헬조선

Korean

Etymology

From 헬 (hel, from English hell) +‎ 조선(朝鮮) (Joseon, “Joseon, archaic name for Korea”). The "hell" part is from Korean slang referring to an extremely difficult situation, and the "Joseon" name refers to the supposed backwardsness of South Korean society and excessive work being compared to the Joseon Dynasty.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [he̞ʎd͡ʑo̞sʰʌ̹n]
• Phonetic hangul: [헬조선]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	Heljoseon
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	Heljoseon
McCune–Reischauer?	Heljosŏn
Yale Romanization?	heylcosen

Proper noun

헬조선 • (Heljoseon) (hanja —朝鮮)

1. (Internet slang, derogatory) "Hell Joseon", South Korea [mainly used in the mid-2010s]

Synonyms

• 개한민국(韓民國) (Gaehanmin'guk)
• 망한민국(亡韓民國) (Manghanmin'guk)
• 지옥(地獄)불반도(半島) (Jiokbulbando)

Descendants

• Japanese: ヘル朝鮮(ちょうせん) (heruchōsen)