[TALKING TRENDS] "Jjantech"

Seo Jeong-min
The author is a senior reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo.

As interest rates, prices and exchange rates increase, consuming patterns among millennials and Gen Z have been polarized. We now see both “flexers,” who don't mind splashing out on 100,000 won ($70) of sushi, and jjantechers, who eat cheap dosirak (lunch boxes) at convenience stores.

Jjantech is a combination of jjan, the Korean word for a penny pincher, and jaetech, which refers to financial investment. In a nutshell, it means making a fortune by saving every penny.

Everyone tightens their belt more than once in their lifetime, especially when they are young. But these new words are quite interesting. Apptech is another example, a combination of the word “application” and “tech.”

After you download an application, you can earn some points by accessing the app every day, solving puzzles or completing missions. Accumulated points can be used just like money. By walking 10,000 steps every single day for a month, you can earn enough for a small cup of coffee.

Other new words started to be used among young people. "Instalment savings windmill” refers to signing up for instalment savings accounts and closing them just in time to enjoy high interest rates. Cardtech, combining card and tech, describes opening new credit cards to enjoy the benefits offered to new customers, an ongoing trends these days.

As high inflation has raised lunch prices, young office workers are calling the situation lunchflation. I feel both proud of and sorry for young people nowadays. The word jjantech itself makes me feel sad.

BY SEO JEONG-MIN [meantree@joongang.co.kr]