What does “썸 (sseom)” mean in Korean dating?

썸 comes from the English “something,” as in “there’s something between them.” It names the in-between stage: you text every day and go for coffee, but nobody has said you’re a couple yet. Koreans say 썸을 타다 (“to ride the something”) for being in that phase. Once someone confesses and the other says yes, the 썸 is over and you’re 사귀는 사이, officially dating.

It spins off more words: a 썸남 is the guy you have a “something” with and a 썸녀 the girl. The trailer for 월간 남친 (Monthly Boyfriend) pitches a virtual dating subscription to people who are too tired for all of it: 썸도 귀찮고 소개팅할 의욕도 없으신가요? (“Is even a 'something' a hassle, and a blind date more than you can face?”). The same line teaches 소개팅, the set-up blind date.