Korean slang profile

코로나 블랙

korona beullaek

An expression for deep despair felt during the COVID-19 crisis.

Expanded form: Not documented
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Sep 12, 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
칼럼은 코로나 블랙으로 표현되는 절망감을 걱정했다.
The column expressed concern about despair described as 코로나 블랙.

02Documented history

September 2020경향신문 used it as an expression for deep despair in the COVID-19 situation.[1]
December 2020영남일보 introduced it as an emotional neologism related to the infectious disease.[2]

03Origin & word formation

A 경향신문 column used ‘코로나 블랙’ to express falling into deep despair during COVID-19. This metaphor is not generalized into a clinical diagnostic stage. The 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.

[세상읽기] 지구의 희년 (경향신문)Published Sep 12, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026
[우리말과 한국문학] 신조어를 통해 본 코로나 한국 (영남일보)Published Dec 3, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026