회의 지옥 (hoeui jiok) — Meeting overload.
Lesson 32 in our Korean Slang series, adapted from Korean Your Teacher Doesn’t Teach You by Injin Hwang.
What 회의 지옥 means
Complain casually about a day packed with too many meetings. The word 지옥 literally means hell; here it is comic exaggeration for a calendar with meeting after meeting. It does not mean one meeting was especially unpleasant.
A short conversation
A: 오늘 일정 어때?
B: 회의 지옥이야.
A: How's your schedule today?
B: Meetings all day. It's relentless.
Use it with care
Strong exaggeration. Save it for colleagues you can speak candidly with. The expression is most natural with friends or in an informal setting unless the context suggests otherwise.
A neutral or polite alternative: 오늘은 회의가 많아서 바쁩니다.
I have many meetings today, so I am busy.
Try it yourself
Would you say 회의 지옥 in a formal meeting agenda?
Answer: No. It is a candid exaggeration. Read the Korean conversation aloud and try changing one detail to fit your own day.
Based on the author’s slang collection, with additional learning notes. AI-generated illustration created for this lesson. Browse the Korean Slang series.
Keep exploring Korean expressions in the Korean slang book on Amazon.
