Here are four interesting job-related Korean idioms!

1. 취준생

I’ve said this before, but Koreans use abbreviations in many situations. “취준생” is also one of them!

취 refers to 취업 (finding a job).

준 refers to 준비 (preparing)

생 is the last word of 학생 (student).

When you put them together, it means, “I am a student (person) preparing to find a job.”

People use this idiom when they are in-between jobs.

2. 철밥통

철 is steel while 밥통 means a rice-cooker (or a rice-bowl).

The literal meaning is a rice bowl made from steel.

This idiom is often used to describe those who work in public sectors because the chances of them getting fired is slim.

Being a civil servant is a stable, but competitive field here in Korea.

3. 목구멍이 포도청

목구멍 is a throat, and 포도청 is an old word used to describe a police bureau.

Putting food on the table is very important, which forces many people to continue to work jobs that they do not enjoy doing. This idiom could be used to describe someone in this situation.

4. 직업병

Can literally be translated “job-sickness” or “job-disease.”

This can be used both positively (humorously) and negatively.

For example, let’s suppose that you are an office worker who has developed pain in your wrists from typing at a computer all day. In this case, you can say, “the pain in my wrist is a job-disease.”

Meanwhile, the personality you develop after working a certain job can also be called “직업병” (job disease or job-sickness).

For example, my mother was a teacher for 20 years and sometimes when she talks, she still sounds like she is lecturing a class. That’s her “직업병.”

What about this? Let’s suppose that you are a TV personality. One day, you are having a family gathering and even though no one expects you to entertain the group, you still feel it is your responsibility to do so.

This “personality” developed after working in a certain field for a long time is also called ”직업병”.