엥 감전당했나?

Origin

‘Eng, did you get electrocuted?’ came out of Blind, the anonymous workplace community app, in October 2022. An employee of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) posted that he wanted to meet a woman who would like him even if he hid where he worked. Someone replied: ‘Eng, did you get electrocuted…?’

The joke works on two levels. First there is the self-deprecation of a man who wants to hide his own employer; then there is a reply that demolishes the context with a pun almost childishly simple — you work at the power company, so did you get a shock? It captures the particular rhythm of an online forum where an earnest post gets an absurdly light comment, and it travelled across social media as a screenshot of the original exchange.

Spread

What makes this meme unusual is that KEPCO, the butt of the joke, answered it directly. On August 30th, 2023, KEPCO uploaded a promotional video for its open-fridge-door-fitting scheme to its official YouTube channel and restaged the meme verbatim: a man says he wants to meet someone who will like him even if he hides that he works at KEPCO, and a woman replies, ‘Eng, did you get electrocuted?’ A public campaign to reduce summer electricity demand was thus built on a joke at the utility’s own expense.

The response showed in the numbers. The video passed 34,000 views in two days — more than a hundred times the 100 to 200 views such policy videos usually manage. Several outlets including Seoul Shinmun and Hankyung reported it as a case of self-deprecating public-sector marketing that actually worked, and that coverage in turn extended the meme’s life.

Usage

Replying to an earnest post by deliberately missing the point
Countering someone who has just named their employer or job with a puerile pun built on it
Using the interjection ‘eng’ on its own to register disbelief

The point is deflation, not attack. It aims to puncture an earnest thread rather than genuinely criticise anyone, which is why it reads as a joke without malice.