"I am Shillye-eyo"... Jeon Cheongjo's Self-Proclaimed 'Born in the US' Scam Message Becomes a Viral Meme

After a message from Jeon Cheongjo (27), the former partner of former national fencing athlete Nam Hyunhee (42), was revealed to contain awkwardly mixed English and Korean, parodies of the phrase "I am 신뢰에요" (the correct form being "신뢰예요," meaning "I am trust") have become a popular trend.

KakaoTalk message sent by Jeon Cheongjo to YouTuber A [Image source=Captured from JTBC news screen]

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On October 26, JTBC aired an interview with YouTuber A, who lives at Lotte Signiel in Jamsil and claimed to have been acquainted with Jeon. According to A, Jeon approached A by pretending to be a third-generation chaebol, and then obtained money from A’s acquaintances under the pretense of investment. Along with the interview, A also released KakaoTalk messages exchanged with Jeon. Jeon, who claimed to have been born in New York, USA, sent messages to A that mixed in English words, as if she were not fluent in Korean.

In these messages, Jeon wrote, "Ok. Then I’ll visit Next time," and "I asked my wife if I could go and she said ok, so I asked. But if I’m with your friend, I am 신뢰에요~."

In particular, the awkward phrase "I am 신뢰" has started to go viral as what is now called the "Jeon Cheongjo meme" (meme: an internet buzzword).

Netizens have responded with comments such as "I am laughing my head off," "I am on the ground. I’ll introduce myself Next time," and "I am all sorts of things." On social media (SNS), many posts are appearing using the "I am" format, such as "I am happy" and "I am funny."

Companies have also quickly jumped on the trend. On October 27, WEMAKEPRICE sent an event message to consumers titled "I am special sale~." In this message, WEMAKEPRICE also mimicked Jeon’s language by saying, "There is no Next time~!" Korea Investment & Securities also used the phrase "I am 신뢰예요" in its Hyundai Mobis earnings report released on the same day.

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