On July 21, 2026, South Korea's Yonhap News reported that "Hanbon-go (hanbono)," a mix of Korean (hangugo) and Japanese (nihongo), is being used among Japanese youth.

According to the article, due to the influence of K-POP idols with Japanese members, Japanese-style expressions, such as the greeting "Yaho~ (hello)," are also trending among Korean youth. Meanwhile, in Japan, "Hanbon-go" and Korean words are said to be used daily within SNS and K-POP fan culture.

As a typical example, the article introduced that K-POP fans incorporate words such as "saranghae (I love you)," "oppa (older brother)," "jikkem (fan-shot video)," "yeongtong (video call)," and "maknae (youngest child, youngest member of a group)" directly into their conversations.

Furthermore, it is reported that words like "chincha sore na," which combines "chincha (seriously, really)" with Japanese, "maji komawo" and "maji mianhae," which add the Japanese "maji (seriously)," and "yaba inde (it's bad, but/you know it's bad)," which adds the Korean suffix "inde (~ but/you know)" to "yabai (bad/awesome)," are also frequently used.

The article mentioned that in a survey conducted last year by "Shibuya Trend Research," a Japanese youth research organization, targeting 100 high school students, the Korean word "gwaenchanha (it's okay)" ranked tied for 3rd place in the buzzword ranking. It also touched upon the fact that in 2023, "Kaisei Academy Korean Language School," a Japanese Korean language education institution, introduced "Hanbon-go" on its official website.

According to the article, experts point out that "the popularity of Hanbon-go can be seen as a result of a significant increase in human exchange and interaction between the two countries, and at the same time, a phenomenon indicating that the relationship between the two countries has entered a more horizontal and equal stage." Because South Korea and Japan are in similar social and economic environments, the younger generation not only perceives the other country's language and culture simply as "foreign things" but also enjoys and naturally incorporates each other's culture into their daily lives without being conscious of borders.

From Korean netizens, comments such as "They're talking about horizontal relationships and whatnot, but it's just a buzzword, isn't it?" "There's no need to make an article about a temporary trend." "An equal relationship? That's megalomania." and "Anyway, citizens of all countries around the world are horizontal and equal" were received.

On the other hand, many positive comments were also seen, such as "The past is the past, and I think it's good to learn Japanese words little by little like this," "Let's take this opportunity to start studying Japanese," and "Japanese is easy for Koreans to pick up. They seem to improve quickly." (Translation/Editing: Asa-e)