Korean slang profile

취업 연어족

chwieop yeoneojok

People who leave a company and later rejoin their former workplace.

Expanded form: Not documented
Other spellings: 취업연어족, 부메랑 근로자
Earliest source found: Mar 11, 2026
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
다른 회사에서 일하다 돌아온 취업 연어족의 경험담을 읽었다.
I read an account from a 취업 연어족 worker who returned after working at another company.

02Documented history

March 2026이투데이 introduced the meaning and usage of this expression.[1]

03Origin & word formation

이투데이 also calls workers returning to former workplaces boomerang employees. The expression compares their return to salmon. Who first used it and when could not be established.

Evidence for the origin explanationMedium

The meaning and usage were checked in the source. When it was first used and how it spread need further comparison.

04Sources

Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.

[이투데이 말투데이] 고침한등(孤枕寒燈)/취업 연어족 (이투데이)Published Mar 11, 2026Original source checked Nov 13, 2026