Korean slang profile

언팔

unfollow

Unfollowing someone

Canceling an existing social media follow so that you no longer subscribe to someone's posts.

Expanded form: 언팔로우(Unfollow)Unfollowing someone
Other spellings: —
Earliest source found: Apr 6, 2010
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
너무 자주 올려서 살짝 언팔했어.
They posted so often that I quietly unfollowed them.
Quoted from a source
언팔로: 구독을 중지하는 것으로, 줄여서 ‘언팔’이라고 부른다.[1]
To 언팔: To stop subscription, abbreviated as ‘언팔’.
English translation by Julimmal.

02Documented history

April 2010To 언팔: To stop subscription, abbreviated as ‘언팔’.[1]
April 2017Newspim: “언팔 is an abbreviation for 언팔 low (Unfollow) and means canceling an existing follow.”[2]

03Origin & word formation

Short for “언팔로우(Unfollow).” The 2010 source from Kyunghyang Shinmun 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.

트위터 초보자를 위한 조언 (경향신문)Published Apr 6, 2010Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
[SNS그림자①] “나만 불행해” 카·페·인 우울증 앓는 현대인 (뉴스핌)Published Apr 27, 2017Original source checked Nov 5, 2026