Gapjil (original) (raw)

Gapjil (Korean: 갑질) is an expression referring to an arrogant and authoritarian attitude or actions of people in South Korea who have positions of power over others. Gapjil is a neologism made by combining the word Gap (갑; 甲)—the first of Heavenly Stems, which is used to introduce the first party in a contract, but also refers to superior status—and jil (-질), a suffix that negatively refers to particular actions. It is a phenomenon associated with the hierarchical nature of Korean society and work culture, a structure which results in the social superiority of those with higher wealth.