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Korean · Aegyo & Fish Farms

어장관리

eojang gwalli

uh-jahng-GWAHL-lee · /ʌ.dʑaŋ kwal.li/

Keeping admirers on the line like stocked fish — breadcrumbing, Korean-style.

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"fish-farm management"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

A masterpiece of Korean compound-building: 어장 (fish farm) + 관리 (management) — the practice of keeping several romantic prospects fed, hopeful, and uncommitted, like fish in a stocked pond. "쟤 어장관리 당하는 중이야" — he's being fish-farmed — is the standard friend-group diagnosis for a situationship going nowhere. The fish themselves are 물고기; the manager is an 어장관리자. Accusing someone directly ("어장관리 하지 마," stop farming me) is a real relationship-defining move, hence the 2. Adjacent vocabulary: 밀당 (see next entry), and 썸 (some) — the pre-dating "something" phase Korea named because it needed to.

Heard in the wild

답장은 하는데 만나자곤 안 해? 그거 어장관리야.

She replies but never agrees to meet? You're being fish-farmed.

Where it lands

South Korea (universal); dating-culture core vocabulary

Quick answers

What does "어장관리" mean?
In Korean, "어장관리" means "Keeping admirers on the line like stocked fish — breadcrumbing, Korean-style.". Literally it's "fish-farm management". A masterpiece of Korean compound-building: 어장 (fish farm) + 관리 (management) — the practice of keeping several romantic prospects fed, hopeful, and uncommitted, like fish in a stocked pond. "쟤 어장관리 당하는 중이야" — he's being fish-farmed — is the standard friend-group diagnosis for a situationship going nowhere. The fish themselves are 물고기; the manager is an 어장관리자. Accusing someone directly ("어장관리 하지 마," stop farming me) is a real relationship-defining move, hence the 2. Adjacent vocabulary: 밀당 (see next entry), and 썸 (some) — the pre-dating "something" phase Korea named because it needed to.
Is "어장관리" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "어장관리"?
Say it "uh-jahng-GWAHL-lee" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʌ.dʑaŋ kwal.li.

Related in Korean

꺼져 kkeojyeo kkuh-JYUH Get lost / piss off — you're telling a human to power down. 관심 없어 gwansim eopseo gwahn-sheem UHP-ssuh Not interested — the flat, load-bearing brush-off. 바람둥이 baramdungi bah-rahm-DOONG-ee Player / womanizer — a serial flirt with commitment allergies. 나쁜 놈 nappeun nom nah-ppeun NOHM You bad man / that jerk — the K-drama accusation, tears optional. 자기야 jagiya jah-gee-YAH Babe / honey — the default couple's call sign. 오빠 oppa OH-ppah Oppa — older brother, boyfriend, crush, or K-pop idol, depending on who's saying it to whom.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Shot down".

how to say "Shot down" →

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