[ KOREAN INTERNET CULTURE ][ GEN Z BRAINROT ]
A joke or meme repeated so many times, past the point of being funny, that it becomes actively grating — the moment a running gag overstays its welcome and starts to hurt rather than entertain.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
"그 밈 벌써 뇌절 단계인데 아직도 우려먹네."
LORE & ORIGIN
Korean internet slang literally meaning "brain amputation," which evolved from Naruto-parody meme threads on the Korean forum DC Inside around 2017, where jokes escalated to increasingly excessive, over-repeated absurdity, into a general term for any meme or joke overused to the point of irritation.
FIRST SEEN
2017
PEAK POPULARITY
2026 (Korean Internet Canon)
CURRENT STATUS
Mainstream Slang
Related To:
EQUIVALENT CONCEPTS IN OTHER LANGUAGES
AURA IMPACT ⓘ
+1 AURA
TREND STATUS
↑ HIGH RISING FAST · MODERATE
CULTURE CATEGORY
[ KOREAN INTERNET CULTURE ][ GEN Z BRAINROT ]
RELATED TERMS
MENTIONS OVER TIME
2023202420252026
RELATED SEARCHES
TOP PLATFORMS
TikTok
52%
YouTube
20%
Twitter / X
14%
Reddit
9%
Others
5%
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