“If ‘Hotteokjipge’ isn’t the thick paper that holds Hotteok, then what on earth does it mean?” This article explains Korean slangs used in idol fan communities and online communities. [Editor’s Note]
Every idol fan has a “최애(choeae)” idol. In the idol industry, “choeae” is a word that refers to one’s favorite idol member, short for “I love the most.” Often thought of as a slang word, it’s actually listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary as “most beloved.”
Today’s K-slang word is the opposite of “choeae”: “호떡집게(Hotteokjipge).”
In the idol industry, there’s something called a photo card. These are goods(souvenirs) with a business card-sized photo of an idol member printed on them. BTS, Blankpink, NewJeans and Zerobaseone have the photocards too. Photocards of popular idol members can be worth a fortune, but photocards of less popular members are often discarded without hesitation.
Taking a brief detour, here’s a quick, simple explanation about the food “Hotteok.”
Hotteok is one of South Korea’s street foods. It’s made with flour or glutinous rice dough, filled with sugar, pressed flat, and baked. It’s a classic winter street food. However, freshly made hotteok is hot and you need something to hold onto it, usually a rectangular piece of thick paper folded into the shape of tongs.
By now, you might have caught on. The term “호떡집게”(Hotteokjipge) refers to the photocards of unpopular idol members. Since they can neither be sold at high prices nor traded for other idol members’ photocards due to their lack of popularity, they’re considered useful only as hotteok tongs– something to hold onto without much value.
One internet user even described the term “Hotteokjipge” as a word that signifies “the loss of humanity.” Idol members who fall victim to such slang might be startled at the mere sight of a Hotteok.
