Say "Corona Bigamyeom" Instead of "Never COVID19"

"Corona Bigamyeom" and "Remittance Information Recording System"
Recommended as Korean Alternatives for Foreign Terms

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language recommended on August 16 that the term "never COVID19" be replaced in Korean with "corona bigamyeom," meaning "never infected with COVID-19." They also suggested "songgeum jeongbo girokje," meaning "remittance information recording system," as a Korean alternative to the term "travel rule."

"Never COVID19" refers to a state of never having contracted COVID-19, or to people who have never been infected. The Ministry and the Institute reviewed the appropriateness and usability of the term at a neologism meeting held on August 3, and decided to use "corona bigamyeom" as the replacement. The final selection reflected the results of a survey. In a public acceptance poll conducted from August 5 to August 11 with about 2,000 participants, 77.2% of respondents said the replacement was appropriate. Additionally, 67.8% agreed on the necessity of replacing foreign terms with Korean alternatives.

The "travel rule" refers to a principle that requires the recording of sender and recipient information when transferring virtual assets or funds online, in order to prevent money laundering and other illicit activities. The Ministry and the Institute selected "remittance information recording system" as the appropriate Korean replacement.

The neologism meeting is a committee that provides easy-to-understand Korean alternatives for difficult foreign neologisms before they become widespread. Experts from various fields, including Korean language, foreign languages, education, public relations and publishing, information and communications, and media, participate in the committee. The Ministry and the Institute plan to continue promoting the use of these replacement terms by government agencies and media organizations.