Korean slang profile

공구

gonggu

A group purchase

Buying something together in a group to get a lower bulk price.

Expanded form: 공동구매A group purchase
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Mar 25, 2002
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
이 제품 공구 열렸어.
There's a group-buying offer for this product.
Quoted from a source
‘공동구매(공구)’가 인터넷 쇼핑몰의 효자상품으로 부상하고 있다.[1]
‘Group purchasing (공구)’ is emerging as a profitable product for internet shopping malls.
English translation by Julimmal.

02Documented history

April 2000According to an Electronic Newspaper report, Samsung Mall has started a group purchasing service.[1]
March 2002Electronic Newspaper reported that ‘Group Purchase (공구)’ is emerging as a popular product for internet shopping malls.[1]

03Origin & word formation

Short for 공동구매, meaning group purchasing. An Electronic Times article from 2002 places the abbreviation beside the full form. The exact beginning of this shortened usage has not been verified.

Evidence for the origin explanationHigh

The article explicitly identifies it as short for 공동구매. When people began shortening it is unknown.

04Sources

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

인터넷 공동구매 쇼핑몰서 `효자노릇` (전자신문)Published Mar 25, 2002Original source checked Nov 5, 2026