Stories about abusive workplace dynamics and boss overreach consistently go viral in Korea, especially as younger workers increasingly push back against the country's deeply ingrained overtime and availability culture. This post hit a nerve because threatening someone's career rating over a rest day is a textbook example of the kind of power abuse Koreans call 'gapjil.'
A post making the rounds on Korean online communities is striking a nerve with workers everywhere — and honestly, it's not hard to see why.
The story is simple but infuriating: a team leader (팀장) called in an employee on their scheduled day off, and when the employee pushed back, the boss allegedly threatened to give them a negative performance review — known in Korean workplaces as an 인사고과 (insa-gogwa) — as punishment. Basically, "show up on your day off or I'll tank your career rating." That's the kind of power move that would make anyone's blood boil.
This kind of story resonates deeply in Korea, where workplace hierarchy is steep and performance reviews can directly affect bonuses, promotions, and even job security. Saying no to a superior — especially a team leader — is already socially uncomfortable in Korean office culture. But threatening someone's insa-gogwa over a rest day takes it to a whole new level of toxic boss behavior.
The post has been widely shared as a classic example of gapjil — the abuse of power by someone in a higher position — and Korean netizens are not holding back in the comments.