Korean slang profile

코로나 레드

korona redeu

An expression for anger felt as COVID-19 spreads and persists.

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
코로나 레드라는 말이 나올 만큼 답답함과 분노를 호소하는 이들이 있었다.
Some people voiced enough frustration and anger for the term 코로나 레드 to emerge.

02Documented history

September 2020경향신문 explained it as a neologism for anger during the spread of an infectious disease.[1]
December 2020영남일보 covered it as a neologism expressing emotions related to COVID-19.[2]

03Origin & word formation

A 경향신문 column describes distrust and anger associated with COVID-19’s spread as ‘red’. 영남일보 also introduces it as a related emotional expression. It compares emotions to colors and is not used to establish a medical stage. The first user could not be identified.

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