Korean slang profile

공시생

gongsisaeng

A civil service exam candidate

Someone preparing for the civil service exam.

This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.

01Examples, with English translations

Example by Julimmal
동생이 공시생이라 도서관에서 살아.
My younger sibling is studying for the civil service exam and practically lives at the library.
Quoted from a source
공무원시험 준비생, 이른바 ‘공시생’들이 밀집한 고시촌이 어느덧 파장 분위기다.[1]
The exam-preparation district, crowded with civil service candidates, already has the atmosphere of things winding down.
English translation by Julimmal.

October 2008The exam-preparation district, crowded with civil service candidates, already has the atmosphere of things winding down.[1]
July 2016YTN: “It turns out that 4 out of 10 job seekers are 공시생 preparing for the civil service exam.”[2]

Short for “공무원시험 준비생.” The 2008 source from Seoul Shinmun explicitly gives this explanation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.

Evidence for the origin explanationHigh

The explanation is explicit in the sources, and at least two sources use the same meaning. When it was first used is unknown.

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