한국 직업 이름의 위계와 차별

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the hierarchy of the titles of Korean occupations, and to analyze the conflicts and discriminations that have developed amongst occupational groups in relation to the titles used by various occupations. In this analysis, we examine the close correlation between language and society, and to seek to provide the reference materials for Korean language policy. In chapter 2, we classify the types of occupations with a focus on the suffix of the occupational titles. In this regard, the Chinese words such as 'Jang' (長 president), 'Gwan' (官 office), 'Gam' (監 superintendent), 'Sa' (事 office, 士 office, 師 teacher), 'Ga' (家 professional), 'In' (人 man), 'won' (員 member), 'Gong' (工 worker), 'Bu' (夫 man, 婦 woman), etc. are used as suffixes indicative of the types of occupations. These suffixes tell us the characteristics of occupations, the status or qualifications of workers, and their gender. In chapter 3, we analyze the relation of the hierarchy of occupations and their language elements using data from the Korean standard classification of occupations. The nine main categories of occupations are reorganized into three kinds in terms of the language elements. The first category consists of occupations that have 'Jang' as a suffix. The workers of these occupations are the head or manager of any organization. The second category consists of occupations that have 'Sa'. The workers of these occupations are professional. The third category consists of occupations that have 'won'. The workers of these occupations are responsible for practical business. Although modern Korean society does not explicitly maintain a formal system of social status, the titles of occupations function to indicate and perpetuate covert status a tall levels of society. In chapter 4, we examine the conflicts and discriminations between physicians and nurses in connection with their titles. By virtue of the efforts of the Korean Nurses Association, since 1987 nurses [Ganho-sa], whose former title was 'Ganho-won' or 'Ganho-bu', have shared the same suffix 'Sa' (師) with physicians [Ui-sa]. Thus, from a linguistic perspective, both professions share the same status. Nevertheless, nurses experience persistent discrimination in the forms by which they are addressed by patients and doctors. Throughout all these discussions, we emphasize that the titles of occupations package a complex body of information about jobs, workers' identity and self-esteem, social recognition and issues related to complex issues of social status. (Daegu University)