[Korean Culture & Language] Office Romance With a Lunatic


Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Love Naggers (연애의 참견) is a popular Korean show where audiences send their love stories and ask for advice from the panelists. Some stories are more dramatic and unrealistic than soap operas. Fortunately, the ‘naggers (panelists)’ are known for helping many people leave toxic relationships.

One of the episodes was about 사내연애(Office Romance).
사 means company, 내 means in, 연애 means relationship/romance.

Do you remember that one of the main reasons people try to avoid 사내연애 was because of the rumors it might create?


The girl who shared her story with the panelists had a dreadful experience of being the subject of rumors when she was a CC with her ex in school. (CC is a slang term in Korea that stands for ‘Campus Couple’.)

She got a job after graduating from college. She made a pledge to herself that she would never date anyone at work, to eliminate all the possible risks it could cause. However, this one person has made her break her promise because he seemed so special to her. She shared her story and told him that she wants to keep their relationship a secret. He seemed to fully understand and respect her. 

However, like the saying ‘사내연애는 복사기도 안다 (Even the copier knows about workplace romance),’ everyone found out that they were dating. The bigger problem was that her boyfriend started acting weird ‘to stop the rumors’. He started scolding his girlfriend in front of a large group of people in the office and even created a new rumor that he is dating a newcomer at work. When the newcomer was weeping at work, he was discovered soothing her by patting her head and hugging her. In Korea, patting someone’s head usually means they are romantically interested in them. 

He even changed his status to ‘ㅂㅅㅁㄱㅁㄸㄹㄷㄴ,’ which are 초성(initial consonants) for ‘박선미그만따라다녀’. It means “Park Seon-mi, please stop chasing after me”. Because the name of the girl who sent the story was ‘Park Seon-mi,’ she was deeply hurt by his acts. 

The panelists said his actions are creepy and outrageous.

One of the main panelists, Joo Woo-Jae, said “‘그만 따라다녀’ 라는 말을 들으면서 연애를 해야 하나요? (Why would you keep dating someone when they told you to stop chasing after them?”

사내연애 can boost productivity and create positive work environments for some people, while it only produces problems for others. What’s clear is that having a 사내연애 with a lunatic has no advantages at all.

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