수저 (금수저, 흙수저)

밈 이름: ~sujeo (Geumsujeo, Heuksujeo)

Pronunciation: Pronounced roughly as 'soo-juh' (for ~수저), 'geum-soo-juh' (for 금수저, where 'geum' rhymes with 'gum'), and 'heuk-soo-juh' (for 흙수저, where 'heuk' rhymes with 'hook').

The '~sujeo' meme first appeared and began to be widely used around 2015 in Korean online communities. This term spread among the younger generation from the mid-2010s, expressing frustration over socioeconomic inequality and the difficulty of social mobility. Although it originated from the Western idiom 'born with a silver spoon in one's mouth,' it evolved and became more specialized into terms like 'Geumsujeo' (gold spoon) and 'Heuksujeo' (dirt spoon), reflecting the characteristics of Korean society.

The '~sujeo' meme is a discourse that metaphorically expresses the impact of parents' economic power and social status on their children's lives by comparing it to the material of a spoon. For example, people born into economically wealthy families are likened to 'Geumsujeo' (gold spoons), while those born into poor families are likened to 'Heuksujeo' (dirt spoons). This reflects the perception that parental background has a greater influence on success than individual effort, and it humorously represents a modern-day theory of social class. It is not merely used to evaluate an individual's wealth, but sometimes also as a standard to assess parents' economic capabilities through their children.

It is widely used primarily among young people in their 20s and 30s, and job seekers, who experience socioeconomic inequality and the difficulty of social mobility. They use this meme to express feelings of relative deprivation and frustration that reality is hard to change through effort alone.

• "That friend was born with a gold spoon, so they went to study abroad without any worries."
• "I'm a dirt spoon, so I'm breaking my back paying off student loans."
• "Cases where parents illegally accumulated wealth are sometimes referred to as 'Humchin-sujeo' (stolen spoon)."
• "A friend who can make people laugh just by speaking is sometimes called an 'Ut-sujeo' (laughter spoon)."
• "Children of high-ranking officials who receive special treatment in the military are sometimes called 'Gun-sujeo' (military spoon)."

While the '~sujeo' meme is used to criticize social inequality and self-deprecate about reality, there are a few precautions to consider if used excessively. First, the criteria for categorizing spoons can be ambiguous and arbitrary, potentially leading to a perception of greater disparity than actual or creating unnecessary feelings of alienation. Second, it can lead to resentment towards poor parents or animosity towards 'gold spoons,' which can deepen social conflict. Third, some people may feel uncomfortable as referring to parental background in this way can feel like disparaging one's parents.