짬처리 (jjamcheori) — Dumping unwanted work on someone.
Lesson 34 in our Korean Slang series, adapted from Korean Your Teacher Doesn’t Teach You by Injin Hwang.
What 짬처리 means
Complain that another person passed along a task they did not want to handle. The complaint concerns unfairly handing off undesirable work. It is stronger than simply asking a colleague for help and can imply resentment.
A short conversation
A: 왜 네가 다 해?
B: 나한테 짬처리했어.
A: Why are you doing all of it?
B: They dumped it on me.
Use it with care
Critical workplace slang. Name the specific unfair assignment when addressing it formally. The expression is most natural with friends or in an informal setting unless the context suggests otherwise.
A neutral or polite alternative: 업무가 저에게 일방적으로 배정되었습니다.
The task was assigned to me without discussion.
Try it yourself
Is 짬처리 a neutral word for ordinary teamwork?
Answer: No. It criticizes unfair dumping of work. 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.
