Korean slang profile
낙바생
nakbasaeng
Soon-to-graduate students struggling to find work
An expression comparing the difficulty faced by soon-to-graduate jobseekers to a camel passing through the eye of a needle.
- Expanded form
- 낙타가 바늘구멍을 통과하듯 취업이 어려운 졸업 예정자soon-to-graduate students for whom finding work is as difficult as a camel passing through a needle’s eye
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- May 3, 2005
- 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
낙바생이라는 옛 표현을 보며 취업 준비의 어려움을 떠올렸다.
The old expression 낙바생 reminded me of the difficulties of job preparation.
02Documented history
- 2005-05-03This source introduced “낙바생” and explained its meaning.[1]
03Origin & word formation
A 2005 Kyunghyang Shinmun article defines it as soon-to-graduate students for whom finding work is as difficult as a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Joongdo Ilbo in 2006 also introduces it as an employment-related neologism. Its first user has not been identified.
Evidence for the origin explanationLow
The 2005 article describes soon-to-graduate students struggling to find work, while the 2006 article describes students who obtained jobs with difficulty; the accounts differ over employment status. The definition is limited to the earlier article’s explanation.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- [청년백수 전성시대] 신조어를 통해 본 청년실업 (경향신문)Published May 3, 2005Original source checked Nov 14, 2026
- 아리송한10대 외계어 삐삐 숫자전송이 시초 (중도일보)Published Aug 17, 2006Original source checked Nov 14, 2026