Amid global competition in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 11th (local time) that the social and cultural mood in South Korea is being reshaped by a boom in the semiconductor industry.

On the same day, in an article titled ‘AI and the Semiconductor Craze: Take a Quiz on New Korean Neologisms and Memes’, the NYT introduced South Korea's semiconductor boom through six multiple-choice questions.

The NYT said that in South Korea's online culture, memes and neologisms serve as indicators that reflect the political and social mood in real time, and it also presented new terms such as ‘Samjeonnix’ (a portmanteau of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix), ‘Sam-men·Ha-men’ (a buzzword investors use to wish for stock-price increases), and ‘silicon collar (a term for workers in the semiconductor industry)’.

In addition to stock-market neologisms, it described changes in the real estate market such as the ‘shuttle zone’, as well as shifts in workplace culture and admissions trends such as the ‘SK hynix varsity jacket’ and ‘Ha-eui-chi-han-yak-su’.

There were also questions like ‘For a long time, apartments near subway stations were the most sought-after. So what is gaining popularity now?’ and ‘What should you wear to make a good impression on others?’. The answers, respectively, were ‘company shuttle-bus boarding points’ and ‘a vest with SK hynix printed on the back’.

Introducing the new term ‘Ha-eui-chi-han-yak-su’ (Ha-eui-chi-han-yak-su), which adds the initial ‘Ha’ from Hynix to the traditionally most preferred tracks ‘ui-chi-han-yak-su’ (medical school·dental school·Korean medicine·pharmacy·veterinary school), it also noted a mood in education circles in which semiconductor contract departments now rival medical schools in status.

The NYT reported that in the AI era, South Korea's semiconductor industry, which accounts for more than 60% of global semiconductor output, has grown rapidly. The KOSPI index more than doubled over the past year, with market capitalization increasing by trillions of dollars, and some employees at major semiconductor companies were said to have received performance bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It added that the boom in the semiconductor industry has become a topic of conversation everywhere, from family dinner tables to cigarette breaks to online game rooms.