The painting considered the origin of the term "Nojam City." The original artist is from Daejeon and is said to have painted this work out of nostalgia for their hometown. (Photo by SNS)

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The term "Nojaem City," meaning a boring city, originated from a single illustration posted on social networking services (SNS) in 2014. The illustration, titled "City of Nojaem, an acquaintance is coming to Daejeon! What should I do?", presents a flowchart with conditions such as "Are there multiple acquaintances?", "Can you invite them to your home?", and "Can they eat spicy food?" Ultimately, every path ends with "Stop by Sung Sim Dang, then send them home."

The original creator is known to be from Daejeon. It is said that while working in Seoul, they grew nostalgic for Daejeon and drew this illustration while talking with friends about their hometown.

This meme was initially shared among a small group of netizens, but began to resurface in 2019, coinciding with the "Visit Daejeon Year." As every scenario concluded with the famous Daejeon bakery "Sung Sim Dang," the formula "Daejeon = Sung Sim Dang" also emerged during this period. As the number of visitors to Sung Sim Dang surged, the bakery held an event earlier this year, ahead of its 70th anniversary, to find the original creator.

During this time, a new phenomenon began to appear on SNS. Netizens started engaging in "Nojaem City battles," comparing which city was more boring. Ulsan, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Cheongju began to be mentioned alongside Daejeon, and matchups such as Daejeon versus Ulsan emerged, evolving into a meme where cities were compared and analyzed in terms of their entertainment value.

Subsequently, Nojaem City became a subject of academic research. In 2021, Joo Hyejin, a research fellow at the Daejeon Sejong Research Institute, published a paper titled "Why Did Daejeon Become a Nojaem City?" which garnered significant attention and sparked follow-up studies in other regions. In March, Park Sujin, an adjunct researcher at the Chonnam National University Regional Development Institute, and others analyzed blog posts related to "Nojaem Gwangju."

However, controversy surrounding Nojaem City continues, and experts remain divided. Some view it as a witty nickname that sparks interest in local areas, while others criticize it as a derogatory term that belittles the provinces.

What is clear is that this meme has begun to change South Korea. Heads of local governments have started to re-examine what makes a city interesting. Regional experts are using this debate as a starting point to discover "the fun of where I live" and are arguing for a shift away from the Seoul-centric perspective on regional areas.

In response, Asia Economy analyzed the past, present, and future of four cities to examine how the Nojaem City meme is changing South Korea.