Korean BJ Slang: 30 Streaming and Chat Terms Explained

Where the vocabulary comes from

Much of this vocabulary grew up on AfreecaTV, the Korean platform whose broadcasters were called BJs. On 15 October 2024 the platform became SOOP and, according to a Newsis report (in Korean), changed the official name for its broadcasters from BJ to streamer.

Not every word changed. A Hankook Ilbo report (in Korean) notes that a creator's 방송국 (broadcast station) became a 채널 (channel), while 별풍선, the star balloon gift, kept its name because of what it had come to symbolize.

That is why recordings made before and after the change can use different words for the same thing, and why fans, titles and older clips still say BJ and KBJ while the platform says streamer.

People and places

Titles and roles you will see in stream titles, in chat and on channel pages.

BJ · 스트리머BJ · seuteurimeo

BJ, broadcasting jockey, was the AfreecaTV title for a broadcaster. Since October 2024 SOOP officially says 스트리머, streamer, but viewers use both.

숲 · 아프리카TVsup · Afreeca TV

The platform's current and former names. Recordings from before 15 October 2024 often carry AfreecaTV branding.

채널 · 방송국chaeneol · bangsongguk

A creator's page for posts and replays. It was called a 방송국, a broadcast station, before the 2024 rename.

방장bangjang

Literally room chief: the host of a broadcast room. Chat often uses it to address the streamer.

매니저maenijeo

Manager: a viewer the host has appointed to help run the chat, for example by muting spam.

애청자aecheongja

A devoted regular viewer. The word literally means someone who loves watching.

Broadcast types and timing

Words for when a broadcast starts and ends, what it is called and who takes part.

뱅온baeng-on

Broadcast on: the stream has just started. It combines 방송, broadcast, with the English word on.

방종bangjong

Short for 방송 종료: the end of a broadcast.

방제bangje

Short for 방송 제목: the broadcast title, which hosts often change during a stream.

합방hapbang

Short for 합동 방송: a joint broadcast with two or more hosts.

소통방송sotong bangsong

A talk broadcast in which conversation with the chat is the main activity.

엑셀방송eksel bangsong

Excel broadcast: a group broadcast that keeps a ranking of star balloons on screen, laid out like a spreadsheet.

The last term, 엑셀방송, is named after an on-screen table. A 2024 Dailian report (in Korean) defines it as a broadcast that shows the star balloon ranking on one side of the screen like a spreadsheet, and notes that one star balloon then sold for 100 won.

Gifts, subscriptions and fan ranks

Support vocabulary comes from the platform's own features. Its 2021 platform report (in Korean) describes star balloons as gifts that viewers can send to a BJ while watching live, and subscriptions as a way to support a BJ with a fixed amount every month.

별풍선byeolpungseon

Star balloon: the virtual gift viewers buy and send to hosts on SOOP. The name survived the 2024 rebrand.

별풍 · 풍byeolpung · pung

Short forms of 별풍선. 풍을 쏘다, to shoot balloons, means sending them.

구독gudok

A monthly subscription to a channel, usually with extras such as subscriber-only emoticons.

팬클럽paenkeulleop

Fan club: viewers who have sent a host star balloons join that host's fan club and get a badge in chat.

열혈팬yeolhyeolpaen

Literally hot-blooded fan: one of the top-ranked supporters in a host's fan club, listed on the channel.

리액션riaeksyeon

Reaction: the host's on-camera response to a gift. Many hosts have set reactions for particular amounts.

Chat shorthand

Korean chat moves fast, so much of it is typed with consonants alone or with borrowed English words.

ㅋㅋㅋkeukeukeu

Laughter, like lol. It is the first consonant of 크크; a longer row usually means funnier.

ㅎㅇ · ㅂㅂhai · baibai

Hi and bye-bye, from 하이 and 바이바이. Common when a viewer joins or leaves.

ㅇㅈinjeong

Short for 인정: agreed, or fair point.

ㄷㄷdeoldeol

From 덜덜, trembling: surprise, awe or mock fear.

ㅠㅠyuyu

Two crying eyes: sadness, being moved, or playful self-pity.

눈팅nunting

Watching without chatting, like lurking. It joins 눈, eye, with the end of 채팅, chatting.

텐션tensyeon

Energy or hype, from the English word tension. 텐션이 높다 means the room is lively.

드립deurip

An ad-libbed joke or line, from the English ad-lib.

Chat rules and replays

Hosts and managers keep the chat in order, and many broadcasts can be watched again later.

채금chaegeum

Short for 채팅 금지: a chat mute, often temporary.

강퇴gangtoe

Short for 강제 퇴장: being removed from a broadcast.

블랙beullaek

Blacklist: a ban that keeps a viewer out of a channel's broadcasts.

다시보기dasi bogi

Literally watching again: a replay of a past broadcast, also called a VOD.

Reading chat in a replay

In a recording, the chat and on-screen overlays belong to the moment of the broadcast. A sudden wave of ㅋㅋㅋ, a thank-you reaction or a ranking table usually answers something in the room, such as a joke, a gift or a mission, that a short clip may leave out.

Names can be out of date, too. An AfreecaTV watermark, a BJ title or a 방송국 link dates the recording; it does not show which platform or name the host uses today.

On SKBJ, each broadcaster has a page listed under Actors, which collects their videos in one place.

Topics such as dancing and singing are listed under Tags, alongside many other tags.

Frequently asked questions