English translation · Awaiting review

Korean slang profile

썸맥

sseommaek

Loose relationships that are broad but shallow and brief.

Loose relationships that are broad but shallow and brief.

Expanded form
Not documented
Other spellings
—
Earliest source found
Dec 10, 2015
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

    모임에서는 오래 묶이지 않는 가벼운 관계를 썸맥이라고 설명했다.

    At the gathering, 썸맥 was explained as a casual relationship without long-term ties.

02Documented history

  1. 2015-12-10The National Institute of Korean Language’s “2015년 신어” included the expression’s definition and examples of usage.[1]

03Origin & word formation

The meaning and contemporary examples of “썸맥” were checked in the National Institute of Korean Language’s “2015년 신어”. Who first used it and when have not been verified.

Evidence for the origin explanationMedium

The explanation in one National Institute of Korean Language source was checked. The evidence is on PDF page 142; the older article texts re-quoted there and the first use of the expression were not separately verified.

04Sources

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

  1. 2015년 신어 (국립국어원)Published Dec 10, 2015Original source checked Nov 14, 2026
Original Korean record: Not verifiedEnglish translation: awaiting review

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