If you watched Squid Game, you cried during Episode 6. The marble game. Two old friends playing for survival. And the word that turned a children's game into one of the most devastating hours of television in recent memory: 깐부.
Ggambu went viral. K-pop idols started using it. Western fans started tattooing it. But what does 깐부 actually mean — and was it a real Korean word before the show?
The Core Meaning
깐부 (ggambu) means "buddy," "trusted partner," or "ride-or-die friend" — specifically a partner you trust to share everything with. It comes from old Korean children's marble-game culture, where two kids would pool their marbles together so neither lost.
- Hangeul: 깐부
- Romanization: ggambu (also gganbu, kkanbu)
- IPA: [k͈an.bu]
- Sound: "GGAN-boo" — sharp tense ㄲ at the start, like saying 'g' with extra throat tension.
The word implies more than friendship. A 깐부 is someone you've shared resources with, someone whose interests are tied to yours, someone you protect because hurting them hurts you.
The Squid Game Scene That Made It Famous
In Squid Game Episode 6 ("Gganbu"), the contestants are paired up for what they assume is a team challenge. Old Man Oh Il-nam (the elderly Player 001) is paired with the protagonist Seong Gi-hun. As they prepare, Il-nam explains:
"깐부는 같은 편이야. 같이 나누는 사이." — "Gganbu means we're on the same side. We share everything."
The two play together. They are 깐부. Then the contest is revealed: they must compete against each other. Whoever loses the marble game dies.
The episode is structured around the destruction of the gganbu relationship. By the end, the word has been transformed for the audience — what started as a sweet term of trust becomes the saddest betrayal in the show.
The episode aired in September 2021. Within weeks, "ggambu" had over 100 million Google searches globally.
Was Ggambu a Real Word Before Squid Game?
Yes — but it was nearly forgotten by younger Koreans. 깐부 was children's slang from the 1960s-70s, used when kids combined their marbles, candy, or trading cards to play games together. By the 2010s, most Koreans under 30 had never heard the word.
Squid Game brought it roaring back. Now it's used by:
- K-pop idols on variety shows to describe close friendships
- Korean TikTok creators tagging best-friend videos
- Older Koreans who knew the word, now amused that international fans know it
- Korean brands using it in friendship/team-themed marketing
The word's revival is one of the cleanest examples of a piece of pop culture single-handedly resurrecting forgotten vocabulary.
How Koreans Use 깐부 Today
| Context | Example | Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Best friend declaration | 우리는 깐부야. (We're gganbu.) | Affectionate, semi-ironic post-Squid Game |
| Team / partnership | 이 일은 우리 둘이 깐부로 해보자. (Let's do this project as gganbu — partners.) | Workplace, with slight playful tone |
| K-pop fan vocabulary | 지민이랑 정국이는 진짜 깐부야. (Jimin and Jungkook are real gganbu.) | Fandom shipping, "they're inseparable" |
| Sibling closeness | 형이랑 나는 깐부야. (My brother and I are gganbu.) | Warm, family |
| Ironic / dramatic | 왜 그래, 우리 깐부 아니야? (What's wrong — aren't we gganbu?) | Mock-serious, when betrayed by a friend |
Notice that almost every modern use carries some Squid Game awareness. When a Korean says "우리는 깐부," they're invoking the show whether they realize it or not. That cultural reference is now baked into the word.
The Children's Marble Game Origin
Before it was a Netflix moment, 깐부 was just how kids in 1960s-70s Korea played marbles. Two kids would:
- Pool all their marbles together in one shared pile
- Play against another pair or group
- Win or lose together — split the gains, split the losses
- If one of them lost their marbles, the other shared theirs
The arrangement was a verbal contract. You declared "우리는 깐부야" and from that moment, your interests were tied. Breaking gganbu was a serious thing in playground culture — you didn't betray a gganbu.
This is why the Squid Game scene hits so hard for Korean viewers especially. The show is asking elderly contestants to violate a sacred childhood code.
How to Pronounce 깐부 Correctly
- First syllable: 깐 → [k͈an] — a tense ㄲ followed by 'ahn.' Your vocal cords engage immediately and tightly.
- Second syllable: 부 → [bu] — soft 'boo' with rounded lips.
- Together: "GGAN-boo" — emphasis on the first syllable.
The tense ㄲ is the hard part for English speakers. It's not "gambu" (soft g) and not "kambu" (aspirated k). It's a tense, almost choked 'g' sound that English doesn't have. Practice 가 (ga) → 까 (gga) until you feel the throat tension shift.
Words Related to 깐부 (and How They Differ)
| Word | Meaning | How it differs from 깐부 |
|---|---|---|
| 친구 (chingu) | Friend (any kind) | General — anyone you'd call a friend |
| 베프 / 베스트프렌드 | BFF (Konglish) | "Best friend" — close, but no shared-stake implication |
| 단짝 (danjjak) | Best buddy / inseparable pair | Closer than 친구; usually two-person; no resource-pooling |
| 동지 (dongji) | Comrade / fellow traveler | Shared cause/purpose; more formal, even political |
| 깐부 (ggambu) | Partner who shares resources / fate | YOU SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE. Tied interests. |
The unique thing about 깐부 versus other friendship words: shared resources / tied outcomes. A 친구 is someone you like. A 깐부 is someone you're literally in it together with.
Why Western Fans Tattoo "깐부"
Post-Squid Game, "ggambu" became one of the most-requested Korean-word tattoos. Reasons fans give:
- "It captures what BFF doesn't — actually being in this together"
- "It's a callback to the most emotional Squid Game moment"
- "It looks beautiful in Hangul"
- "It means something specific that English doesn't have a word for"
One caveat: as with any tattoo in a language you don't speak, double-check the calligraphy. 깐부 written in some fonts can look identical to 깡부 or similar shapes that mean nothing. Ask a native speaker (or your KTalk Live teacher) before committing ink.
Putting It All Together
깐부 is a word with two lives. First life: 1960s playground vocabulary for kids who pooled marbles. Second life: a Squid Game scene that turned the word into global vocabulary and made millions cry. The two lives are connected — the show works precisely because it taps into a sacred childhood arrangement most Koreans only half-remembered.
Three takeaways:
- It means more than "friend." 깐부 implies tied interests, shared resources, mutual responsibility.
- It's tense-consonant pronunciation: "GGAN-boo," not "gambu" or "kambu."
- The Squid Game association is permanent. Every modern use carries the show's emotional weight, whether the speaker intends it or not.
Next: dig into more Korean reaction vocabulary with our guides on 대박 (Korea's universal "OMG"), 오빠 (older brother — and more), and 막내 (the youngest member in K-pop groups).
Want to learn more cultural Korean vocabulary with a native teacher? Free trial with KTalk Live — many of our teachers can also explain the cultural backstory behind these words.