열공 (yeolgong)

What it means

1. 1.

   Studying flat out. Said of exam season, and used as an encouragement — 열공해 is 'work hard'.

2. 2.

   Korea's exam culture gives this word more weight than an English translation suggests: the 수능 university entrance test is a single day the whole country arranges itself around, down to delaying flights during the listening section.

Examples with translations

• 요즘 열공 중이야.

  I'm buried in studying at the moment.

• 시험 얼마 안 남았으니까 열공해.

  Exams are close — get your head down.

Where it comes from

열심히 공부하다, 'study hard', cut to its first syllables.

Other forms

Romanised as:

yeolgong