Korean slang profile
반반차
banbancha
Two hours of leave
A leave arrangement that divides a half-day off in half again, allowing time off in two-hour blocks.
- Expanded form
- Not documented
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Aug 29, 2017
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
반반차를 써서 두 시간만 일찍 나갔어.
I used two hours of leave to head out early.
- Quoted from a source
‘반반차’ 제도는 반차 휴가(4시간)를 반으로 나눠 사용하는 것이다.[2]
The system divides a four-hour half-day off in half again.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- August 2017Yonhap News: “(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Eun-kyung = Hyundai Department Store Group announced on the 29th that it will be the first in the distribution industry to introduce the ‘2-hour vacation system’ (반반차 vacation), which uses annual leave in two-hour increments.”[1]
- February 2023The system divides a four-hour half-day off in half again.[2]
03Origin & word formation
Where the expression originated has not been verified. The 2023 source from Newsis only explains the meaning.
Evidence for the origin explanationLow
The meaning is supported, but the sources do not explain how the expression was formed.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- "반반차 쓸게요" 현대百 2시간 휴가제 첫 도입…"저녁있는 삶" (연합뉴스)Published Aug 29, 2017Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- 세아상역, '반반차' 휴가제 시행…"사내 조직문화 활성화" (뉴시스)Published Feb 13, 2023Original source checked Nov 5, 2026