sanggam

Sanggam refers to a traditional Korean method of creating new words by combining existing vocabulary elements. This linguistic technique is widely used in the Korean language to form compound words, often reflecting cultural, technological, or social developments. The process involves blending morphemes—meaningful units of language—to construct new terms that may not have existed previously.

The term *sanggam* itself is derived from the Korean word *sanggaem* (상감), meaning "engraving" or "carving," which metaphorically describes the way words are "carved" or fused together. This method is particularly common in modern Korean, where new concepts—such as technology, science, or pop culture—are frequently expressed through coined terms. For example, *smartphone* in Korean is *seomyeonhaejwa* (스마트폰), a direct borrowing, but many other terms are created through *sanggam*, such as *gamjeong* (감정, "emotion") combined with *seonsaeng* (선생, "teacher") to form *gamjeongseonsaeng* (감정선생), meaning "emotion teacher" or counselor.

Sanggam often involves blending syllables or morphemes from different words to convey a specific idea. For instance, *k-pop* (Korean pop music) is sometimes referred to as *keipop* (케이팝), where *kei* (케이) is derived from *Korea* and *pop* retains its English form. Another example is *hallyu* (한류), meaning "Korean wave," which describes the global influence of Korean culture, formed by combining *Han* (한, referring to Korea) and *ryu* (류, meaning "wave" or "flow").

This linguistic practice reflects Korea’s dynamic language evolution, allowing it to adapt quickly to changing contexts while maintaining clarity and expressiveness. Sanggam is not limited to modern terms; it has historical roots in classical Korean compounding but has become especially prominent in contemporary usage.