“Come at me head-on” # Min Hee-jin’s unprecedented press conference
In April 2024, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin appeared at an official press conference wearing a striped t-shirt and a ball cap instead of a suit. She unleashed bold remarks, saying things like “old men trying to screw me over” and “come at me head-on (mat-da-i).” Within three days, her outfit sold out, and various parody goods were created, leaving behind an unprecedented scene where the press conference itself was consumed like a piece of hip-hop culture.
# ‘Ultra-Positive Icon’ Jang Wonyoung: “Totally Lucky Vicky”
Not all memes stem from mockery. The positive mantra “Lucky Vicky” (Lucky + Vicky, her English name) that IVE’s Jang Wonyoung often wrote in her profile expanded into “Wonyoung-esque thinking,” representing an ultra-positive mindset, and became the buzzword of the year. The fact that the chronicle of entertainment memes ends with a language of positivity is a signal that the public is equally ready to embrace positive messages.
“I drank, but…” # Kim Sang-hyuk’s ‘clumsy explanation’
In April 2005, Click-B’s Kim Sang-hyuk appeared before the police 11 hours after a hit-and-run accident. During a press conference with his agency, he left the explanation, “I drank, but I didn’t drink-drive.” Appearing on tvN’s ‘Free Doctor M’ in 2022, Kim confessed to the slip of the tongue from 17 years ago, saying it was something he said because he wanted to hide in a clumsy way. This statement, the progenitor of so-called “contradictory speech,” has been mentioned for 21 years and has established itself as the most powerful ancestor in the history of Korean memes.
“Are you okay? You must have been surprised” # Jang Soo-won’s ‘robot acting’ hit
Appearing in the idol special of ‘Love and War’ in 2014, SECHSKIES’ Jang Soo-won shocked viewers by delivering this line with stiff, robot-like acting that lacked any emotion. However, this fatally bad acting evolved into a likable meme thanks to its unique addictiveness, and he turned the crisis into an opportunity by using it to film numerous commercials.
“Felt like a taste” # Chae Soo-bin’s ‘dating rumor with a baseball player’
After a dating rumor with baseball player Koo Ja-wook ended as a mere happening in 2015, Chae Soo-bin described it in an interview as feeling like a “taste” (preview) of life in the entertainment industry. Netizens linked this to the dating rumor and gave Koo Ja-wook the nickname “Mat-ja-wook” (Taste-ja-wook), which is still used today, 11 years later.
“Cool profession” # The twist of ‘upright man’ Jung Woo-sung
In November 2024, before the fallout from the controversy over a child born out of wedlock with model Moon Gabi had settled, Instagram DMs believed to have been sent by actor Jung Woo-sung to non-celebrity women were revealed. Phrases like “Cool profession” and “You’re bad,” used as opening greetings, shattered the image of the “upright man” he had built over 30 years. This is the highest record for a “flirting meme” updated for the first time in nine years since Lee Byung-hun’s “Romantic, successful.”
“Unnie, you don’t like me, right?” # Yewon’s ‘chilling power struggle’
On the set of the variety show ‘Tutor’ in 2015, the entertainment world was turned upside down when a video of a chilling nerve war between actress Lee Tae-im, who had jumped into the winter sea, and Yewon was leaked. Yewon’s single line, “Unnie, you don’t like me, right?” following “Where do you get off speaking informally to me?”, became a magic spell summoned whenever a strange power struggle occurs.
“I absolutely did not…” # Park Yoo-chun’s ‘crocodile tears’
In April 2019, when drug use allegations surfaced, Park Yoo-chun requested an emergency press conference and claimed his innocence with tears, declaring, “I absolutely did not do drugs. If the charges are proven true, I will retire from the entertainment industry.” However, just 19 days later, he admitted to the charges and an arrest warrant was issued. He later reneged on his retirement pledge and continues to be active overseas. Both his innocence and his promise to retire ended as lies that deceived the public, and in the end, only the adverb “absolutely” (gyeol-dan-ko) remained as a bitter meme.
“I am trust” # Jeon Cheong-jo’s ‘fraud of the century’
Jeon Cheong-jo shook South Korea in the fall of 2023. Appearing as the remarriage partner of former national fencer Nam Hyun, Jeon Cheong-jo was arrested on charges of impersonating a third-generation chaebol. The strange hybrid language “I am trust” (I am 신뢰에요) in a KakaoTalk message sent to an acquaintance became a national buzzword. In a fraud that left dozens of victims, the “trust” he shouted about was eventually only etched into the court’s judgment.
