Say "Corona Gamyeom Huyujeung" Instead of "Long Covid"

Ministry of Culture and National Institute of Korean Language Select Alternative Words at Saemal Meeting

On the 12th, additional vaccinations (booster shots) began for COVID-19 treatment hospital workers who had completed their primary vaccination series more than six months ago. Treatment hospital workers are receiving vaccines at the Central Vaccination Center of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language recommended on the 3rd that 'long Covid' be replaced with the Korean term 'corona gamyeom huyujeung' (corona aftereffects). Long Covid refers to the aftereffects that appear following symptom onset in individuals infected with or suspected of being infected with COVID-19. Generally, about three months after the outbreak of COVID-19, major symptoms such as difficulty breathing, cognitive impairment, and fatigue appear. It is known to last for at least about two months.

At the new word meeting held on the 20th, the Ministry and the Institute reviewed the appropriateness of meaning and usability and decided on 'corona gamyeom huyujeung' as the alternative term. The selection also reflected survey results. In a public acceptance survey conducted from the 22nd to the 27th of last month with about 2,000 participants, 95.4% of respondents answered that the term was appropriate. 69.5% agreed on the necessity of a Korean language alternative.

The new word meeting is a committee that provides Korean language alternatives that are easy for the general public to understand before difficult foreign neologisms spread. Experts from various fields such as Korean language, foreign languages, education, publicity and publishing, information and communication, and media participate. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of the Korean Language plan to continuously promote the use of the alternative term led by government ministries and media outlets.

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