Meanings
- South KoreaneologismuncountablegovernmentThe phenomenon of South Korea being alienated from the international community in the course of discussions on North Korea in 2017.First known use 2017
The expression “Korea Passing” is being used more frequently these days by politicians and scholars in South Korea because they feel insecure while North Korea and the U.S. are talking mostly to each other.
2017 September 26, “Korea Passing: Seoul’s New Foreign Policy Concern”, in ScienceDirect
Origin
From Korea + passing, a term coined in 2017, in allusion to the earlier term "Japan passing", coined when US president Bill Clinton visited China without visiting Japan in 1998.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Korea Passing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Korea%20Passing
“Korea Passing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Korea%20Passing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Korea Passing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Korea%20Passing.
Source: Korea Passing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.