Korean slang profile

코로나 블루

korona beullu

Depression or anxiety felt as COVID-19 restricts everyday life.

Expanded form: 코로나19 + 블루(blue)코로나19 + 블루(blue) (COVID-19 + blue)
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Oct 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
혼자 보내는 시간이 길어지니 코로나 블루라는 말이 실감 났다.
As I spent more time alone, the expression 코로나 블루 started to feel real.

02Documented history

October 2020전북일보 introduced it as a blend referring to depression and anxiety related to COVID-19.[1]

03Origin & word formation

It combines COVID-19 with the English ‘blue’, referring to sadness. 전북일보’s educational material on new expressions explains this formation. Who first used it and when 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.

[NIE] ‘코로나 신조어’를 통해 본 2020 대한민국 (전북일보)Published Oct 15, 2020Original source checked Nov 13, 2026