Korean slang profile
밤도깨비
bamdokkaebi
Mischievous person awake at night
A figurative expression for someone who stays awake at night doing odd things or playing pranks.
- Expanded form
- Not documented
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- 2006
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
늦게까지 깨어 장난치는 스스로를 밤도깨비 같다고 했다.
Staying up late and playing around, I called myself a 밤도깨비.
02Documented history
- 2006This source introduced “밤도깨비” and explained its meaning.[1]
03Origin & word formation
A 2006 National Institute of Korean Language paper explains it as comparing nighttime activity to a dokkaebi. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
The paper’s individual definition was checked. It analyzes expressions surveyed in 2002–2005, so this does not mean they first arose in 2006.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 최근 신어의 조어적 특징 — 새국어생활16권4호 (국립국어원)Published 2006Original source checked Nov 14, 2026