Korean slang profile

금스크

geumseukeu

A figurative name for masks that have become as precious as gold because they are hard to find or expensive.

Expanded form: Not documented
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Mar 15, 2020
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
마스크가 귀했던 때에는 금스크라는 말까지 나왔다.
When masks were scarce, people even called them ‘gold masks’.

02Documented history

March 2020연합뉴스 introduced the explanation ‘masks as precious as gold’ while reporting on mask supplies.[1]
December 2020영남일보 introduced it as a mask-related neologism from the early COVID-19 period.[2]

03Origin & word formation

연합뉴스 explicitly explains that ‘금스크’ emerged because masks were considered ‘more precious than gold’. The exact first user and time could not be established.

Evidence for the origin explanationMedium

The explanation in the body of the source was checked, but the first user could not be identified.

04Sources

Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.

[OK!제보] 마스크 왜 더 못 만들까?…생산업계에 물어보니 (연합뉴스)Published Mar 15, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026
[우리말과 한국문학] 신조어를 통해 본 코로나 한국 (영남일보)Published Dec 3, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026