This study analyzes patterns of non-standard Korean expressions in digital media and explores their implications for Korean language education. While existing literature has predominantly focused on learners’ interlanguage errors within instructional settings, the non-standard usage prevalent among native speakers in digital spaces and its consequent impact on learners’ linguistic input has remained under-researched. To bridge this gap, this research examines data collected from broadcast captions, social media, advertisements, and online communities. The collected instances are categorized into five distinct types: pronunciation-based deviations, double passive constructions, translationese, public language errors, and neologisms or hybrid loanwords. Through a qualitative analysis of representative cases, this study investigates the linguistic characteristics and socio-cultural contexts driving these phenomena. The findings underscore the necessity of integrating authentic digital media data into Korean language curricula. Furthermore, this study advocates for pedagogical strategies that foster learners’ critical language awareness, enabling them to navigate the complexities of non-standard usage in real-world communicative environments. Such an approach is essential for developing comprehensive sociolinguistic competence in the digital age.
Junghyun Lee (Thu,) studied this question.