What is Bulgeum/불금 - Friday on Fire (Friday night) in Korea

Until now, we all saw and learned that Koreans love to give names to many activities and specific meanings to some days or holidays. Have you ever heard of 불금, Fire Friday, or Friday on fire? They all mean the same thing, and it's similar to TGIF (thank God it's Friday).

How did 불금 get popular?

Until 2004 Korea had a 6-day working plan. However, starting that year, the government slowly changed it to 5 days of work. Therefore, most people enjoyed only one day of the weekend, Sunday. Everyone was waiting for this day to come that it was cherished very much, and it was called 불토 Saturday on Fire instead of Friday. Students were also going to school on Saturday. And this is why you would see many students having fun with their friends on a Saturday night and men enjoying their free time.

After 2004 this expression changed to 불금.

What does 불금 mean?

To understand what 불금 means, we need to take a look at the words that lead to the outcome of this new term:

This term is used to celebrate the weekend and being out of work. It usually implies "Times to have fun" or "It's Friday, let's party!"

불금이에요! 파티하자!

It's Fiery Friday. Let's go party!

If you're reading this article on a Friday, then have fun! If not, let's hope Friday comes quickly.