Korean slang profile
욜로
YOLO
You only live once
An attitude of prioritizing happiness in the present because you only live once, from the English abbreviation “YOLO.”
- Expanded form
- You Only Live OnceYou only live once
- Other spellings
- YOLO
- Earliest source found
- Jan 5, 2017
- Documented trend period
- 2017~
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
욜로 정신으로 여행 질렀어.
I booked the trip with a “you only live once” attitude.
- Quoted from a source
욜로는 한 번뿐인 인생이니 하루하루에 충실하라는 메시지다.[1]
욜로 is a message to live faithfully every day as you only live once.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- 2011The EToday column explains that this word first appeared in the lyrics of American rapper Drake's song 'The Motto'.[1]
- September 2016According to the column, it was registered as a new word in the Oxford Dictionary, and it has become a greeting used by some young people instead of ‘Hello’ or ‘Good Luck’.[1]
- Early 2017Trend analysis books such as ‘Trend Korea 2017’ and ‘Life Trend 2017’ were selected as popular keywords of the year. On the one hand, there were concerns and criticism that it was a consumption-oriented life that did not prepare for the future.[1]
03Origin & word formation
The initials of “You Only Live Once.” An EToday column claims it first appeared in Drake's 2011 lyrics for The Motto. That account comes from a single column and has not been corroborated.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
The claim that it first appeared in Drake's lyrics comes from a single column and needs corroboration.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- [배국남의 직격탄] YOLO! 어떻게 살까? (이투데이)Published Jan 5, 2017Original source checked Nov 5, 2026