Your Job

Korean Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 6 · Talking About Your Job

💼 Talking About Your Job — 직업

In this chapter you learn to ask what someone does, say what you do, and say where you work or study. You will also meet the respectful 님 that Koreans attach to job titles, and see how work titles are used in place of names. It builds on 이에요/예요 from Chapter 2 and on 에서 from Chapter 4.

eo = ㅓ (short, open "uh") eu = ㅡ (unrounded "oo") ae = ㅐ (like the vowel in "bed") [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling

① What Do You Do? — 무슨 일을 하세요?

A: 무슨 일을 하세요? Museun il-eul haseyo? What do you do for a living?

B: 저는 회사원이에요. 서울에서 일해요. Jeoneun hoesawon-ieyo. Seoul-eseo ilhaeyo. I'm an office worker. I work in Seoul.

A: 아, 그래요? 일이 재미있어요? A, geuraeyo? Il-i jaemiisseoyo? Oh, really? Is the work interesting?

B: 네, 재미있어요. Ne, jaemiisseoyo. Yes, it is.

② A Student — 대학생이에요

A: 직업이 뭐예요? Jigeobi mwoyeyo? What's your occupation?

B: 저는 학생이에요. 대학교에 다녀요. Jeoneun haksaeng-ieyo. Daehakgyo-e danyeoyo. I'm a student. I go to university.

A: 무슨 공부를 해요? Museun gongbu-reul haeyo? What do you study?

B: 컴퓨터 공부를 해요. Keompyuteo gongbu-reul haeyo. I study computing.

③ A Teacher — 선생님이세요?

A: 무슨 일을 하세요? Museun il-eul haseyo? What do you do?

B: 학교에서 영어를 가르쳐요. Hakgyo-eseo yeongeo-reul gareuchyeoyo. I teach English at a school.

A: 아, 선생님이세요? A, seonsaengnim-iseyo? Oh, you're a teacher?

B: 네, 선생님이에요. Ne, seonsaengnim-ieyo. Yes, I am.

④ Working With Computers — 컴퓨터 회사에서

A: 무슨 일을 하세요? Museun il-eul haseyo? What do you do?

B: 컴퓨터 회사에서 기술 지원 일을 해요. Keompyuteo hoesa-eseo gisul jiwon il-eul haeyo. I work in technical support at a computer company.

A: 바쁘세요? Bappeuseyo? Are you busy?

B: 네, 아주 바빠요. 그래도 재미있어요. Ne, aju bappayo. Geuraedo jaemiisseoyo. Yes, very busy. But it's fun.

⑤ At a Business Meeting (formal) — 명함을 주고받을 때

A: 어디에서 일하십니까? Eodi-eseo ilhasimnikka? Where do you work?

B: 무역 회사에서 일합니다. 영업팀 과장입니다. Muyeok hoesa-eseo ilhamnida. Yeongeopteam gwajang-imnida. I work at a trading company. I'm a section chief in the sales team.

A: 아, 과장님이십니까? 만나서 반갑습니다. A, gwajangnim-isimnikka? Mannaseo bangapseumnida. Oh, you're a section chief? Nice to meet you.

⑥ Two Friends (casual) — 친구끼리

A: 너 무슨 일 해? Neo museun il hae? What do you do?

B: 나 은행에서 일해. Na eunhaeng-eseo ilhae. I work at a bank.

A: 은행원이야? 멋있다! Eunhaengwon-iya? Meositda! A bank clerk? Cool!

B: 응. 너는? Eung. Neoneun? Yeah. And you?

🗝️ Key Phrases — 중요한 표현

Use the polite column with people you don't know well. The casual column is for friends your own age or younger, and for understanding what you hear.

Situation	Polite	Casual
What do you do?	무슨 일을 하세요? museun il-eul haseyo?	무슨 일 해? museun il hae?
What's your occupation?	직업이 뭐예요? jigeobi mwoyeyo? (formal: 직업이 무엇입니까?)	직업이 뭐야? jigeobi mwoya?
I'm a …	저는 …이에요 / …예요 jeoneun …ieyo / …yeyo	나는 …이야 / …야 naneun …iya / …ya
I work as a … (job + work)	저는 간호사 일을 해요 jeoneun ganhosa il-eul haeyo	나는 간호사 일을 해 naneun ganhosa il-eul hae
I work at a …	병원에서 일해요 byeongwon-eseo ilhaeyo	병원에서 일해 byeongwon-eseo ilhae
Where do you work?	어디에서 일하세요? eodi-eseo ilhaseyo?	어디에서 일해? eodi-eseo ilhae?
I'm a student	학생이에요. 대학교에 다녀요. haksaeng-ieyo. daehakgyo-e danyeoyo.	학생이야. 대학교에 다녀. haksaeng-iya. daehakgyo-e danyeo.
What do you study?	무슨 공부를 해요? museun gongbu-reul haeyo?	무슨 공부 해? museun gongbu hae?
Are you a teacher? (respectful)	선생님이세요? seonsaengnim-iseyo?	(not used)

🔤 Three Verbs You Can Already Use — 동사

The verbs for work and study: 일하다 (to work), 다니다 (to attend, to go regularly to a school or workplace) and 가르치다 (to teach).

Verb	Everyday polite (-요)	Formal (-ㅂ니다)	Casual
to work (일하다)	일해요 ilhaeyo	일합니다 ilhamnida	일해 ilhae
to attend (다니다)	다녀요 danyeoyo	다닙니다 danimnida	다녀 danyeo
to teach (가르치다)	가르쳐요 gareuchyeoyo	가르칩니다 gareuchimnida	가르쳐 gareuchyeo

🧑‍💼 Jobs and Workplaces — 직업과 일터

Jobs

Job	Korean	Say it
student	학생	hak-ssaeng
teacher	선생님	seon-saeng-nim
professor	교수	gyo-su
doctor	의사	ui-sa
nurse	간호사	gan-ho-sa
office worker	회사원	hoe-sa-won
bank clerk	은행원	eun-haeng-won
civil servant	공무원	gong-mu-won
engineer	엔지니어	en-ji-ni-eo
(software) developer	개발자	gae-bal-jja
cook; chef	요리사	yo-ri-sa
police officer	경찰	gyeong-chal
singer	가수	ga-su
actor	배우	bae-u
journalist	기자	gi-ja
writer	작가	jak-kka

Many job words end in the same handful of syllables: -원 means a member or worker (회사원, 은행원, 공무원), -사 a trained professional (의사, 간호사, 요리사), -자 a person who does something (개발자, 기자) and -가 a specialist or artist (작가). Spotting these helps you guess new words.

Places of work and study

Place	Korean	I work/study there
company	회사 hoesa	회사에서 일해요
hospital	병원 byeongwon	병원에서 일해요
bank	은행 eunhaeng	은행에서 일해요
school	학교 hakgyo	학교에서 일해요
restaurant	식당 sikdang	식당에서 일해요
university	대학교 daehakgyo	대학교에 다녀요

🏢 Titles at Work and Respectful Forms — 직함과 존댓말

In a Korean office a colleague or boss is usually addressed by surname + job title + 님, not by name. The 님 is a respectful suffix and shouldn't be left out for someone senior.

Title	Rough meaning	Example
사장님 sajangnim	company president	박 사장님
부장님 bujangnim	department head	김 부장님
팀장님 timjangnim	team leader	이 팀장님
과장님 gwajangnim	section chief; manager	최 과장님
대리님 daerinim	assistant manager	정 대리님

When you ask a respected person whether they hold a job, the copula changes too: 이에요/예요 becomes 이세요/세요.

Plain	Respectful
선생님이에요? (after a consonant)	선생님이세요? seonsaengnim-iseyo?
의사예요? (after a vowel)	의사세요? uisa-seyo?
과장님입니다 / 과장님이에요	과장님이십니까? gwajangnim-isimnikka? (formal question)

📖 Vocabulary — 어휘

20 key words. Read the Korean first, then check the romanization and the "Say it" column.

#	Korean	Say it	English	Type
1	직업	ji-geop	occupation; job	noun
2	일	il	work; job; task	noun
3	회사	hoe-sa	company	noun
4	회사원	hoe-sa-won	office worker	noun
5	학생	hak-ssaeng	student	noun
6	대학교	dae-hak-kkyo	university	noun
7	선생님	seon-saeng-nim	teacher	noun
8	의사	ui-sa	doctor	noun
9	간호사	gan-ho-sa	nurse	noun
10	은행원	eun-haeng-won	bank clerk	noun
11	엔지니어	en-ji-ni-eo	engineer	noun
12	개발자	gae-bal-jja	developer	noun
13	공부	gong-bu	study	noun
14	일하다	il-ha-da	to work	verb
15	다니다	da-ni-da	to attend; to go regularly to	verb
16	가르치다	ga-reu-chi-da	to teach	verb
17	무슨	mu-seun	what (kind of)	question word
18	사장님	sa-jang-nim	company president; boss	title
19	팀장님	tim-jjang-nim	team leader	title
20	과장님	gwa-jang-nim	section chief; manager	title

Two Ways to Ask — and to Answer To ask what someone does, 무슨 일을 하세요? ("what work do you do?") is the standard polite question. 직업이 뭐예요? ("what's your occupation?") is polite and a little more direct, like a form; the very formal version is 직업이 무엇입니까? You can answer with just the job: 저는 간호사예요, or by naming the work: 저는 간호사 일을 해요 ("I do nurse's work"). To add where, put the place and 에서 in front: 병원에서 일해요 (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4).

Titles Replace Names In Korean companies people are called by surname + title + 님, such as 김 부장님. It would sound rude to call a senior colleague by their first name. The same pattern covers other roles: 교수님 (professor), 기사님 (driver or technician). Newer or junior staff are, according to one source, often addressed by name + 님 or 씨 instead of a rank; rank titles are also being questioned in some companies today, so listen to what colleagues around you say. Outside work, a shop or restaurant owner is often called 사장님 too.

As Heard in Dramas — 드라마에서 Office dramas show the ladder in action: 팀장님, 과장님, 부장님 and 사장님 or 대표님 (the head of a company) are used in nearly every scene, with polite endings (-세요, -ㅂ니다). Juniors reply 네, 알겠습니다 ("yes, understood"). Away from the office the same characters switch to casual speech with friends. Students often say they 알바 ("part-time job") on the side.

Grammar Pointer 이에요/예요 is explained in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 5; the particle 에서 (where an action happens) in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4; the polite endings and the respectful -세요 in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 10; and how verbs like 일해요 are built in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 6.

✍️ Try It Yourself — 연습

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "I'm a student" and "I'm a doctor" politely.

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저는 학생이에요. and 저는 의사예요.

2. Ask a stranger what they do for a living (polite), and then a friend (casual).

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무슨 일을 하세요? and 무슨 일 해?

3. Say "I work at a bank."

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은행에서 일해요. (Eunhaeng-eseo ilhaeyo.)

4. Say "I'm a teacher and I teach English at a school."

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저는 선생님이에요. 학교에서 영어를 가르쳐요.

5. How do you address Mr Kim, a department head, politely?

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김 부장님 (surname + title + 님).

6. Choose 이에요 or 예요: 회사원__, 의사__, 선생님__, 개발자__.

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회사원이에요, 의사예요, 선생님이에요, 개발자예요.