Vocabulary
퇴직
noun
Beginner
resignation; retirement from a job
work
갑자기 퇴직을 하면 생활비가 걱정되죠.
If you quit suddenly, you worry about living expenses, don't you.
환자
noun
Beginner
patient (medical)
work
이 환자는 오늘 처음 오신 분이에요.
This patient is someone coming for the first time today.
백수
noun
Beginner
unemployed person; someone without a job
work finance
회사를 그만두고 나서 두 달째 백수예요.
It's been two months since I quit and I'm unemployed.
소신
noun
Beginner
personal conviction; one's own principled belief
emotions work
소신대로 일하는 게 쉽지 않아요.
It's not easy to work according to your own convictions.
과잉 진료
noun
Intermediate
over-treatment; unnecessary or excessive medical procedures for profit
work
과잉 진료 문제는 의료계 전반에 걸쳐 심각하게 논의되고 있어요.
The issue of over-treatment is being discussed seriously across the entire medical community.
하극상
noun
Intermediate
insubordination; a subordinate rebelling against or disrespecting a superior
work emotions
신입 사원이 팀장한테 대놓고 반박하면 하극상으로 보일 수 있어요.
If a new employee openly contradicts a team leader, it can look like insubordination.
눈탱이 치다
expression
Intermediate
to rip someone off; to fleece or swindle a customer (colloquial)
finance work
관광지에서 바가지 요금으로 눈탱이 치는 곳은 피하는 게 좋아요.
It's best to avoid places that rip you off with inflated tourist prices.
갑질
noun
Intermediate
abuse of power by a superior over a subordinate; high-handed behavior
work emotions
직장 내 갑질은 신고할 수 있다는 걸 알아야 해요.
You should know that workplace power abuse can be reported.
개원하다
verb
Intermediate
to open one's own clinic or practice (medical/legal contexts)
work finance
의사들이 개원하려면 초기 비용이 정말 많이 필요해요.
Doctors need a lot of initial capital to open their own clinic.
비보험
noun
Intermediate
non-covered (by insurance); out-of-pocket medical items not covered by national health insurance
finance work
비보험 치료는 환자 본인이 전액 부담해야 해요.
For non-covered treatments, the patient has to pay the full amount themselves.
함축적
adjective
Intermediate
implicit; laden with implied meaning; suggestive
emotions
그 드라마의 마지막 장면은 함축적인 의미가 많아서 해석이 다양해요.
The last scene of that drama has a lot of implicit meaning so there are many interpretations.
종살이
noun
Advanced
a life of servitude; living and working like a slave with no freedom (figurative)
work emotions
월급도 적고 야근도 많으면 직장 생활이 종살이처럼 느껴질 수 있어요.
If the pay is low and overtime is constant, working life can feel like servitude.
노비 문서
noun
Advanced
a slave contract; historically, documents recording ownership of bonded servants — used figuratively to mean a binding employment contract with no escape
work finance
직장인들은 가끔 계약서를 노비 문서라고 부르며 자조하기도 해요.
Office workers sometimes mockingly call their contracts 'slave documents' out of self-deprecation.
하사하다
verb
Advanced
to bestow; to grant a gift from a superior (originally formal/royal) — used sarcastically here in self-deprecating humor
emotions
스스로에게 합격 선물을 하사하는 것도 나쁘지 않아요.
Bestowing upon yourself a passing-exam gift isn't a bad thing either.
Key Expressions
Expressing indignation or calling out hypocrisy
말에 뼈가 있다
"there are bones in the words"
An idiom meaning someone's words contain a hidden sting or pointed criticism beneath the surface. Used when a remark sounds neutral but implies something cutting.
그 말에 뼈가 있는 것 같아서 기분이 좀 이상했어요.
That comment seemed to have a hidden barb, so it left me feeling a bit off.
이 바닥에 다시는 발 못 붙이게
"so that you can never plant your feet in this field again"
A threat idiom meaning to permanently blacklist someone from an industry or community. 이 바닥 literally means 'this floor/ground' but figuratively refers to a professional circle or scene.
그 사람이 업계에서 이 바닥에 다시는 발 못 붙이게 하겠다고 했대요.
They say that person threatened to make sure he could never work in this industry again.
Deflecting or making dark-humored resolutions
마시고 죽자
"let's drink and die"
Hyperbolic expression used between close friends to mean 'let's drink until we can't anymore.' The -고 죽자 pattern with verbs expresses doing something to the extreme; it is not literal.
오늘 고생 많았으니까 맛있는 거 먹고 죽자.
You worked so hard today, let's eat something delicious until we're absolutely done.
Reciting or invoking authority
히포크라테스 선서요, 기억은 합니까?
"The Hippocratic Oath — do you even remember it?"
Hye-jin uses a declarative followed by a rhetorical question to challenge her boss's ethics. The formal ~합니까 form used here is deliberately sharp and confrontational, invoking professional accountability.
의사로서 처음에 한 약속, 기억은 합니까?
The promise you made as a doctor at the very beginning — do you even remember it?
Grammar Patterns
-는 주제에
Criticizing contradiction: 'despite being/doing X'
Attached to a verb or noun modifier, -는 주제에 highlights a hypocritical or ironic contrast: the subject occupies a lowly or contradictory position yet acts in an unwarranted way. It carries a strong tone of reproach or sarcasm and is predominantly used in spoken, emotionally charged language.
Practice sentences
맨날 지각하는 주제에 다른 사람한테 뭐라고 하면 안 되죠.
You shouldn't lecture others when you yourself are late every single day.
돈도 없는 주제에 매일 명품을 사요?
They're buying luxury goods every day despite having no money?
💡 Do not confuse with -는데도 (despite the fact that); -는 주제에 specifically implies the speaker's moral judgment or contempt toward the subject.
-(으)면 좋겠다
Expressing a wish or hopeful desire
This pattern expresses a personal wish or hope, often for a situation the speaker cannot directly control. It is softer than an imperative and more wistful than a plain future statement. The particle 이나/이라도 before 좋겠다 adds a resigned nuance of 'at least.'
Practice sentences
다음 직장은 가까웠으면 좋겠어요.
I hope my next job is nearby.
빨리 좋은 병원을 찾을 수 있었으면 좋겠어요.
I hope I can find a good hospital quickly.
💡 The tense inside the conditional is past (줬으면, 찾을 수 있었으면) even though the wish is for the future — this is a fixed feature of this pattern and commonly confuses learners.
-아/어서
Causal connection: 'because / and then'
The connector -아/어서 links two clauses where the first is the reason for or sequential action leading to the second. Unlike -으니까, the subject of both clauses must be the same and it cannot attach to past tense markers. In this scene it appears both for causation and sequential narration.
Practice sentences
어젯밤에 너무 많이 마셔서 머리가 너무 아파요.
I drank too much last night so my head is pounding.
갑자기 퇴사해서 다음 달 생활비가 걱정돼요.
Because I quit suddenly, I'm worried about next month's living expenses.
💡 Never use -아/어서 with past tense before it (e.g., 마셨어서 is wrong); keep the verb stem in present form even when referring to past events.
Cultural Notes
Hippocratic Oath in Korean medical culture
The 히포크라테스 선서 (Hippocratic Oath) is taken seriously in Korean medical education and serves as a strong moral touchstone. Hye-jin's public recitation of it is both a sincere appeal to professional ethics and a humiliating public shaming of her boss. Invoking it in a conflict is understood by Korean viewers as the ultimate moral trump card.
갑을 관계 (Gab-eul relationship)
Korean society frequently references the 갑 (party A / the powerful) and 을 (party B / the subordinate) dynamic in work relationships. 갑질 — power abuse by the 갑 party — is a widely discussed social issue in Korea, and Hye-jin quitting over it resonates with a generational frustration many Korean workers feel. This terminology appears in labor law discussions and everyday conversation.
셀프 퇴직 선물 (Self-resignation gift) and retail therapy
Buying oneself a gift immediately after a major life event — especially something impulsive and expensive — is a comedic K-drama trope rooted in real behavior. The joke lands because the audience understands the emotional logic: spend money to feel in control when everything else is chaotic. Mi-seon's quip that 'the card company sent the message first' pokes fun at Korean credit card debt culture.
과잉 진료 (Over-treatment) as a social concern
Dental and medical over-treatment is a real and debated issue in South Korea, particularly in private clinics where non-covered (비보험) procedures can be highly lucrative. Recommending expensive implants over salvageable teeth or pushing unnecessary procedures is a known criticism of some private practices. Hye-jin's accusations reflect genuine public skepticism toward for-profit medicine.