“This is more my chugumi.”
These days, it is a phrase you see quite naturally on the Korean internet.
And the word is surprisingly easy to unpack.
chugu (追求, to pursue) + mi (美, beauty).
Here, mi (美) is the Hanja character for beauty. Taken literally, the word is close to “the beauty I pursue.”
But “beauty” here is not limited to having a pretty face.
A style you like, the person you want to become, the mood you want to give off, even the way you want to live can all be your chugumi.
That is why “role model” feels too serious, “ideal type” sounds like you are talking about a person, and “taste” can simply mean that you like something.
Chugumi is a little different.
“This is the direction I want to move toward.”
That’s roughly the idea.
It does not mean you are already like that
“My chugumi is a quiet, cool person.”
Suppose you said that.
Are they actually quiet?
No.
They might meet a friend and talk nonstop for two hours.
“My chugumi is being a morning person.”
So do they wake up at 6 a.m. every day?
No.
They may turn off six alarms and get up at eleven.
“My chugumi is a minimalist lifestyle.”
Their room may still have twelve delivery boxes stacked in the corner.
That is fine.
Chugumi describes the direction you want, not necessarily the person you are right now.
So it can be quite far from reality.
In fact, the farther it is from reality, the more often you have a reason to use the word.
A person is not the only thing that can be your chugumi
At first it may sound like a word used only for looks or fashion, but its range is much wider.
“Her style is completely my chugumi.”
Perfectly natural.
But so are these:
“This interior is my chugumi.”
“The way that person talks is my chugumi.”
“My chugumi is a life where I work out every day after work.”
“Living somewhere for a month instead of staying in hotels when I travel—that’s my chugumi.”
Clothes.
Hair.
Body.
Home.
Personality.
Way of speaking.
Job.
Lifestyle.
In the end, if you look at something and think, “I want to be more like that,” it can become your chugumi.
That is why it is not exactly the same as taste
Not everything you find pretty is automatically your chugumi.
“That’s pretty.”
“That’s good.”
“I want it.”
Those can simply be expressions of taste.
Chugumi contains at least a small amount of:
“I want to move in that direction too.”
That idea is part of it.
For example, liking classic cars does not automatically make them your chugumi.
But if you see an entire life—driving a classic car, wearing an old leather jacket, spending time in tiny cafés—and think,
“Yeah, that’s my chugumi,”
then it becomes something else.
This is not one object; it is an image you want to have.
Chugumi works especially well with self-deprecating humor
This is where the word gets fun.
People often describe their chugumi while roasting their current selves at the same time.
“My chugumi is a healthy person who exercises every day.”
“Did you work out today?”
“No.”
“Yesterday?”
“No.”
“This week?”
“I said it’s my chugumi.”
Done.
Chugumi does not have to be a goal.
It does not have to be an action plan.
It is allowed to be a wish.
That is why “the gap between my chugumi and reality” sounds completely natural.
On the screen, you post a photo of a crisp white shirt and slacks, while in reality you are wearing a stretched-out T-shirt and slippers.
Chugumi.
And then:
Reality.
Those two images are enough to explain the joke.
You do not need one person as a role model
A role model is usually a person.
“I want to become like that person.”
It is a little serious.
It can also feel like a direction for your life.
Chugumi is lighter.
Today, an actor’s hairstyle might be your chugumi, and tomorrow the outfit of someone you saw in a café might be your chugumi.
On another day it might be:
“My chugumi is a life where I don’t work and just read by the sea.”
That can be your chugumi, too.
You do not even need a person.
A mood is enough.
So you do not need to have only one chugumi.
Fashion chugumi.
Home chugumi.
Dating chugumi.
Life chugumi.
Your Monday chugumi and Saturday chugumi can be completely different, and that is no problem.
Translation makes it sound a little flatter
Depending on the context, English can use words such as aspiration, aesthetic, ideal, or vibe.
The meaning gets across.
But the Korean word chugumi makes all of those ideas much lighter.
Not a grand life goal,
“Lately I’m into this kind of vibe, and I kind of want to head in that direction.”
That is roughly the distance and tone of the word.
That lightness makes it easy to toss into conversation.
“Why did your clothing style change lately?”
“This is my chugumi these days.”
Done.
There is no need to explain it.
And your chugumi can change whenever it wants
Last year, your chugumi might have been all black, while this year it might be a white shirt and jeans.
You may once have wanted a huge house, and now your chugumi may be a tiny home with almost nothing in it.
Rather than you having become a different person,
What changed is where you are looking.
So if someone
“What’s your chugumi?”
asks you that, you do not need to think about it too seriously.
They are not asking about your goal in life.
Something you see these days
“I kind of want to be more like that these days.”
and think that.
That is enough.
And it is completely fine if the current you looks nothing like it.
After all, even the name itself
is chugumi.
Sources
- [Seoul Economic Daily, “Seoul Economic Daily — 신조어 사전: 추구미 — formation from
chuguandmi (美)and meaning as a pursued aesthetic style or sensibility / 2024-01-21 / accessed 2026-08-15 - Careet — Z세대에게 먹히는 새로운 트렌드 키워드 ‘추구미’ — meaning as “the beauty one pursues,” desired image and broad range of usage / 2024-06-18 / accessed 2026-08-15
- Kyunghyang Shinmun — 가장 최신의 사랑 언어, 추구미 — pursued aesthetic ideal or sensibility and examples of broad application / 2024-02-09 / accessed 2026-08-15