8 Korean words every K-pop fan should know (최애, 입덕, 떡밥)
K-pop fandom runs on a vocabulary of its own, and much of it never gets translated: it shows up in comments, fan letters and group chats as Korean. Knowing eight of these words lets you read the conversation instead of guessing from context.
Most are single nouns, and the full sentences below use polite 요 speech, which is the register for fan letters and public comments.
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최애
choeae
my bias (favourite member)
Literally: most loved
Your number one in a group; 차애 (chaae) is your second. 최애는 누구예요? (who is your bias?) is the first question between fans, and the word has spread to favourite foods and films too.
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입덕했어요.
ipdeokaesseoyo.
I became a fan.
Literally: I entered the fandom.
덕 is short for 덕후, the Korean take on otaku, so 입덕 is 'entering the obsession'. Leaving is 탈덕, and the 입덕 영상 (the video that got you in) is a genre of its own.
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컴백 언제예요?
keombaek eonjeyeyo?
When is the comeback?
In K-pop 컴백 means any new release, even one that arrives three months after the last. The question is asked online every week of a quiet period.
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떡밥
tteokbap
a teaser, a hint
Literally: rice-cake bait
Fishing bait, borrowed for anything a company drops before a release: a photo, a cryptic post, a changed profile picture. 떡밥 풀렸다 (the bait is out) is how fans announce a teaser.
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항상 응원할게요.
hangsang eungwonhalgeyo.
I will always support you.
The line for fan letters, comments and fan-sign events. 응원 is cheering someone on, and -(으)ㄹ게요 makes it a promise. 응원해요 alone is the shorter everyday version.
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오늘도 수고했어요.
oneuldo sugohaesseoyo.
Good work today too.
Literally: Today too, you went to trouble.
What fans comment after a performance or a long broadcast. 수고했어요 is polite but warm; 수고하셨습니다 would be the formal version, and idols say the same words back to their fans.
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막내
mangnae
the youngest member
Pronounced and romanised mangnae, though fandom spelling is usually 'maknae'. The youngest in any Korean group, at work or in a family, gets this label and the mix of teasing and protection that comes with it.
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덕질
deokjil
fan activity
The verb form is 덕질하다, 'to do fan stuff': streaming, collecting photocards, queueing for merch. It is self-aware and not at all insulting, which is why fans use it about themselves.
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A pattern worth noticing: 덕 (from 덕후) attaches to almost anything, so 입덕, 탈덕 and 덕질 all share a root. The same goes for 수고 in 수고했어요 and 수고하셨습니다, which you will hear in every behind-the-scenes video when the shoot wraps.