Korean slang profile
소확행
sohwakhaeng
Small, certain joys
Small but tangible moments of happiness in everyday life, or an attitude of seeking those moments.
- Expanded form
- 작지만 확실한 행복(小確幸)Small, certain joys
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Nov 18, 2017
- Documented trend period
- Late 2017~
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
퇴근길에 먹는 붕어빵이 내 소확행이야.
The bungeoppang I eat on my way home from work is one of my small joys.
- Quoted from a source
‘작지만 확실한 행복, 소확행(小確幸)’이다.[1]
It is ‘small but certain happiness, 소확행(小確幸)’.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- November 2017It was reported that ‘Trend Korea 2018’ selected ‘Small but certain happiness, 소확행(小確幸)’ as its first trend keyword.[1]
- November 2017The same article explained that the 2030 generation prefers a life of pursuing happiness, such as ‘욜로 (YOLO)’, but is changing their attitude toward pursuing small but certain happiness as an answer.[1]
03Origin & word formation
Segye Ilbo presents it as a keyword from Trend Korea 2018 and gives the Chinese characters 小確幸. That article alone does not establish who first used it or when it entered Korean usage.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
Only the Chinese-character spelling and its selection as a trend keyword were verified. The word's origin was not established.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 2030 사로잡은 소확행(小確幸)… 각양각색 매력 보유한 맞춤형 부동산 눈길 (세계일보)Published Nov 18, 2017Original source checked Nov 5, 2026