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Korean Vocabulary: Occupations and Professions

by Dee Fialho // March 28 // 0 Comments

Today we are going to focus on learning some useful vocabulary for describing occupations and professions.

Korean Vocabulary Occupations and Professions

If you read our article on time and date you might remember we mentioned that 일 (eel) should only be used as a counter for days as it has a different meaning when used by itself. 

In today's lesson we will see 일 [eel] again as it means β€œwork.”

일 [eel] = work (of any kind)

직업 [ji-geob] = job

If you want to ask what someone does for a living it would be:

무슨 일을 ν•˜μ„Έμš”? [mo-seun eel-eul ha-seo-yo] = What do you do?

While if you want to ask what someone’s job is, it would be:

직업이 λ­μ˜ˆμš”? [ji-geo-bi mwo-ye-yo] = What is your job?

Now let’s check a list of professions and occupations you can add to your Korean vocabulary!

HangulRomanizationEnglish
νšŒκ³„μ‚¬hoe-kye-saAccountant
배우bae-uActor/Actress
건좕가geon-chuk-gaArchitect
μ˜ˆμˆ κ°€ye-sul-gaArtist
μš΄λ™μ„ μˆ˜un-dong-seon-suAthlete
μ €μžjeo-jaAuthor
은행원eun-haeng-wonBank clerk
사업가sa-eob-gaBusiness person/Entrepreneur
정비사jeong-bi-saCar mechanic
μΆœλ‚©μ›chul-na-bwonCashier
사μž₯sa-jangCEO/President
μš”λ¦¬μ‚¬yo-ri-saChef/Cook
μž‘κ³‘κ°€jak-gok-gaComposer
μΉ˜κ³Όμ˜μ‚¬chi-gwa-ui-saDentist
μ‘°μ‚¬μžjo-sa-jaDetective/Investigator
μ˜μ–‘ν•™μžyeong-yang-hak-jaDietitian/Nutricionist
λΆ€μž₯bu-jangDivision head/Director
μ˜μ‚¬ui-saDoctor
ꡐ윑자gyo-yuk-jaEducator
νšŒμ‚¬μ›hoe-sa-wonEmployee/Office worker
기술자gi-sul-jaEngineer/Technician
μ—°μ˜ˆμΈyeon-ye-inEntertainer/Celebrity
κΈ°μ—…κ°€gi-eob-gaEntrepreneur
농뢀nong-buFarmer
μ†Œλ°©κ΄€so-bang-gwanFirefighter
μŠΉλ¬΄μ›seung-mu-wonFlight attendant
μ •λΆ€ 곡무원jeong-bu gong-mu-wonGovernment official
λ―Έμš©μ‚¬mi-yong-saHairdresser
μ£ΌλΆ€ju-buHousewife
톡역사tong-yeok-saInterpreter/Translator
발λͺ…κ°€bal-myeong-gaInventor
λ³€ν˜Έμ‚¬byeon-ho-saLawyer
ꡬ쑰원gu-jo-wonLifeguard
λ§ˆμˆ μ‚¬ma-sul-saMagician
μš°μ²΄λΆ€u-che-buMail carrier/Postman
λ§€λ‹ˆμ €mae-ni-jeoManager
ꡰ인gun-inMilitary personnel/Soldier
μ˜ν™” 감독yeong-hwa gam-dokMovie director/Filmmaker
μŒμ•…κ°€eum-ak-gaMusician
λͺ¨λΈmo-delModel
보λͺ¨bo-moNanny
κ°„ν˜Έμ‚¬gan-ho-saNurse
λͺ©μ‚¬mok-saPastor
약사yak-saPharmacist
사진사sa-jin-saPhotographer
쑰쒅사jo-jong-saPilot
κ²½μ°°κ΄€gyeong-chal-gwanPolice officer
μ •μΉ˜κ°€jeong-chi-gaPolitician
ꡐ사gyo-saProfessor/Teacher
ν”„λ‘œκ·Έλž˜λ¨Έpeu-ro-geu-rae-meoProgrammer
μ‹ λΆ€shin-buPriest
ꡐμž₯μ„ μƒλ‹˜gyo-jang-seon-saeng-nimPrincipal
λΆ€λ™μ‚°μ—…μžbu-dong-san-eob-jaReal estate agent
μ ‘μˆ˜μ›jeob-su-wonReceptionist
μ‹¬νŒshim-panReferee
기자gi-jaReporter
νŒλ§€μ›pan-mae-wonSalesman
μ˜μ—… 사원yeong-eob sa-wonSalesperson
κ³Όν•™μžgwa-hak-jaScientist
μ•ˆμ „μš”μ›an-jeon-yo-wonSecurity guard
λΉ„μ„œbi-seoSecretary
κ°€μˆ˜ga-suSinger
μ‚¬νšŒλ³΅μ§€μ‚¬sa-hoe-bok-ji-saSocial worker
학생hak-saengStudent
νƒμ‹œκΈ°μ‚¬taek-si-gi-saTaxi driver
μ„ μƒλ‹˜seon-saeng-nimTeacher
λ²ˆμ—­κ°€beon-yeok-gaTranslator
여행사yeo-haeng-saTravel agent
백수baek-suUnemployed
λŒ€λ¦¬ μš΄μ „μ‚¬dae-ri-un-jeon-saValet driver
κ΅κ°μ„ μƒλ‹˜gyo-gam-seon-saeng-nimVice-principal
μ§€μ›μžji-won-jaVolunteer
μž‘κ°€jak-gaWriter/Author

Let’s check some useful phrases using the vocabulary you just learned!

If someone asks you:

무슨 일을 ν•˜μ„Έμš” [mo-seun eel-eul ha-seo-yo]? = What do you do?

The sentence structure to answer that is:

μ €λŠ” + occupation + μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€ [jeo-neun + occupation + im-ni-da]. = I am a/an + occupation.

So if you want to say that you are a student it would be like this:

μ €λŠ” ν•™μƒμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€ [jeo-neun hak-saeng im-ni-da]. = I am a student.

Some other useful sentence structures are:

당신은 + occupation + μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€ [dang-shin-eun + occupation + im-ni-da]. = You are a/an + occupation.

κ·Έλ…€λŠ” + occupation + μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€ [geu-nyeo-neun + occupation + im-ni-da]. = She is a/an + occupation.

κ·ΈλŠ” + occupation + μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€ [geu-neun + occupation + im-ni-da]. = He is a/an + occupation.

That’s all for today's lesson! We went through a list of common professions and occupations that should prove useful on your journey of learning Korean. 

Make sure to include as many of them as possible in your daily life to help with memorization. With the use of the sentence structures you’ve learned it should come naturally after a few tries.

Other Korean vocabulary lists you could check out:

10 Romantic Korean Words and Phrases to Express Your Love in Korean

Korean Emotion Vocabulary: How to Express Your Feelings in Korean

All About Baby! Baby-Related Korean Vocabulary

REVIEW AND REPEAT DAILY, AND YOU WILL SEE PROGRESS!
ν™”μ΄νŒ…!!

About the Author Dee Fialho

Dee Fialho is a Software Engineer and language enthusiast. When not coding or studying a new language, she enjoys brewing some delicious coffee.