By Joung Haseung 

The British weekly Economist has posted an article on neologisms inspired by K-pop. 

The magazine on Aug. 12 in "Dungeons and dimples: how to speak K-pop" covered the origin and use of newly coined terms related to K-pop. 

The Economist called K-pop "South Korea's most influential cultural export," adding that "this perfectly choreographed cultural phenomenon (K-pop) has developed an intricate lexicon."

It also covered terms K-pop fans use to call themselves, citing as leading examples "Army" for the fan community of BTS and "Blinks" for BLACKPINK's. 

"So if you don’t want to be a 'local' (someone ignorant of the K-pop scene), spend a few minutes learning the language. You’ll be stanning (being devoted to a certain Korean celebrity) before you know it," it added.

Other neologisms mentioned were "chonggong" (all-out attack or a co-ordinated action by K-pop fans), "dungeon" (an enforced break from the K-pop limelight or the life of a K-pop wannabe), "aegyo" (the act of being cute), "sasaeng" (an overly obsessed K-pop fan), "ssaengul" (bare face or a face without make-up) and "Koreaboo" (a non-Korean who is obsessed with Korean pop culture). 

jhaseung@korea.kr