Korean slang profile
일코
ilko
Keeping your fandom hidden
Concealing your fan activities because you feel shy about them or do not want others to know you are an enthusiast.
- Expanded form
- 일반인 코스프레Keeping your fandom hidden
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Aug 7, 2014
- 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
회사에서는 일코하고 있어.
I keep my fandom hidden at work.
- Quoted from a source
일코 : 일반인 코스프레의 줄임말이다.[1]
일코: short for 일반인 코스프레, posing as someone outside the fandom.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
03Origin & word formation
Short for “일반인 코스프레.” The 2014 source from TenAsia 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.
- 덕후 용어 사전, 들어는 보셨나요? (텐아시아)Published Aug 7, 2014Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- 일코? 덕밍아웃? '그녀의 사생활' 덕후 용어 사전 공개 (일간스포츠)Published Apr 5, 2019Original source checked Nov 5, 2026