Say "Companion Animal Industry" Instead of "Petconomy"

'Food Tech' Alternative Term Recommended as 'Advanced Food Technology'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language recommended on the 17th that the term 'petconomy' be replaced with the Korean term '반려동물 산업' (companion animal industry). They also suggested '첨단 식품 기술' (advanced food technology) as the Korean alternative to 'food tech.'

Petconomy refers to industries related to companion animals. It mainly includes pet products such as snacks, supplements, clothing, as well as education and medical services for pets. At the new word meeting held on the 3rd, the Ministry and the Institute reviewed the appropriateness and usability of the term and decided on '반려동물 산업' as the replacement. The decision also reflected survey results. In a public acceptance survey conducted from the 5th to the 10th with about 2,000 respondents, 98.3% answered that the term was appropriate. Additionally, 61.4% agreed on the necessity of a Korean alternative. Food tech refers to techniques that apply Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to manage the production and processing of food. The Ministry and the Institute judged that it is better to replace it with '첨단 식품 기술.'

The new word meeting is a committee that provides Korean alternatives that are easy for the general public to understand before difficult foreign neologisms spread. Experts from various fields including Korean language, foreign languages, education, publicity and publishing, information and communication, and journalism participate. The Ministry and the Institute plan to continuously promote the use of these alternatives, encouraging government departments and media outlets to take the lead.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.