computer science

Kkongkkong

Kkongkkong is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kkongkkong rather than just read about it. In short: Kkongkkong (Korean: 꽁꽁; born c. 2019) is a South Korean cat who is the subject of an internet meme called "on top of the completely frozen Han River walks a cat" (꽁꽁 얼어붙은 한강 위로 고양이가 걸어다닙니다; kkongkkong eoreobuteun Hangang wiro goyangiga georeodanimnida). She was born as a stray cat, possibly around 2019.

Key takeaways

Kkongkkong belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kkongkkong to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kkongkkong from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kkongkkong (Korean: 꽁꽁; born c. 2019) is a South Korean cat who is the subject of an internet meme called "on top of the completely frozen Han River walks a cat" (꽁꽁 얼어붙은 한강 위로 고양이가 걸어다닙니다; kkongkkong eoreobuteun Hangang wiro goyangiga georeodanimnida). She was born as a stray cat, possibly around 2019. In 2021, a news broadcast with a clip of her became an internet meme and, later, a dance challenge that major South Korean celebrities participated in. In 2025, she was found and adopted by journalist Lee Dong-hak (이동학), who had filmed the video clip that became the subject of the meme.

Biography Kkongkkong (name given to her by her current owner) is believed to have been born around 2019 as a stray cat in Seoul. Her estimated birth year is based on research by her current owner, video journalist Lee Dong-hak, who found photos on social media of her as a kitten dating back to around that period. Lee also found a 2021 record of her being spayed, with the record estimating her age at around 3 years old. The record said that she was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time.

In December 2021, Lee filmed a clip for a news broadcast for Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN) of Kkongkkong walking on the frozen Han River in Seoul. In order to emphasize how cold the weather was, fellow journalist Lee Si-yeol (이시열) dubbed the following line over the clip: "on top of the completely frozen Han River walks a cat". Their segment aired on December 27, 2021, and soon became popular online, with the video and audio being remixed and edited into various humorous forms. Lee Si-yeol's use of the onomatopoeia kkongkkong (꽁꽁), which is used to indicate that something has frozen solid, as well as the rhythmic cadence of his line, drew particular attention. The meme saw a surge in popularity in early 2024. A song remix of the audio and video became an online dance challenge, with numerous major celebrities like IU and brands like Kakao Friends participating. Both Lees participated in the challenge themselves.

Later, a person uploaded a photo to social media of Kkongkkong in Ttukseom Hangang Park. They were able to recognize Kkongkkong because of the pattern on her coat. Lee Dong-hak saw the post and, worried about Kkongkkong's potentially shorter lifespan in the outdoors, decided to try to adopt her. He researched how to take care of a cat. For two weeks, he approached Kkongkkong in the park with food; he claims to have seen and fed her every day of those two weeks. Finally, in the second week of January 2025, he set a baited trap for Kkongkkong. After a day of waiting, Kkongkkong entered it, and Lee took her back to his home. Lee named her Kkongkkong, after the onomatopoeia that drew attention in her meme. His coworkers raised money to help pay for her medical treatment. Kkongkkong reportedly took around a month to feel comfortable walking around Lee's home. By August, while she was comfortable with receiving some pets and being hand-fed treats, Lee felt she was still skittish. In August, he began uploading videos to YouTube that document his process of finding and caring for her. The videos quickly went viral, accumulating hundreds of thousands of views within days. Some commenters reportedly praised Lee for adopting Kkongkkong and described their story as feeling heartwarming and fateful. Kkongkkong and Lee were subjects of the 31 October 2025 episode of the television program Take Care of My Cat.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kkongkkong

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kkongkkong claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kkongkkong before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kkongkkong ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kkongkkong

In research: Kkongkkong appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kkongkkong in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kkongkkong is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010s animal births, 2021 in South Korean television, Film and television memes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kkongkkong outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kkongkkong in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kkongkkong means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kkongkkong out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kkongkkong in simple terms?

Why does Kkongkkong matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kkongkkong?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kkongkkong.