Gayspeak: 벅차다

It's been a while since I've introduced some queer slang, but a 끼순이 introduced me to this word last weekend. While it is hard to directly translate in English, I think it is worth knowing.

벅차다 (beok-cha-da)

According to the Korean gay dictionary, 벅차다 is used to describe gays who have many personal connections in the gay community. The first time I heard it, it was combined with 년 (bitch) to form 벅찬년 (for an article that looks at the appropriateness of gays to use this word among themselves from the perspective of a female, check out '벅찬 년', '보갈 년'에 대한 어느 레즈비언의 소고). The person in question had a facebook account that was only used to connect with other gay males; 벅차다 is used not only for people who frequent bars and clubs a lot, but also those who have a lot of friends online.

Jongno: Home to many 벅찬년s (Source)


The word isn't used really as a compliment. Rather, as the boundary between friendship and love can be ambiguous there are often worries about someone cheating on their lover. A 벅찬년 would often break up with a boyfriend soon after they started dating.