‘God Saeng’ What It Means and How to Use It

갓생 ‘God Saeng’ is currently the most popular buzzword in Korea. Today I’m going to tell you about it easier to understand. In recent days, ‘God-Saeng’ has become a common expression in Korea. There is no place where this new word does not appear anywhere on TV, on social media, and in commercial advertisements in South Korea.

Now, let’s dig into the meaning of the most trendy Korean buzzword ‘God-Saeng.’

What is God Saeng?

갓생 ‘God-Saeng’ is a word that was created in South Korea by combining the words ‘God’ and ‘life’. Generation MZ, the Korean young generation, uses ‘God’ as a prefix to mean excellent or exemplification. This means that something has god’s level. And ‘Saeng’ means human life in Korean. In this way, the new Korean buzzword ‘God Saeng’ means god-class human life that goes beyond the human level and lives the present life very hard.

‘God Saeng’ means a life
that is lived very faithfully and hard in Korean.
It’s a Korean-style self-development movement.

This new Korean buzzword ‘God-Saeng’ means ‘a diligent life’. This lifestyle is a good example for others. For the MZ generation, this means living faithfully and focusing on real life. ‘God Saeng’ is a way of life in South Korea that people are trying to live. It is a life where you try your best and enjoy every moment. This doesn’t mean that you should work hard all the time or party all the time. Instead, it means living your life to the fullest by doing what you want to do and focusing on every moment.

How to God Saeng

The MZ generation in Korea has been discussing how to live a “God-Saeng” on social media and communicating with each other. These are some of the contemporary lifestyle patterns that are popular among young Koreans.

Here are several examples of ‘God-Saeng’ practices.

Daily Schedule and To-do List

‘God Saeng’ challengers write a life planning chart and to-do list to reach objectives and encourage one another to live a hardworking lifestyle. They lead purpose-driven life by exchanging knowledge with one another so that small actions may become habits to leading their goals.

These diligent young Koreans share their daily schedule charts on social media and encourage each other to reach their goals.

Body Profile

The Korean trend ‘body profile’ is closely related to the concept of ‘God Saeng’. To live a life that goes beyond the human level, it is important to have a healthy and fit body. This is why many young Koreans are interested in fitness and weight loss.

There are many different ways to stay healthy and fit, but one of the most popular methods is ‘body profile’. It is a way of tracking your fitness progress by taking photos and measurements of your body. This trend started in South Korea, but it has now spread to other countries as well.

There are many different ways to body profile, but the most popular method is to take front, back, and side photos of your body. Korean young people take body profile pictures after months of bodybuilder-level exercise and preparation to leave a beautiful body figure.

On the other hand, there are several concerns about the over-popularity of ‘body profile’ photo shoots. Kim Jong-Kook, a well-known South Korean singer who appeared on the hit television program ‘Running Man,’ discussed his views on the overabundance of ‘body profile’ photograph shoots on his YouTube channel ‘GYM JONG KOOK.’ Kim Jong Kook is a well-known entertainer who has kept a healthy and beautiful physique only with steady exercise without the use of any medicine for over 20 years.

In Korea, many photo studio has ‘body profile’ services that make pictures in a Korean style, just like a celebrity took a picture for a magazine. In South Korea, body profile personal training courses are very popular, with almost every gym providing them.

Miracle Morning

The greatest trend in the Korean MZ generation who practice ‘God Saeng’ is the ‘Miracle Morning’ certification shot. If there is a recent trend for self-development among the 2030 generation in Korea, it is definitely ‘Miracle Morning’. This concept derived from ‘Miracle Morning’, a bestseller ranking first on the overall bestseller list on Amazon, was published in Korea in 2016.

In Korea, there were around 300,000 posts tagged with “Miracle Morning” on social media as the ‘Miracle Morning’ challenge, in which you get up early in the morning and focus on self-improvement, became widespread. It is a ‘proof shot’ of getting up before 6 a.m. and doing self-development activities such as exercising, reading, or studying other languages.

God Saeng Fun Contents

Since the ‘God Saeng’ lifestyle is popular among young Koreans, there has been a lot of media content produced on this subject.

Come On! THE BOYZ in GOD-SAENG

‘Come On! THE BOYZ in GOD-SAENG’ is a YouTube content series with a unique concept. In this series, ‘God Saeng’ beginners, the Boyz go on an escape journey from everyday life without a manager for the first time.

 

God Saeng Planning Team

‘God Saeng Planning Team’ is a YouTube content that shows the real working lives of common MZ generation people in South Korea. It was created by GS, a Korean distribution large company.

Synonyms and Antonyms of God-Saeng

SynonymsⅠ: N-Jobler N잡러

N잡러 ‘N Jobler’ is a new Korean word that combines ‘N’ meaning revenge of two or more, ‘job’ meaning job, and ‘-er’ meaning person. This word means a person who has multiple jobs.

Korean now often have more than one job. This is called having the “N-Jobler” lifestyle. People in this generation often have many interests, and they try to do different things after their main job to find their purpose in life. The MZ generation, for example, has lost the concept of a “whole life with one job,” and spends time or weekends enjoying side jobs or hobbies after completing their main job.

On the other hand, N-Jobler’s occupations include ‘one-person media creator’ and ‘part-time delivery,’ which are typical examples. The popularity of one-person media creators is due to the growth of social media and the ease with which individuals can start a business and it has no time or place limitations.

Also, ‘part-time delivery’ is preferred by many N-Joblers because it is easy to start. You just need to install the app on your smartphone after receiving some training. And N-Joblers often make and sell small items that may be manufactured in a home or workshop, such as soap, perfume, and air freshener to connect their hobby to another job.

SynonymsⅡ: Hermione 헤르미온느

Before the buzzword ‘God Saeng’ was used, a very hardworking person was called ‘Hermione’ in South Korea.

Hermione? now, do you remind someone? Right! That Hermione from Harry Potter. Hermione is a very smart and diligent student role in Harry Potter. So once Korean called someone who had a very sincere lifestyle, Hermione. In Korea, it was mostly used as a way to express the phrase “I am Hermione in this area!”

One college student’s very tight class schedule became a big topic of a meme named ‘Kyung Hee University Hermione’. After the meme, ‘Hermione’ is used to describe someone who lives too hard in Korea.

AntonymsⅠ: YOLO 욜로

YOLO is an acronym for You Only Live Once, and it refers to the attitude of consuming one’s happiness as the most important in the present. In other words, it can be said that it is a lifestyle that is consumed for the happiness of the present without sacrificing for the future or others.

People who pursue a YOLO lifestyle are more likely to spend their money on things that make them happy now, like hobbies and trips, instead of investing in property or saving for retirement. This type of spending is different from impulsive buying because these people are choosing activities that will help them achieve their happiness, rather than simply satisfying their desire for material possessions.

Until a few years ago, YOLO was a hot lifestyle trend in Korea, before ‘God-Saeng’. South Korea is well-known for its high enthusiasm for education and excessive working hours. However, some people in South Korea have become tired of this stressful society. They turned to the YOLO lifestyle.

Korea’s common high school schedules in the 1990s, showed Koreans’ crazy zeal for education

YOLO is more focused on resting, while God-Saeng is a lifestyle that works tirelessly to achieve personal goals. These two lifestyle terms are antonyms because they have different goals.

You now know exactly what God Saeng means!

We researched in depth what the latest Korean buzzword ‘God Saeng’ is, how it is made, what media contents exist around it, and what synonyms and antonyms are available, and so on.

Now that you know all about ‘God Saeng.’ If you’re looking for a new, trendy Korean word to add to your vocabulary, ‘God Saeng’ is a perfect choice. It describes a lifestyle that is both sincere and hardworking, and it has a positive connotation among Koreans. So what are you waiting for? Try using it in your daily conversation and see how long it takes for your friends to catch on! 

Do you want to learn more about the newest Korean expressions? If you’d like to know more about Korean, have a look at our other articles.

Thank you for reading 😉