Korean slang profile
삼일절
samiljeol
Wordplay about employment anxiety at 31
Wordplay abbreviating “at 31, the path to employment is blocked, bringing despair,” used to portray employment difficulties. This differs from the national holiday 삼일절.
- Expanded form
- 31세면 취업길이 막혀 절망한다at 31, the path to employment is blocked, bringing despair
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Aug 2, 2006
- 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
취업 준비생들의 불안을 설명하며 삼일절이라는 옛 신조어를 소개했다.
An old neologism, 삼일절, was introduced to explain jobseekers’ anxiety.
02Documented history
- 2006-08-02This source introduced “삼일절” and explained its meaning.[1]
03Origin & word formation
It shortens 31세면 취업길이 막혀 절망한다. A Kukmin Ilbo article republished on Daum gives the expression together with its expanded form. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
This expression of employment anxiety appears in an article of the time. It is neither a claim that getting a job at a certain age is impossible nor a statistic; first use remains unverified.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- ‘정우성’ ‘우행시’ ‘여병추’…줄임말의 미학? 유희? (국민일보 / 다음 전재)Published Aug 2, 2006Original source checked Nov 14, 2026