Doenjang girl
South Korean pejorative term for women
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Doenjang girl or doenjang woman (Korean: 된장녀; RR: doenjang nyeo) is a pejorative neologism used in South Korea to criticize women who "[scrimp] on essentials so they can over-spend on conspicuous luxuries".[1] Doenjang is Korean fermented soybean paste.[2] The term mocks a woman for eating a cheap meal (doenjang-jjigae is one of the cheapest meals in Korea) so she can buy something expensive.[3] A large part of the song "Gangnam Style" is a parody of this stereotype.[1][3]
The term first entered the language after Korea's early-2000s economic upswing.[4] According to Jee Eun Regina Song, the concept of this woman is "best exemplified by the Starbucks cup in her hand".[5] In South Korea, Starbucks symbolizes aspirational wealth and drinking Starbucks coffee is a status symbol; Seoul as of 2015 had more franchises than any other city in the world.[3] Coffee after 1999 became a symbol of class.[3]
According to the BBC, the term is inherently sexist;[4] according to Song, the issues are both of gender and class.[5] The BBC said that the term refers to the idea that "no matter how many Chanel bags she buys, she'll never be able to disguise her 'Korean-ness', and that this kind of spending was something to be mocked."[4] There is a male equivalent in the form of doenjang nam (된장남), though it is less used than its female counterpart.[6]
