Korean slang profile
FOMO
FOMO
Fear of missing out
Anxiety about missing out on what others are doing, falling behind, or being left out.
- Expanded form
- fear of missing outFear of missing out
- Other spellings
- 포모
- Earliest source found
- Dec 29, 2019
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
다들 여행 가니까 나만 빠질까 봐 포모가 와.
Everyone's going on a trip, and I'm getting FOMO about being the only one left out.
- Quoted from a source
포모란 고립 공포감이란 뜻으로 자산시장에서는 투자 기회를 놓칠까봐 걱정하는 심리를 의미한다.[1]
FOMO means a fear of isolation; in financial markets, it refers to anxiety about missing an investment opportunity.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- December 2019FOMO means a fear of isolation; in financial markets, it refers to anxiety about missing an investment opportunity.[1]
- April 2020Yonhap News: “‘포모’ refers to a type of isolation fear that represents the fear of being the only one missing the flow or the fear of being isolated from the flow of the world.”[2]
- February 2026Yonhap News: “FOMO is an acronym for ‘fear of missing out.’”[3]
03Origin & word formation
Short for “fear of missing out.” The 2019 source from Kyunghyang Shinmun explicitly gives this explanation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationHigh
The explanation is explicit in the sources, and at least two sources use the same meaning. When it was first used is unknown.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- [안명숙의 차이나는 부동산 클래스]서울 아파트값 ‘변곡점’ 이른 듯…외곽 9억 이하엔 풍선효과 우려 (경향신문)Published Dec 29, 2019Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- 유혹의 시대에 삶의 주인이 되기 위한 절제의 원칙들 (연합뉴스)Published Apr 15, 2020Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- [이런말저런글] 포모 = 소외 불안, 이 역사도 오래됐는데… (연합뉴스)Published Feb 6, 2026Original source checked Nov 5, 2026