According to Korea's historical book "Samgukyusa" (History of the Three Kingdoms), proverbs were called "Rion" in Korean (folk saying).

In the period of the Feudal Joson Dynasty (1392-1910), the Korean people began to call proverbs "Sokdam".

"Sunoji", the first collection of proverbs in Korea, was published in the 17th century, containing more than 130 proverbs. And "Idamsokchan" by a realist scholar Jong Yak Yong was published in the early 19th century.

After Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule (August 15, 1945), such books on proverbs as "Collection of Korean Idioms and Proverbs", "Collection of Korean Proverbs", "Korean Proverbs" and "Korean Idiom and Proverb Dictionary" were brought out.