect praise or critique in a nosy society

It seems quite some time has passed since the emergence of the neologism “bamti.” A quick internet search shows it began trending around early last year (2025). That means it has been in use for nearly two years.

“Bamti” is primarily used to mean “rustic and uncool” or “ugly.” The term originated from the internet avatar of a netizen who used the nickname “Bamti,” which was considered quite comical. These days, it is not only applied to appearance or clothing but also to describe atmosphere or style. Examples include, “Your fashion today is so bamti” or “I bought songpyeon for Chuseok, but there were only soybean-filled ones. It was totally bamti.” Of course, there are still many who enjoy soybean-filled songpyeon.

While not as frequently used as “bamti,” there is an antonym. It uses the name of popular idol singer “Jang Won-young” as a modifier to convey the meaning of “good,” “pretty,” or “beautiful.” To reuse the earlier example of songpyeon, if one eats sesame-filled songpyeon, they might call it “Jang Won-young-style songpyeon.”

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