Job-Change Words in Korean and Japanese: 転職, 이직 and 退社

In Korean, changing jobs is called 이직 (移職) — literally 'move one's job.' In Japanese, the same act is called 転職 (tenshoku) — literally 'change/turn one's job.' Both mean 'change jobs,' but they use different kanji.

The problem goes deeper.

이직 — Korean vs Japanese

	Korean	Japanese
이직	移職 — move to another company (positive)	離職 (rishoku) — leave one's job (resignation, unemployment)

In Korean, 이직 uses 移 (move), implying a positive career move. In Japanese, 離職 uses 離 (separate/leave), meaning leaving employment — becoming unemployed.

If a Korean says "이직했다" in Japan, the listener understands "I became unemployed." Completely opposite.

전직 — Another trap

	Korean	Japanese
전직	前職 — previous job ("former teacher")	転職 (tenshoku) — change jobs (= Korean 이직)

Korean 전직 uses 前 (previous) = 'former job.' Japanese 転職 uses 転 (turn/change) = 'changing jobs.'

퇴사 — Yet another trap

	Korean	Japanese
퇴사 (退社)	Resign from the company (= quit)	Leave the office for the day (= go home after work)

In Korean, 퇴사 means 'I quit the company.' In Japanese, 退社 (taisha) primarily means 'I left the office for today' = clocking out. It CAN mean 'resign,' but in daily usage it overwhelmingly means 'going home.' If a Korean reports '退社しました' in a Japanese office, colleagues will just think they went home.

Summary: Same act, different words

Action	Korean	Japanese
Change company	이직 (移職)	転職 (tenshoku)
Quit/leave job	퇴직 (退職) / 퇴사 (退社)	離職 (rishoku) / 退職
Go home from work	퇴근 (退勤)	退社 (taisha) / 退勤
Previous job	전직 (前職)	前職 (zenshoku) — same!

Only 前職 has the same meaning in both. The rest are all mismatched. 退社 is the most dangerous — 'resigned' in Korean vs 'went home' in Japanese.

Why the difference?

Both Korean and Japanese use Chinese characters, but after modernization, each language coined new compound words independently. Different character choices for the same concept led to identical kanji combinations having different meanings — a classic false friends problem, particularly dangerous in business Japanese.

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Bonus: Why 전직 sounds weird in Korean

Using 전직 to mean 'change jobs' sounds unnatural in Korean. Saying '전직했습니다' would confuse most Koreans — 전직 ONLY means 'previous job' in Korean.

One exception: gaming. In RPGs, 전직(転職) is used for class changes — a direct import from Japanese game terminology.

Misunderstandings that actually happen

Scenario 1: 전직

A (Japanese, to a Korean): I did 전직(転職) recently!
B (Korean): Huh? 전직?? What class? Warrior? Mage? (thinks of RPG class change)
A: No, I changed companies...

In Korean, 전직 is rarely used in daily life — it's mostly associated with RPG class changes, so that's the first thing that comes to mind.

Scenario 2: 이직

A (Korean, in Japanese): I did 이직(離職)!
B (Japanese): Huh? Unemployed...? Are you okay?
A: No, I moved to a BETTER company!

Scenario 3: 퇴사

A (Korean, at Japanese office): I'm going to 퇴사(退社) now.
B (Japanese colleague): Sure, good work today~ (thinks: going home)
A: (packing boxes) Thank you for everything.
B: ...Wait, you're QUITTING?!

All three use the same kanji words but mean completely different things. This actually happens to Koreans working in Japan.