Nuance Dictionary / Social Situations
중독성 jung-dok-seong
The irresistible, brain-hijacking pull of media that makes you unable to turn it off.
What does 중독성 mean?
중독성 (jung-dok-seong) means: The irresistible, brain-hijacking pull of media that makes you unable to turn it off.
While textbooks define중독성 strictly as clinical 'addictiveness,' natives throw it around constantly to describe content with a lethal combination of repetitive hooks, cliffhangers, or pure dopamine triggers. It’s what you say when a K-pop chorus loops in your head against your will, or when a Netflix K-drama makes you whisper 'just one more episode' at 3 AM. It’s not about a serious chemical dependency here—it’s a badge of honor for media that successfully holds your brain hostage.
Other sides of 중독성
◆ Culinary Craving — While textbooks often confine '중독성' to clinical addiction or binge-watching dramas, in the kitchen it describes that specific, masochistic food loop: your mouth is on fire, your nose is running, yet you are already stabbing another bite. Learners often overthink it by adding heavy adjectives, but natives just drop it casually when a tteokbokki or buldak sauce holds you hostage. It signals not just that something tastes good, but that it possesses a dangerous, magnetic compulsion.
🎙️ 중독성은 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [중독썽]로 소리나요 (경음화). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 이번 앨범 타이틀곡, 진짜 중독성 대박이야.
i-beon ael-beom ta-i-teul-gok, jin-jja jung-dok-seong dae-bak-i-ya.
The title track on this new album has insane hooking power.
💡 Pairing 중독성 with '대박' is the ultimate praise for a catchy, earworm-heavy K-pop track. - 이 예능은 중독성이 너무 강해서 밤새우게 돼.
i ye-neung-eun jung-dok-seong-i neo-mu gang-hae-seo bam-sae-u-ge dwae.
This variety show is so insanely addictive that I end up staying up all night.
💡 Reveals how the word is used to justify losing control of your sleep schedule to good television. - 이 유튜브 쇼츠는 진짜 중독성이 너무 강해서 시간 가는 줄 모르겠어.
i yutube syocheu-neun jinjja jungdokseong-i neomu ganghaeseo sigan ganeun jul moreugesseo.
This YouTube Short is seriously so addictive that I lose track of time.
💡 Used to describe media or content that you cannot stop consuming.
Related words in Social Situations
깔끔하다 kkal-kkeum-ha-da코가 납작해지다 koga napjakhaejida콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다 Kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nanda마음을 먹다 maeumeul meokda머리를 맞대다 Meoril matdaeda