4 Korean Slang Terms from 기리고 (If Wishes Could Kill) That'll Make You Go 킹받아

I started 기리고 (If Wishes Could Kill) on a Tuesday night thinking I’d watch one episode before bed. By 1am I was still going. It’s the kind of show where high school kids make murderous wishes about the people they hate — and the wishes come true. Dark, fast, uncomfortably funny. But what caught my attention beyond the plot was the way the characters talk. This is not drama Korean. This is group chat Korean. The kind of stuff Korean teens actually type at each other when no adults are reading. Some of it is fine to pick up. Some of it you need to understand but never say out loud. Let me break it down.

1. 씹덕 (ssip-deok) — Vulgar Nerd/Obsessive Fan

What It Means

You probably know 덕후 (deokhu) — the Korean adaptation of “otaku,” meaning someone deeply into anime, games, idols, or any niche hobby. It’s common, mostly neutral, sometimes even affectionate between fans.

씹덕 is not affectionate.

The prefix 씹- (ssip-) is a crude intensifier in Korean slang — roughly the equivalent of attaching a harsh English expletive as emphasis. Slapping it onto 덕 turns “anime fan” into “disgusting obsessive loser.” It’s the version you use when you want to mock someone, not bond with them.

In 기리고, it gets thrown at characters to dismiss them — to say “you’re not just a nerd, you’re embarrassingly, pathetically one.” The cruelty of high school hierarchies in one word.

When You’ll Hear It

Mostly from teenage characters targeting someone they consider socially low-status. In online spaces it still floats around too, though usually with some irony when friends are ribbing each other.

Can You Use It?

With close friends who are also self-described 덕후s? Some people do. But the default assumption should be: this is an insult. If someone uses it to your face without laughing, they mean it badly.

2. 찐따 (jjin-dda) — A Slur. Full Stop.

What You Need to Know

This one requires a clear head before anything else: 찐따 is a genuine disability slur. It derives from 정신지체 (jeongsin-jiche), the older Korean clinical term for intellectual disability. The word got distorted and weaponized into 찐따 as a schoolyard insult meaning “idiot” or “moron.”

In 기리고, characters throw it around casually — the way you’d hear it in a real Korean middle or high school. That’s exactly why the show feels authentic. Korean teens do say this. That doesn’t make it okay.

The comparison in English isn’t perfect, but it’s close to how “r*tard” was used — the word has a specific origin in disability, got turned into a general insult, and causes real harm to disabled people regardless of the speaker’s intent.

Why It’s In This Post

Because you will hear it. In 기리고, in other Korean dramas with teen characters, in online comment sections. If you’re watching Korean content seriously, you’ll encounter it and wonder what was said.

Now you know. You know what it is, where it comes from, and why it lands as hard as it does.

Do Not Use It

Not as a joke. Not with friends. Not in game chat. This one is off the table entirely.

3. 빻다 (bba-ta) — Cringe, Pathetic, Trashy

What It Means

빻다 (bba-ta) is one of those words that doesn’t translate cleanly but you know it when you see it. The closest English equivalents: cringe, pathetic, embarrassing, trashy. It’s about someone who thinks they’re doing something cool but they’re actually just… not. No self-awareness. Living wrong, basically.

“저 사람 완전 빻았어” — “That person is so cringe/pathetic.”

It’s a Gen Z Korean staple. You’ll see it in comment sections, Twitter/X, gaming chats. In 기리고 it gets used to dismiss characters who are trying too hard to be intimidating or cool and failing.

How It Works in Sentences

Can You Use It?

Yes, with appropriate company. It’s rude but not a slur — closer to “cringe” in English. Use it in casual conversation to describe behavior, content, or situations. Saying it about a person to their face is obviously harsh.

My Experience with These Words

Real talk: I didn’t grow up saying 빻다 that much — it really took off with the generation below me. But I hear it constantly now. My husband came home from a work meeting once and said “오늘 회의 완전 빻았어” and I nearly spit out my coffee because I was not expecting that word from him about a business meeting. But that’s exactly how it travels — it starts in teen spaces and creeps up into everyone else’s vocabulary.

As for 씹덕: I’ve been called 덕후 by my husband plenty. (Fair. The anime shelf is a lot.) But there’s a clear line between that and 씹덕. One is teasing. The other is contempt. The show draws that line well — you can tell instantly when a character is trying to wound vs. when they’re joking.

The 찐따 thing I’ll just say directly: it made me uncomfortable watching it on screen, even knowing it reflects how some kids actually talk. I think that discomfort is appropriate.

4. 킹받다 (king-bat-da) — Infuriating

What It Means

킹받다 is a mashup of 킹 (king — as in the English word, used here as an intensifier meaning “extremely”) + 열받다 (yeol-batda), which means “to get heated/mad/annoyed.” 열받다 on its own is already common — 킹 cranks it up.

“킹받아 진짜” — “This is SO infuriating.” “I literally cannot.”

This is the word you see flooding comment sections when a drama character does something enraging. Which in 기리고 is approximately every ten minutes.

Where You’ll Hear It

Everywhere online. Game chat when someone throws a match. Comment sections when an idol’s label does something questionable. Group chats when a teacher is being unreasonable. In 기리고, almost every episode gives you a moment where a character does something so infuriating that 킹받다 is the only response.

Can You Use It?

100%. This is one of the safer Gen Z expressions — expressive, widely understood, not offensive to anyone. Say it when something frustrates you and you want to sound like an actual Korean person under 35.

Quick Reference

기리고는 진짜 킹받는 장면 많음. But that’s kind of the point. Go watch it.