행복회로

"Haengbokhoero" (행복회로) is pronounced roughly as:

• "Haeng" like the "hang" in "hang out."
• "bok" like the "bock" in "bock beer."
• "hoe" like "hweh" (similar to the "way" in "away," but with a 'wh' sound).
• "ro" like the "roh" in "row a boat."

Combined, it sounds like "Hang-bock-hweh-roh."

'Haengbokhoero' began to emerge as a new term around 2016. Initially, it was used without explanation of its origin, spreading simply as a word. In February 2017, with the release of the AMD RYZEN series, it became actively used in the IT sector. By 2018, it had become popularized enough to be commonly used in daily life and even appear in major daily newspaper articles. It gained even wider traction, particularly in sports, where it was frequently used when predicting team performance or calculating scenarios.

'Haengbokhoero' originally stems from a concept in fan-created works related to the Japanese secondary creation character 'Shitara-seki'. It referred to a type of self-defense mechanism where, when Shitara-seki faced extreme pain or crisis, it would deny reality and fall into the happiest delusion, forgetting its suffering and preventing the collapse of its 'stomach stone' due to stress. This concept essentially implied a tragic situation, akin to a 'life flashing before one's eyes' moment just before death.

However, as this term spread popularly, its meaning evolved. Currently, it is primarily used metaphorically to describe the act of imagining a positive future and achieving a 'mental victory' in a bad or hopeless situation, or of ignoring reality and indulging in happy fantasies. Sometimes, it is also used to express optimistic expectations that are hard to genuinely believe, or paradoxically, to emphasize that a situation is so desperate that such 'mental victory' is the only option. It is also used to express positive expectations in neutral situations, such as being optimistic about the next season or showing anticipation for a new product.

'Haengbokhoero' is widely used by all ages and genders, not limited to a specific age group or gender. It tends to be actively used in communities where expectations or predictions about future outcomes are important, such as among sports fans, IT device users, and stock investors. Furthermore, in communities like Seoul National University, it is also used as an acronym to refer to specific career paths such as the administrative examination, Bank of Korea, certified public accountant, or law school, demonstrating its diverse application across various groups.

• "If I win the lottery this week, I'll quit my job and travel the world. I'm running my happiness circuit now."
• "Our team is in last place right now, but if we win all the remaining games, we can make the playoffs! Full activation of the happiness circuit!"
• "I'm so excited about the rumors for the new smartphone. My happiness circuit is already running."
• "I messed up this exam, but I'll make up for it by getting a scholarship next semester. I'm running my happiness circuit."