Korean slang profile

번개

beongae

A spontaneous meetup

An impromptu in-person gathering among people who met online, or a meetup arranged on the spot during a conversation.

This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.

01Examples, with English translations

Example by Julimmal
오늘 저녁에 번개 어때?
How about a spontaneous meetup this evening?
Quoted from a source
“멜만 보내지 말고 우리 번개 가져요.”[1]
Let's not just email—let's meet up.
English translation by Julimmal.

April 1998Let's not just email—let's meet up.[1]
April 2002Kyunghyang Shinmun: “The ability to hold offline ‘번개’ (instant meetings) is also a strength of mothers like Aunty.”[2]

Where the expression originated has not been verified. The 1998 source from Dong-A Ilbo only explains the meaning.

Evidence for the origin explanationLow

The meaning is supported, but the sources do not explain how the expression was formed.

Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.