Korean slang profile
족보
jokbo
A collection of past exam questions
A university term for materials collecting questions that appeared on earlier exams.
- Expanded form
- Not documented
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Sep 23, 2000
- 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
시험 전에 선배한테 족보를 얻었어.
I got a collection of past exam questions from an older student before the test.
- Quoted from a source
‘족보(시험 기출문제)’[2]
족보: past exam questions.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- September 2000OhmyNews: “This was the reason why many Seoul National University graduate school students tried to obtain the so-called “족보” floating around among Seoul National University students and diligently visited Seoul National University to seek information.”[1]
- December 2013OhmyNews: “Most Korean students taking this course obtained and took ‘족보 (exam questions).”[2]
03Origin & word formation
Where the expression originated has not been verified. The 2013 source from OhmyNews 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.
- 서울대학교 학사편입 타교생 확대 (오마이뉴스)Published Sep 23, 2000Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- 몇해째 "3부문모형 설명하라"... 대학 내 족보를 아시나요? (오마이뉴스)Published Dec 26, 2013Original source checked Nov 5, 2026