'Gold spoon' reflects collegians' frustrations

By Lee Kyung-min

“Gold spoon” topped the list of newly coined phrases collegians used most frequently this year, a survey showed Thursday.

A gold spoon is a richer version of “silver spoon,” which refers to children born to rich families.

According to the survey of 2,015 university students by Survival Competition, a club of public relations majors, almost one third, or 31 percent of the respondents said they used the word “gold spoon” the most.

The opposite to gold spoon is “earthen spoon,” a self-deprecating term referring to those without such wealthy and influential family backgrounds.

The word was frequently used by those in their 20s to 30s of middle- to lower-class family backgrounds amid their repeated failure to find employment in the tight job market.

Their frustration spiked following a number of influence-peddling allegations involving high-profile public officials or politicians who utilized their positions to get their children hired at state-invested public corporations, law firms or in other well-paying jobs.

The second-most frequently used term was “Hell Joseon,” with 23.8 percent. The term, derived from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), a former name of Korea, implies that the country is hellish, and is therefore hopeless for the younger generation. “N-po generation” was the third-most-used term, at 12.8 percent.

“N” means number, with the number varying according to the situation each individual faces, and “po” means “giving up.”

The term describes young people who are forced to give up most social milestones in life such as employment, romance, marriage, house ownership and childbirth, due to financial hardship.

“Employment gangster” was also frequently used, standing at 11.9 percent. The term is a rough translation that refers to college students having majors or other conditions advantageous in getting jobs.

The next most frequently used term was “Munsonghamnida,” a phase of apology that puts together “liberal arts” and “I am sorry,” meaning “I am sorry that I am a liberal arts major,” sarcastically apologizing to recruiters who are reluctant to hire them over business-related majors.

“The gap between the rich and the poor, symbolized by the gold spoon term, has been a major issue among college students,” said Prof. Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University. “Seeing the words on the list, I guess students have had a hard year without much hope.”