Snowdrop – Fan Lexicon

An entirely subjective guide to some of the Snowdrop fandom lingo and in-jokes.

Just as Soo Ho and Young Ro have their own secret code, so do their fans. You won’t find these in any dictionary, or if you do, they won’t mean what they mean here. Terms that contain spoilers are hidden behind spoiler tags — simply hover over the text to read.

General Terms

Haengseong (행성): Soo Ho and Young Ro’s couple name. In practice, this becomes ‘Haengseong Couple’ (행성커플・haengseong keopeul), ‘Haengseongies’ (행성이들・haengseong-i-deul), or ‘Haengseongz’ (행성즈・haengseong-jeu). If you plug it into your average dictionary, you’ll see that ‘haengseong’ means ‘planet,’ but the actual origin of the name is a mash-up of the ‘haeng’ in ‘paper airplane’ (종이비행기) and the ‘seong’ in ‘matchstick tower’ (성냥개비탑), one of each to symbolize Young Ro and Soo Ho.* Typically, a couple name would be a mashup of the two protagonists’ names (e.g. Haesoo = Jung Hae In + Jisoo), but funnily enough, there isn’t really a good option in this case. I think the worst one is ‘Horo,’ which would make them the ‘horror’ couple ㅋㅋㅋ Fans voted in the forums to decide on the name, and after it was decided, it began appearing in the official content as well.

*n.b. In their Blu-ray couple interview, both Jung Hae In and Jisoo admitted to not understanding the origin of the name at first either.

Nunsongie (눈송이): The name for Korean Snowdrop fans. In Korean, ‘nunsong’ means ‘snowflake,’ which is why we chose to represent them using a in the episode breakdowns. When used in reference to multiple fans/the fandom at large, it takes a ‘-deul’ on the end, making it into a group (i.e. ‘nunsongie-deul’ = nunsongies). Used in a sentence, this might be, ‘I am a nunsongie,’ or ‘Nunsongie-deul, is everyone still alive?’ As with ‘haengseong,’ the fandom name was chosen via a vote in the forums.

Haesongie (해송이): The name for overseas/foreign Snowdrop fans. A mashup of the ‘hae’ from ‘overseas’ (해외・hae’oe), and the ‘songie’ from ‘nunsongie’ (눈송이). Jung Hae In used both of these terms to address fans in the Blu-ray extra content, proving that the cast really does see what goes on in the Korean forums.

Yoksongie (욕송이): This one actually has two meanings, playing off of two different meanings of ‘yok.’ One, taken from ‘yok’ in the sense of ‘yokshim,’ meaning ‘desire’ or ‘greed,’ refers to nunsongies who are constantly demanding more skinship between the main couple. The second, taken from ‘yok’ in the sense of ‘curse,’ refers to nunsongies who curse a lot in their posts (things like ‘fml’).

Ul-deu (울드): a.k.a. Snowdrop. ‘Ul-deu’ (울드) is a contraction of ‘uri deurama’ (우리 드라마), meaning ‘our drama.’ This is a common netizen contraction, not limited to Snowdrop.

Seolyakhwa (설약화): A play on words used to refer to EP01~EP04 of Snowdrop (Seolganghwa). The hanja for ‘Seolganghwa’ are 雪降花: seol (雪) ‘snow’ + gang (降) ‘fall’ + hwa (花) ‘flower.’ ‘Gang,’ though, is also a homophone for the hanja meaning ‘strong’ (強). The opposite of ‘strong’ would be ‘yak’ (弱), meaning ‘weak.’ So the joke is that EP01~EP04 are the ‘soft’ (weak) episodes, in contrast to EP05~EP16, which are the ‘hard [core]’ (strong) episodes.

Jeonsaeng (전생): Literally meaning ‘previous life’ (前生), this is another way fans commonly refer to the Seolyakhwa era, since if you go back and watch these episodes after having seen the later episodes, it almost feels like an entirely different lifetime ㅠㅠ

Seoltanghwa (설탕화): Like ‘Seolyakhwa,’ ‘Seoltanghwa‘ is another play on ‘Seolganghwa,’ used to refer specifically to EP11. The joke here is that ‘seoltang’ means ‘sugar,’ since EP11 is the episode “in charge of sweetness.”

Young-bon (영본): A shortening of ‘Young Ro bonche’ (영로 본체), which literally means ‘Young Ro’s main/original body,’ but more practically speaking means the person playing Young Ro, a.k.a. Jisoo.

Soo-bon (수본): A shortening of ‘Soo Ho bonche’ (수호 본체), which literally means ‘Soo Ho’s main/original body,’ but more practically speaking means the person playing Soo Ho, a.k.a. Jung Hae In.

Eun Young Ro (Jisoo)

Katki (갓기): ‘Baby’ (as in ‘an infant,’ not the pet name).

Katki Cheonsa (갓기 천사): ‘Baby angel.’ She’s also been called ‘Soo Ho’s personal guardian angel.’ This is a play on words, since ‘guardian angel’ is ‘sooho cheonsa’ (written with the same hanja as his name). In Korean, the full phrase is ‘Soo Ho-man-ui sooho cheonsa’ (수호만의 수호천사), where ‘man’ means ‘only’ and ‘ui’ is a possessive particle.

Kangjwi (강쥐): One of many words that mean ‘puppy.’

Eun-daengdaeng (은댕댕): ‘Eun-puppy.’ ‘Daengdaeng’ or ‘daengdaeng-ie’ is another way to say ‘puppy’ in Korean.

Yongmaeng Kangaji (용맹강아지): ‘Brave puppy.’ From ‘yongmaeng,’ meaning ‘brave,’ and ‘kangaji,’ which is yet another, (and probably the most common) way of saying ‘puppy.’

Yongmaeng Maltijeu (용맹말티즈): ‘Brave Maltese,’ ‘maltijeu’ being the Korean pronunciation of the breed name. The idea is that she’s tiny and cute, with guts disproportionate to her size. In contrast, Soo Ho is typically likened to a Doberman.

Nunmul Tokki (눈물토끼): Literally meaning ‘tear-bunny,’ this nickname originated from the caricature that Jung Hae In drew of Jisoo/Young Ro during their interview with Harper’s Bazaar Korea. It also just makes a lot of sense given her appearance and all the tears she sheds ㅠㅠ

Ddallang-ddoong-ddang (딸랑뚱땅): Korean fans started using ‘dallang ddoong-ddang’ in reference to Young Ro after Jisoo spontaneously coined the term while filming EP11, saying simply that it ‘was Young Ro.’ No such word exists, but the feeling it gives off is spazzy and loveable. She was riffing off of ‘eolleong ddoong-ddang’ (얼렁뚱땅) at the time, which is used to describe ‘wiggling’ out of something or avoiding something by playing games. It blew up among the show’s fans, and I’m now so used to seeing it in the forums and even the editing on the official behind-the-scenes videos that it feels like it should be a real word.

Eun Pokseu (은폭스): Literally ‘Eun Fox.’ Used to refer to Young Ro when she does something that seems calculated to make Soo Ho swoon.

Im Soo Ho (Jung Hae In)

Yeong-Chin-Nom (영친놈): This is my favorite Soo Ho nickname, and probably the one that gets used the most in the forums. The phrase is a contraction of ‘Young Ro-e michin nom‘ (영로에 미친 놈), meaning ‘A nom who is crazy for Young Ro.’ ‘Nom’ can mean anything from ‘guy’ to ‘bastard’ depending on the intent of the user, and although ‘michin nom’ (미친놈) commonly translates to ‘crazy bastard,’ it’s being used fondly here. As you can see, the ‘Young’ from Young Ro’s name has replaced the ‘mi’ in ‘michin’ (i.e. ‘crazy’). The nickname is used as both a descriptor and an explanation.

Im Pokseu (임폭스): Literally ‘Im Fox.’ Used to refer to Soo Ho whenever he does something that seems calculated to make Young Ro (or another innocent bystander) swoon.

Im-gyeonju (임견주): Literally, ‘Im Dog-owner.’ Sometimes used in reference to Young Ro, sometimes used in reference to Gyeok Chan (see ‘Joo-wawa’ below).

Daehyung-gyeon/Dobereumaen (대형견/도베르맨): ‘Daehyung-gyeon’ means ‘large dog,’ while ‘dobereumaen’ is the Korean pronunciation of the breed name ‘Doberman.’ Both are used to describe Soo Ho as a large and protective (and occasionally attack-)dog. In contrast, Young Ro gets likened to a Maltese. As far as I’m aware, ‘daehyung-gyeon’ first appeared in the editing of the behind-the-scenes footage of the couple-poster photoshoot. Fan lingo is really a two-way street: some of the terms are taken from the official content and adopted by fans, while others are taken from the fans and adopted by the official content editors.

Im-daengdaeng (임댕댕): ‘Im-puppy.’ This doesn’t get used as often as any of the above, and usually when it does, it’s in reference to Soo Ho during the Seolyakhwa/Jeonsaeng era, although there are a few exceptions. It also appears in the official behind-the-scenes videos at least once, if I’m not mistaken.

Jwojang Dongji (줘장동지): This is a slurring of ‘jojang dongji,’ meaning ‘Comrade Commander,’ which is how (primarily) Eung Cheol addresses Soo Ho. Gyeok Chan tends to leave off the respectful ‘dongji’ and just call Soo Ho ‘jojang,’ or ‘commander.’ There’s no real meaning to it, other than that it sounds humorous. Korean netizens will often intentionally misspell words this way either for emphasis or humour. Another example might be ‘swek-kki’ (쉭끼) for ‘saekki’ (새끼), which is more or less the equivalent of writing ‘jwerk’ instead of ‘jerk.’ It gives off a playful feel, and can sometimes serve to soften a harsh word.

Ingan Im Soo Ho (인간 임수호): Used in reference to Jung Hae In. Literally, this means ‘Human Im Soo Ho,’ which doesn’t make much sense considering Soo Ho is already a human being. Typically, the phrasing would be used to describe the incarnation of something. For example, Jisoo is sometimes called an ‘Ingan Dior’ meaning ‘Human Dior,’ in the sense that she’s ‘a walking Dior,’ or ‘Dior personified.’ Fans started using ‘Ingan Im Soo Ho’ to refer to Jung Hae In, though, after watching the behind-the-scenes footage of the actor interpreting his character’s thoughts and emotions, meaning it in the sense that he’s ‘Im Soo Ho personified’ or ‘a real-life Im Soo Ho.’ Even Korean fans acknowledge that the phrasing is funny, for the same reason mentioned above. In spite (or perhaps because) of this, the moniker stuck.

​​Yujwe Ingan (유죄 인간): Used in reference to both Soo Ho and Jung Hae In. Literally, ‘Guilty/Sinful Human.’ ‘Yujwe’ (literally ‘have + guilt/sin/crime’) is commonly used in netizen-speak to mean ‘guilty’ [of being ‘sexy/attractive’]. For example, fans might say ‘nunbit yujwe’ meaning, ‘[his] gaze is guilty’ when the expression in Soo Ho’s eyes is sexy, heartbreaking, or otherwise compelling (this was actually used in the official BTS editing). It can also be used in contrast to ‘mujwe,’ meaning ‘blameless’ (literally ‘lack + guilt/sin/crime’). One example of this might be, ‘Im Soo Ho yujwe, nunsongie-deul mujwe,’ meaning, ‘Im Soo Ho is guilty/at fault [for being so attractive/heartbreaking/etc.], Nunsongies are blameless [for being so attracted to him].’ As with ‘Ingan Im Soo Ho,’ referring to Soo Ho or Jung Hae In as a ‘yujwe ingan’ is basically calling him ‘yujwe incarnate’ heh.

Other Characters

207-hojeu (207호즈): ‘Room 207z,’ where the ‘z’ is the Korean approximation of the English plural ‘s.’ Used collectively to refer to the girls of Room 207: Eun Young Ro, Yeo Jeong Min, Go Hye Ryeong, and Yoon Seol Hee. In Korean, this is pronounced ‘i-baek-chil-ho-jeu’ (이백칠호즈).

Kancheop-jeu (간첩즈): a.k.a. ‘Kancheopz.’ By the same token as the above, this is used to refer collectively to Im Soo Ho, Li Eung Cheol, and Ju Gyeok Chan, the three North Korean operatives. ‘Kancheop’ means ‘spy’ or ‘espionage agent’ in general, but is typically used to mean a spy from the North more specifically. There’s a definite derogatory or value-judgment element to it, though, so you may notice that it’s only used by the South Korean characters or characters who are pretending to be South Korean. In contrast, the North Koreans use the more neutral ‘gocheop’ (고첩) or ‘cheopja’ (첩자).

Gang Mu-neung (강무능): A play on Gang Mu’s name (강무) and the word ‘muneung’ (무능), meaning ‘incompetent’ or ‘incapable.’ Refers to the number of times Lee Gang Mu tried and failed to escape due to being thwarted by Soo Ho.

Gang Ddo-mukk (강또묶): A mashup of the ‘Gang’ from ‘Lee Gang Mu’ (이강무), ‘mukk-da’ (묶다), meaning ‘to tie up,’ and ‘ddo’ (또), meaning ‘again.’ So, basically, ‘Gang Mu-again-tied up,’ referring to the number of times he escapes his bonds only to be tied up all over again heh.

Joo-wawa (주와와): Used in reference to Joo Gyeok Chan, a mashup of his surname (주) and the Korean for ‘chihuahua’ (치와와). The nickname is less because of his appearance and more because he’s loud and gets worked up easily heh.

Joo-bosal (주보살): In direct contrast to the above, this one means ‘Joo Bodhisattva.’ Used by fans to refer to the number of times Gyeok Chan was ordered by Soo Ho to ‘stay’ or ‘stand down,’ or otherwise turn a blind eye while Soo Ho pretended not to be in love with Young Ro, in appreciation for his patience.

Ssang Tae/Tae Tae (쌍태/태태): Used to refer to Gwang Tae and Byeong Tae collectively. ‘Ssang’ means ‘double.’

Kae Bun Ok-ie (개분옥이): This one is actually quite rude, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sympathize. It plays off of her last name ‘Gye’ (계) by substituting it with ‘Gae/Kae’ (개), which sounds very similar. Literally, ‘kae’ means ‘dog,’ but adding it to the front of a word is the Korean equivalent of the f-word: it can be used to turn something into a curse word or in uncouth emphasis. Needless to say, I wouldn’t recommend using it in polite company.

Iconic Lines

These are fashioned after ‘saja seongeo’ (사자성어) i.e. ‘four-character idioms.’ An example might be ‘chil-jeon-pal-gi’ (칠전팔기・七顚八起), which means something like, ‘fall down seven times, and get up eight,’ used to mean ‘perseverance.’ Typically, they’re words of wisdom. In this case, though, four key syllables from an iconic line were taken and made into something that looks like a saja seongeo, but will have no meaning to the average Korean.

All of the following were included in the support gifts sent to the cast at the recording session for the Blu-ray commentary, meaning that, if they weren’t already aware of them from seeing them in the forums, they will certainly know and recognize them all now.

Ddok-I-Ddok-Sam (똑이똑삼/똑2똑3): Literally, ‘Knock 2 knock 3,’ referring to Young Ro and Soo Ho’s secret code (knock-knock, knock-knock-knock). Or, in Korean, ‘ddok-ddok ddok-ddok-ddok’ (똑똑 똑똑똑).

Kyeong-Na-Keu-Juk (경나그죽): A shorthand for Soo Ho’s iconic line from EP05: “I’m warning you, don’t act up. You could get killed that way.” In Korean, this is ‘Kyeonggo-haneunde, nadaeji-ma. Keureoda jugeul su-do isseo’ (경고하는데 나대지마 그러다 죽을 수도 있어).

Ip-Yok-Nun-Sa (입욕눈사): Used in reference to Soo Ho to describe his habit of saying harsh words that don’t match his true feelings. Unlike the other phrases in this category, this one doesn’t actually derive from a line in the script. It was coined by fans to mean that his lips are spitting poisonous words, but his eyes are saying ‘love.’ More literally, ‘cursing with his mouth, loving with his eyes’ (‘mouth-curse eyes-love’). In Korean, this is ‘Ip-euro yok-hago nun-euro sarang-handa’ (입으로 욕하고 눈으로 사랑한다).

Ni-Na-Bbal-Sae (니나빨새): A shorthand for Young Ro’s iconic line from EP06: “You get out! This is our dorm, you Red bastard!” In Korean, this is ‘Ni-ga naga. Yeogi-n uri kisuksa i bbalggaeng-i saekki-ya!’ (니가 나가. 여긴 우리 기숙사 이 빨갱이 새끼야!). When the line first appeared in the EP06 preview, it sent the fan community into a delighted uproar, since no one could have imagined Young Ro using such a harsh curse.  

Neo-Nae-Nu-Mo (너내누모): A shorthand for Young Ro’s other iconic line from EP06: “You.. don’t know who I am, do you?” In Korean, this is ‘Neo, nae-ga nugun-ji moreu-ji?’ (너 내가 누군지 모르지). The line first appeared in one of the teaser trailers, generating a lot of speculation as to its context. For one thing, the line is in banmal, leading some to suspect it was internal dialogue, since it was assumed to be directed at Soo Ho, but fans couldn’t imagine Young Ro using banmal towards Soo Ho if she was speaking to him out loud. The other surprising thing was her use of ‘neo’ (one of several ways to say ‘you’). ‘Neo’ is typically only used towards people you’re close with or who are younger/less senior than yourself. Depending on the context, it can also be rather rude, so Young Ro’s addressing Soo Ho as ‘neo’ was also a bit of a question mark.

All of these questions were eventually answered when the drama aired, of course. Young Ro, who had previously spoken to Soo Ho politely, calling him ‘Soo Ho-ssi’ and using jondaetmal (occasionally even mixing in additional levels of honorifics), started speaking to him in banmal and calling him ‘neo’ as of the scene at the start of EP06 when he bandages her hand. The change signals that she’s given up on him and is a reflection of her resentment towards him. Notably, she returns to her previous politeness — and to addressing him by name — as of EP11, once they’ve cleared the air between them.

Nae-Meon-Neo-Sal (내먼너살): A shorthand for Soo Ho’s line from EP09: “I have to find you first in order to save you.” In Korean, this is ‘Nae-ga meonjeo chaja-ya neol sallil su isseo’ (내가 먼저 찾아야 널 살릴 수 있어). Unlike in Young Ro’s case, Soo Ho calling her ‘neo’ doesn’t have the same element of rudeness to it. It is casual/familiar enough, though, that he only started addressing her this way after he dropped to banmal in EP05. Prior to that, during the Seolyakhwa episodes, he spoke to her in jondaetmal and addressed her politely as ‘Young Ro-ssi.’

Other

Semi-Chang Soo (세미창수): Literally what it sounds like. The ‘semi’ here is from English, meaning ‘partly.’ Fans started referring to themselves as ‘Semi-Chang Soo’ somewhere around EP08 to mean they felt parentally protective towards Young Ro.

Semi-Soo Hee (세미수희): A later addition by the same token as the above. Used to mean one felt familially protective of Soo Ho, almost as if they were his sister, Soo Hee.

~Ireonanda!! (~일어난다!!): MAJOR SPOILER: This really isn’t funny, except it sort of is. It’s taken from a line of Eun Chang Soo’s while he’s at his son’s deathbed. Unwilling to accept Young Woo had really died, he continues calling out to him, saying “Eun Young Woo gets up!!” (‘Eun Young Woo ireonanda!!‘). Fans later adapted it, either in despair (‘Im Soo Ho ireonanda!!‘ㅠㅠㅠㅠ) or in jest (‘Blu-ray ireonanda!!). The latter was a common refrain in the forums when it was still unclear if the blu-ray would be produced or not.

Bonus

The hangeul in the above image is a statistically compiled representation of the top occurring terms in the Snowdrop DC mini gallery for the week of Jan 30~Feb 6, 2022 (the week immediately after the drama finished airing) in order of most frequently occurring; the larger the word, the more times it occurred. As you can see, a number of the words introduced above appear in the list. Courtesy of this post in the DC mini gallery.

• Why’re there so many ㅅㅂ [9] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 
• ㅅㅂ [9] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I burst out laughing ㅋㅋㅋ  
• We’re serious about the Making [3], huh...  
• I burst out laughing at ㅅㅂ [9] ㅋㅋㅋ  
• What’s with ㅅㅂ [9] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  
• ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why did we curse this much ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
  • ㅋㅋㅋ Yoksongies... Probably because of the ending.. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ