In October 1967, Singapore experienced a mass outbreak of Koro (genital retraction syndrome), where hundreds of men, mostly Chinese, panicked believing their penises were shrinking into their bodies due to rumored poisoning or supernatural causes, leading to hospital rushes and physical countermeasures like clamps. It lasted about 10 days amid social tensions post-independence. Similar epidemics occurred in China and India, reflecting cultural anxieties.

Koro epidemics inform Southeast Asian literature on masculinity, rumor, and postcolonial panic, influencing poets addressing body, identity, and collective fear. They parallel global folklore of bodily transformation, enriching magical realism and experimental poetry in Asian diasporic voices, highlighting how mass delusions shape cultural narratives and language of anxiety.