혼밥 식당에서 조용히 먹는 직장인들

What does “혼밥” mean in Korean?

혼밥 is Korean slang for eating by yourself, made by blending 혼자 (honja, “alone”) with 밥 (bap, “rice/meal”). It names a whole social category: dining solo on purpose, without worrying who’s watching. The verb is 혼밥하다, “to eat alone” — exactly what coworkers agree to do when they decide to just eat quietly and not make small talk.

The real payoff is the productive 혼- (“solo”) prefix. Once 혼밥 clicks, the same move builds 혼술 (honsul, drinking alone), 혼영 (honyeong, from 영화, watching a movie alone), and 혼놀 (honnol, from 놀다, enjoying leisure solo). All sit under 혼족 (honjok), the “tribe of one” — a vocabulary that rose with Korea’s growing single-person households. In the clip, someone says 서로 혼밥한다 생각하고 (“let’s each act like we’re eating alone”) to keep the table silent.