Korean slang profile
카공족
kagongjok
People who study in cafes
People who use cafes as places to study.
- Expanded form
- Not documented
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Apr 21, 2015
- 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
카공족이 많아서 오후엔 자리 찾기 어려워.
So many people study at the cafe that it's hard to find a seat in the afternoon.
- Quoted from a source
카페에서 공부하는 이들을 일컫던 ‘카공족’에서 파생된 단어로 장소가 제과점으로 바뀐 것.[2]
It is a word derived from ‘카공족’, which referred to people studying at a cafe, and the place was changed to a bakery.
English translation by Julimmal.
02Documented history
- April 2015Dong-A Ilbo: “The number of so-called ‘카공족’, teenagers who study in cafes such as coffee shops, is increasing these days, especially in academy districts called special education zones, such as Gangnam-gu and Yangcheon-gu in Seoul.”[1]
- October 2020It is a word derived from ‘카공족’, which referred to people studying at a cafe, and the place was changed to a bakery.[2]
03Origin & word formation
Where the expression originated has not been verified. The 2020 source from Jeonbuk Ilbo 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.
- [신나는 공부]시끌벅적 카페가 집중력 높여준다? (동아일보)Published Apr 21, 2015Original source checked Nov 5, 2026
- [NIE] ‘코로나 신조어’를 통해 본 2020 대한민국 (전북일보)Published Oct 15, 2020Original source checked Nov 5, 2026