야근 (yageun) — When Quitting Time Has Passed and You're Still at Your Desk
야근
야근 (yageun) means work you keep doing past quitting time, on into the night. You could have left on time, but you didn’t — you stayed at your desk and kept going. That’s 야근.
Picture an office at 9 p.m. Only half the fluorescent lights are on, and three or four monitors glow blue. Cold coffee and the wrapper from a convenience-store rice ball (삼각김밥, samgak-gimbap) roll around on the desks. If a Korean drama has an office worker in it, this scene shows up at least once, almost without fail — and this word is the name that goes with the scene. It’s also the word Korean learners meet right after 퇴근 (toegeun) when they start trying to talk about work.
야근 is a noun, so it rarely stands alone; it almost always travels with a partner word.
- 야근하다 (yageunhada) — to do 야근, to work late. The most basic form.
- 야근을 시키다 (yageuneul sikida) — to make someone work late. The subject is usually the company or the boss.
- 야근이 잡히다 (yageuni japhida) — for late work to get set on you. The nuance of “not my choice” lives inside 잡히다.
- 잦은 야근 (jajeun yageun) — frequent, repeated late nights. Usually followed by a story about health falling apart.
The nuance is worth knowing too. The dictionary definition itself is neutral, but in actual conversation 야근 almost always sits in the seat of a complaint. ‘나 오늘 야근이야 (na oneul yageuniya)’ — “I’m working late today” — passes on information and asks for sympathy at the same time. So the listener responds with something like ‘고생한다 (gosaenghanda)’ — “that’s rough” — or ‘밥은 먹었어? (babeun meogeosseo?)’ — “have you eaten?” Answering ‘잘됐네 (jaldwaenne)’ — “nice!” — is either a joke or a fight.
One more thing: the heart of 야근 is night. If you went into the office on a Saturday afternoon and worked, that’s 주말 출근 (jumal chulgeun), not 야근. In the dictionary examples below you can see 야근 and 주말 출근 lined up side by side — but kept separate.
Checking it in the National Institute of Korean Language dictionary
The National Institute of Korean Language’s 《한국어기초사전》 (Basic Korean Dictionary) explains the word like this.
야근 (yageun) 「noun」 퇴근 시간이 지나 밤늦게까지 하는 일. (toegeun sigani jina bamneutgekkaji haneun il.) Work done past quitting time until late at night. [en] working overtime; night duty — An act of working overtime till late at night. [ja] ざんぎょう【残業】。ちょうかきんむ【超過勤務】 — 退勤する時刻を過ぎてからも残って夜遅くまでする仕事。 [es] trabajo extra por la noche, trabajo suplementario nocturno — Trabajo que se realiza fuera de la jornada laboral hasta muy tarde por la noche. [zh] 加班 — 过了下班时间后工作到很晚。 — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
Notice that the English gloss places working overtime and night duty right next to each other. 야근 is “extra work” and “night work” at the same time. Carrying both layers in a single word is what makes this term distinctive. For reference, a Portuguese translation isn’t included in this dictionary, so our editors have supplied one to help — trabalho noturno, hora extra à noite. (Please note this is our own translation, not a dictionary entry.)
Let’s also look at the real usage examples the dictionary lists.
아버지는 야근을 마치고 새벽 두 시 가까이가 되어서야 집에 들어오셨다. (abeojineun yageuneul machigo saebyeok du si gakkaiga doeeoseoya jibe deureoosyeotda.) My father finished his night work and didn’t get home until nearly two in the morning. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
This is 야근 seen from the family’s side. “Nearly two in the morning” shows just how late the end of a 야근 can come. When people in Korea talk about 야근, a concrete arrival-home time very often comes attached.
공장 기계를 24시간 지켜봐야 하는데 지금으로서는 야근이 가능한 사람이 없다. (gongjang gigyereul isipsasigan jikyeobwaya haneunde jigeumeuroseoneun yageuni ganeunghan sarami eopda.) We have to watch the factory machines 24 hours a day, but right now there’s nobody available for the night shift. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
The 야근 here isn’t office overtime but something closer to shift-based night duty — the night duty side of the meaning we saw above. In workplaces that run around the clock, like factories, hospitals, and broadcast stations, 야근 isn’t a punishment; it’s a box on the schedule.
가뜩 힘들어 죽겠는데 사장님이 야근을 하라고 하셔서. (gatteuk himdeureo jukgenneunde sajangnimi yageuneul harago hasyeoseo.) I’m already worn out as it is, and then the boss told me to work late, so… — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
Notice that the sentence simply stops at -해서. This unfinished sentence, with the rest swallowed, is itself the shape a complaint takes. The typical temperature of 야근 in conversation is packed into that one line.
왜 갑자기 야근에 주말 출근까지 하라는 거야? (wae gapjagi yageune jumal chulgeunkkaji haraneun geoya?) Why are they suddenly telling us to work late and come in on weekends too? — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
야근 and 주말 출근 are listed as two separate items. As mentioned earlier, 야근 is about the night, and 주말 출근 is about the day of the week. Put them together and the meaning is “no weekday nights and no weekend days either.”
그는 잦은 야근 탓에 강마르고 수척해졌다. (geuneun jajeun yageun tase gangmareugo sucheokhaejyeotda.) Because of his frequent late nights, he grew gaunt and haggard. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)
‘잦은 야근 탓에 (jajeun yageun tase)’ — “because of frequent late nights” — is practically a set phrase by now. One 야근 is an incident; once it becomes frequent, it turns into a story about your body. News articles use this expression exactly as it is, all the time.
See it in a real conversation
Situation: 11:30 p.m., the convenience store in front of the office. Jun-kyung is pouring water into a cup ramyeon when the door opens and Emily walks in.
Jun-kyung: 어? 너 아직 안 갔어? Huh? You haven’t left yet?
Emily: 방금 나왔어. 너야말로 또 야근이야? 이번 주에만 몇 번째야. I just got out. Look who’s working late again. How many times is that this week?
Jun-kyung: 세 번째. 내일 아침까지 보고서 넘겨야 돼. Third time. I have to hand in the report by tomorrow morning.
Emily: 근데 저녁을 컵라면으로 때워? 그러다 진짜 쓰러진다. And you’re making do with cup ramyeon for dinner? You’re going to collapse.
Jun-kyung: 어쩌겠어. 야근할 때는 이게 제일 빠르지. What can I do. When you’re working late, this is the quickest thing.
Emily: 잠깐만, 나 삼각김밥 두 개 살게. 같이 먹고 들어가자. Hold on, I’ll grab two rice balls. Let’s eat and then head home.
Jun-kyung: 야, 너 진짜… 고맙다. 이 맛에 야근 버틴다. Hey, you’re really… thanks. This is what gets me through the late nights.
These would sound off
✗ (leaving first, to a senior colleague who’s staying) 선배, 오늘도 야근 많이 하세요! (seonbae, oneuldo yageun mani haseyo!) — “Hope you get lots of overtime again today!” ✓ (leaving first, to a senior colleague who’s staying) 선배, 고생 많으셨어요. 너무 늦게까지 하지 마세요. (seonbae, gosaeng manasseoyo. neomu neutgekkaji haji maseyo.) — “You’ve worked hard today. Don’t stay too late.” → 야근 isn’t something you want to do; it’s something you’re stuck carrying. “Have lots of it” is only shaped like a kind wish — the content is closer to a sentence, so it lands as teasing. For someone staying behind, 고생하세요 (gosaenghaseyo) or 고생 많으셨어요 (gosaeng manasseoyo) is the safe choice.
✗ 어제 기말고사 공부하느라 새벽 세 시까지 야근했어. (eoje gimalgosa gongbuhaneura saebyeok se sikkaji yageunhaesseo.) ✓ 어제 기말고사 공부하느라 새벽 세 시까지 밤새웠어 (bamsaewosseo). (eoje gimalgosa gongbuhaneura saebyeok se sikkaji bamsaewosseo.) — “I stayed up until three in the morning studying for finals yesterday.” → 야근 means doing the job you were given at work past your set quitting time. It isn’t used for a student’s studying, for housework, or for hobby projects. 밤새우다 is the word that belongs in this spot.
Example sentences by situation
1. Two hours before dinner plans, the team lead asks for the materials again. A message to a friend.
미안, 오늘 야근 잡혔어. 다음 주로 미뤄도 될까? (mian, oneul yageun japhyeosseo. daeum juro mirwodo doelkka?) Sorry, I got stuck with overtime today. Can we push it to next week?
This is one of the sentences Korean office workers reach for most when breaking plans. The key is that it says ‘야근 잡혔어’ rather than ‘야근했어’. It means the work landed on you instead of being something you chose, which takes a little of the guilt off.
2. 10 p.m., and your mother calls.
저 아직 회사예요. 오늘은 야근이라 좀 늦을 것 같아요. (jeo ajik hoesayeyo. oneureun yageunira jom neujeul geot gatayo.) I’m still at the office. I have to work late today, so I’ll be a bit late.
‘야근이라’ is a shortened form of ‘야근이어서 (yageunieoseo)’, and it’s the most common way to give a reason. The next line from a Korean parent who hears this is all but fixed — ‘밥은 먹었니? (babeun meogeonni?)’ — “Have you eaten?”
3. Monday morning, a word from the team lead at the team meeting.
이번 주는 야근 없이 갑시다. (ibeon jueun yageun eopsi gapsida.) Let’s get through this week without any overtime.
‘야근 없이’ is a compact form that attaches straight onto the noun. When this sentence comes out in a meeting room, the mood brightens for a moment. Of course, it often gets overturned by about Thursday.
Polite and casual forms, plus similar expressions
야근 itself is a noun, so it carries no honorific level of its own. Polite versus casual is decided by the verb that follows it.
- Casual: 나 오늘 야근해. (na oneul yageunhae.) — I’m working late today.
- Polite: 저 오늘 야근해요. (jeo oneul yageunhaeyo.) — I’m working late today.
- Formal: 오늘 야근하겠습니다. (oneul yageunhagetseumnida.) — I will be working late today.
- Elevating the other person: 부장님, 오늘도 야근하세요? (bujangnim, oneuldo yageunhaseyo?) — Sir, are you working late again today?
Here’s how the similar-looking words differ.
| Expression | Temperature / intensity | Where it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| 야근 (yageun) | Neutral. The default word in everyday talk | Anywhere — with coworkers, family, or your boss |
| 잔업 (janeop) | Stiff and businesslike | Manufacturing and production floors; notices, employment contracts |
| 초과 근무 (chogwa geunmu) | The language of systems and paperwork | Pay calculations, attendance records, public institutions |
| 철야 (cheorya) | Strong. Staying up the entire night | Right before a deadline; broadcast and construction sites |
| 밤새우다 (bamsaeuda) | Personal. Doesn’t have to be work | Studying, gaming, caring for someone — anything |
| 칼퇴 (kaltoe) | Light and upbeat. The opposite pole from 야근 | Among peers, on social media. Be careful in front of superiors |
Cultural background — 야(夜) and 근(勤), and the last-train clock
야근 is a Sino-Korean word. 야(夜) means night, and 근(勤) means duty or work. Literally, “night work.” Because the construction is that simple, the meaning doesn’t wobble — a learner seeing it for the first time can grab the sense immediately just from the characters. In Japanese, which uses the same characters, 夜勤 (yakin) mainly refers to shift-based night duty while overtime gets its own separate word, 残業 (zangyō); Korean 야근 covers both territories with one word. That’s exactly why the office report and the 24-hour factory machine in the dictionary examples above ended up under the same term.
It also helps to learn the fragments of daily life that come attached to 야근 — your conversations will sound far more natural. One is 막차 (makcha), the last train. The Seoul subway stops running around midnight, so the clock of a person working late points not at quitting time but at the last train. ‘막차 놓쳤어 (makcha nochyeosseo)’ — “I missed the last train” — is, all by itself, a way of saying the late work ran long. The other is 야근 수당 (yageun sudang), night-work pay. Korea’s Labor Standards Act requires premium pay for extended and nighttime work, and since the 52-hour weekly cap began phasing in from 2018, 야근 has started being discussed as a matter of policy rather than only a personal complaint. 워라밸 (worabael, the Korean-style abbreviation of “work-life balance”), a word younger generations use constantly, sits on that same current.
Dramas love a 야근 scene too. tvN’s 《미생》 (Misaeng, 2014), about a new hire at a general trading company, is widely regarded as the work that captures the air of an overtime-filled office most accurately, and in tvN’s 《나의 아저씨》 (My Mister, 2018) the long walk home between the office building and the apartment late at night is used as a device to show what’s going on inside the characters. When you’re watching a Korean drama and a late-night office scene comes on, take a look at the expression on the characters’ faces as they pronounce this word. There’s a temperature there that the dictionary won’t tell you about.
Today’s quiz
In which of the following situations can 야근 not be used?
- A deadline slipped, so I stayed at the office working until 10 p.m.
- Because of final exams, I studied at the library until 3 a.m.
- I went in on the night shift at the hospital and looked after patients.
Answer: number 2.
야근 refers to doing the job you’re responsible for at work past quitting time. Number 1 is the classic overtime-type 야근, and number 3 is the shift-based 야근 that matches the night duty sense in the dictionary, so both work. Number 2 is personal studying rather than a job, so ‘밤새웠다 (bamsaewotda)’ or ‘밤샘 공부를 했다 (bamsaem gongbureul haetda)’ is the right fit. To everyone working late into the night tonight — 고생하셨습니다 (gosaenghasyeotseumnida). You’ve worked hard.
Definitions and example sentences are from the National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr); that portion of this post, including our translations, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.