The Solo Regiment (2003)

About

Solo Regiment (솔로부대 / a.k.a People’s Party of Loneliness) is a modern Korean slang playfully referring to an anonymous, ad-hoc group of single bachelors and bachelorettes on the web. First coined in 2003 by a group of users at DCinside (a Korean equivalent of 2Chan, 4Chan,etc), the term was initially used in DCinside community to humorize the lonely, loveless lives of twenty and thirtysomethings and quickly spread across other forums, inspiring a handful of internet memes.

Colloquial Usage of “Regiment”

The popular use of “Regiment (부대)” as a unit to describe any specific demographic (ex: Madam Kim regiment, Necktie Regiment) can be attributed to a strange lingo/culture bred through S. Korea’s all-male mandatory military service. Somewhat inevitably, a military rank system of the Solo Regiment was introduced circa 2006 (According to Naver.com), further spreading the lulz.

“We are the Invincible Solo Regiment”

Among the earliest (and perhaps the greatest) lulz to emerge from the Solo Regiment campaign was an image macro meme. Under the tongue-in-cheek slogan “We Are the Invincible Regiment of Solo,” dozens of WWII-era propaganda posters were modified into over-glorified images of lonely, loveless single across the country. More in the photos section.

Find the Hidden Solo!

“Find the Hidden Solo” is a series of textbookish watercolors featuring a lonely single hidden amongst merry couples a la Where’s Waldo. Originally uploaded by a Korean children’s book illustrator on her Cyworld page, the images first became popular through sharing in the network and later surfaced on popular image boards and BBS sites. More in the Photos.

Black Day & Raids on Monthly Couple Holidays

• According to Wikipedia, Black Day (April 14) is a South Korean informal tradition for single people (a.k.a. Unit Solo/Solo Regiment, lee: 솔로부대) to get together and eat Jajangmyeon (white noodles with black bean sauce). The idea is that those who did not give or receive gifts on Valentine’s Day (February 14) or White Day (March 14) can get together and eat noodles while commiserating their singledom. Basically, it’s a second chance day.

• There is a similar equivalent in the West called Singles Awareness Day, which is celebrated by singles on February 14 as an alternative to Valentine’s Day.

• As an anonymous online collective, those identifying themselves with the Solo Regiment conduct mass pranks and raids on popular websites, especially on couple-oriented holidays like Valentine’s Day and Christmas Eve. In some East Asian cultures, Christmas is popularly recognized as a romantic holiday and there are many other made-up “couples gift-exchange day”, including Pepero Day and White Day.

People’s Party of Loneliness

As the Regiment’s popularity continued to grow, a small group of the Solo Regiment reportedly split and started another ad-hoc organizaiton called “People’s Party of Loneliness,” as an obvious parody of the Communist Party. The purpose of the party is detailed in their “Soloist Manifesto.”

Additional References:

• DC Inside Meme Lesson #54&
• Unmarried America – Singles Fight Back Through Internet Humor