Korean slang profile

업글인간

eopgeuringan

Someone focused on personal growth and becoming better than yesterday rather than succeeding in competition with others.

Expanded form: Not documented
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Dec 31, 2019
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
승진 준비와 별개로 그림을 배우는 업글인간이 되고 싶다.
Apart from preparing for promotion, I want to keep growing by learning to draw.

02Documented history

December 2019여성동아 introduced it as someone seeking growth by managing their life and career.[1]
January 2020연합뉴스 presented it as a 2020 consumer trend forecast keyword.[2]

03Origin & word formation

여성동아 explains it as a self-improvement-oriented person who upgrades themselves and pursues growth over success. The expression’s first user and time could not be established.

Evidence for the origin explanationMedium

The explanation in the body of the source was checked, but the first user could not be identified.

04Sources

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

2020 TREND KEYWORD (여성동아)Published Dec 31, 2019Original source checked Nov 13, 2026
[포토무비] '멀티페르소나' '업글인간'…키워드로 본 2020년 트렌드 (연합뉴스)Published Jan 6, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026