In what's quickly become the talk of the town—or rather, the chirp of the medical community—the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo has ruffled more than a few feathers with a slip of the tongue that has doctors across the nation tweeting with outrage and bemusement.

During a recent briefing, Park's attempt to explain that no doctors outside of Korea have taken collective action against the government's plans to increase the medical school admission quota unexpectedly took flight, as Park pronounced the Korean word for doctors (euisa) was transformed into "doct-birds" (euisae).

The uproar isn't just about the mix-up; it's feather-ruffled because "-sae," is known to be a belittling term used for practitioner professions, such as doctors, lawyers, judges, and prosecutors, ending with the Korean word "-sa,"

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) swiftly issued a statement of disapproval, while one particularly ruffled physician went so far as to report Deputy Minister Park to the police for his linguistic lapse.

Park has scrambled to clear the air, insisting the mispronunciation was a simple mistake brought on by fatigue. "It was a mistake, and after the report was published, I asked my staff if I really made that comment, and apparently, it sounded that way," Park said, admitting to being overworked to the point of poultry parlance.

Despite Park's apologies, the term has taken on a life of its own, spreading wings across social media like wildfire.

Korean Millennial and Gen Z physicians have taken to changing their social media profile pictures to AI-backed illustrations that blend avian and medical imagery, coining terms like "neonatal doct-bird" and "trauma treatment doct-bird" in a show of self-deprecating solidarity.

The KMA has even been rebranded by some as the "Korean Doct-birds Association," complete with a logo that swaps the traditional serpent for a more feathered emblem.

As the term "doct-bird" becomes a meme that's flying high across platforms, it seems the medical community has decided if they're going to be labeled, they might as well wing it with humor.