Korean slang profile

얼짱

eoljjang

Someone with a good-looking face

A person described as having a particularly handsome or pretty face.

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

01Examples, with English translations

Example by Julimmal
고등학교 때 얼짱으로 유명했던 선배가 있었어.
There was an older student at my high school who was famous for being good-looking.
Quoted from a source
얼짱은 10, 20대 네티즌들이 미소년-미소녀를 가리키는 '얼굴 짱'의 준말로, 누군가 인터넷 사이트에 인물 사진을 올리면 이에 호감을 가진 네티즌들이 여러 사이트에 퍼나르면서 탄생한다.[2]
얼짱, short for 얼굴 짱, is used by online users in their teens and twenties for handsome boys or pretty girls. Someone posts a portrait online, and admirers spread it across other sites.
English translation by Julimmal.

August 2003Seoul Shinmun: “‘얼짱’ is a new Internet term meaning a pretty and handsome face.”[1]
October 2003얼짱, short for 얼굴 짱, is used by online users in their teens and twenties for handsome boys or pretty girls. Someone posts a portrait online, and admirers spread it across other sites.[2]

Short for “얼굴 짱.” The 2003 source from Dong-A Ilbo explicitly gives this explanation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.

Evidence for the origin explanationHigh

The explanation is explicit in the sources, and at least two sources use the same meaning. When it was first used is unknown.

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