Ddungi is the Korean name for Patrick Star, the pink starfish best friend in SpongeBob SquarePants, which first aired in 1999. In the Korean dub the character keeps his slow, kind-hearted personality, and saranghaeyo is the polite Korean way to say I love you. Short dubbed lines like this circulate on Korean soundboards and messaging apps because they are instantly recognisable, easy to quote, and work out of context. The clip's popularity comes from that mix of a beloved cartoon voice and a universal affectionate phrase.