Lesson 140: ~(으)로서 – With a Specific Status

Jump to:

Vocabulary

가장 = head of the household

Examples:
아버지가 이 집의 가장이에요
= Father is the head of the household in this house

가장으로서 가족을 책임져야 하기 때문에 어깨가 무겁다
= There is a lot of burden on the breadwinner because he/she is responsible for the family

주장 = leader

Common Usages:
주장 완장 = captain’s arm-band in a soccer match

Examples:
그 선수는 우리 팀의 주장으로서 경기를 이끌고 있어요
= That player is leading the game as the captain of our team

슬기는 축구팀의 주장으로서 결승전에서 큰 활약을 했다
= Seulgi played a big active role in the playoffs as the captain/leader of the soccer team

장군 = a military general

Common Usages:
장군감 = when you see a baby and you can see that the baby will be somebody with great leadership capabilities, you can call him/her 장군감.

Examples:
그 사람은 이번년도에 장군으로 승진했어요
= That person got promoted to a military general this year

이순신 장군은 한국에서 가장 유명한 장군으로서 모든 사람이 존경하는 인물이다
= Yi Sun Shin is the figure/person respected by all as the most famous general in Korea

검사 = prosecutor

Common Usages:
판검사 = judges and prosecutors
검사 출신 = when you have a lawyer who was once a prosecutor

Examples:
검사는 증거를 조사하고 재판을 준비해요
= The prosecutor investigates the evidence and prepares for trial

저는 그 사건의 검사로서 재판을 전담하기로 했습니다
= I decided to take full charge of that court case as the prosecutor

효도 = kind acts towards one’s parents

Common Usages:
셀프 효도 = to be kind to one’s parents by yourself (without the help of others)

Examples:
그녀는 효도의 정신으로 부모님을 섬겼어요
= She served her parents with filial piety

그 아이는 항상 부모님에게 효도를 했어요
= That kid always showed filial piety towards his parents

그 여자가 부모님께 매일 효도를 해서 그녀를 효녀라고 부를 수 있어요
= That girl always does kind things to her parents, so you can call her an “효녀”

효자 = a devoted son

Examples:
그 남자는 그의 부모님을 위해 많은 것을 희생하는 효자예요
= That man is a devoted son who sacrifices a lot for his parents

민석이는 그 집안의 효자로서 항상 부모님께 잘한다
= Minseok, as the devoted son in the house, is always good to his parents

효녀 = a devoted daughter

Examples:
우리 딸은 효녀야
= Our daughter is a perfect daughter

그 여자가 부모님께 매일 효도를 해서 그녀를 효녀라고 부를 수 있어요
= That girl always does kind things to her parents, so you can call her an “효녀”

임무 = duty

Common Usages:
막대한 임무 = big duty
중대한 임무 = important duty

Examples:
저의 오늘의 임무는 이 스포츠 경기를 해설하는 거예요
= Our job today is/will be to describe/explain this sporting competition

저는 정치가로서 그 임무를 맡을 수 없어요
= As a politician, I can’t take on that work

새언니 = a female’s brother’s wife (sister in law)

Examples:
저의 새언니가 엄청 착해요
= My sister in law is very nice

새언니는 저를 항상 친동생처럼 대해 줘요
= My sister-in law always treats me like her real sister

명절 = one of the two major holidays in Korea (Chuseok and/or Seolnal)

Common Usages:
명절 음식 = holiday food
명절 증후군 = holiday blues
명절을 쇠다 = to observe a holiday

Examples:
대통령으로서 이번 명절이 주말과 겹치기 때문에 명절 다음날인 월요일을 대체공휴일로 지정하기로 했습니다
= As the president, because this holiday falls on the weekend, I will designate the following Monday as a make-up holiday

한국 사람들은 보통 명절 때 산소에 가서 제사를 지내요
= Korean people usually go to the graves (of their ancestors) and do Je-sa there during the holidays

명절 때 저는 간간히 고향 친구를 만나곤 해요
= During the holidays every now and then I meet my hometown friends

대리 = a substitute, a proxy

Common Usages:
대리모 = surrogate mother
대리기사 = driver service (in Korea this is often used for people when they drink and don’t want to drive home. There is also a service where a person will come and drive your own car home – with you in it!)

Examples:
대학교 때 저는 친구를 위해 대리 출석을 해준 적이 있어요
= In university, I sometimes attended my friends’ classes for them

제 동료가 제 대리로 회의에 참석했어요
= My co-worker joined the meeting as a proxy for me

진품 = a real, genuine piece of work

Examples:
진품과 가품의 차이가 너무 미세해서 전문가가 아니면 알아채기 힘들어요
= There is such a minute difference between a genuine product and a counterfeit, unless you are an expert it is hard to tell the difference

이곳은 상태가 진품에 제일 가까운 짝퉁을 살 수 있는 유명한 짝퉁 시장이에요
= This place is the market where you can buy popular counterfeits that most closely resemble the real products

미술작품에 대한 전문가로서 이 작품이 진품임을 인증합니다
= As a specialist on (works of) art, I certify that this piece of work is authentic

공휴일 = public holiday

Common Usages:
대체 공휴일 = substitute holiday (when a holiday falls on a weekend, and a substitute day off is given during the week)
임시 공휴일 = temporary holiday
법정 공휴일 = legal holiday

Examples:
저는 공휴일을 빼고 매일 일해요
= I work every day except for public holidays

대통령으로서 이번 명절이 주말과 겹치기 때문에 명절 다음날인 월요일을 대체공휴일로 지정하기로 했습니다
= As the president, because this holiday falls on the weekend, I will designate the following Monday as a make-up holiday

정치가 = politician

Examples:
저는 정치가로서 그 임무를 맡을 수 없어요
= As a politician, I can’t take on that work

정치가로서 책임감을 가지고 문제해결을 위해 최선을 다하겠습니다
= As a politician, I will take on the responsibility, and do everything I can to solve the problem

평론가 = critic

Examples:
이 영화는 평론가들에게 좋은 평가를 받았어요
= The movie received good reviews from critics

한 유명한 영화배우는 배우로서가 아닌 평론가로서 그 책에 대해 극찬했다
= One famous actor highly praised that book, not as an actor, but as a critic

결승전 = playoff

Examples:
오늘 시합에서 이기면 결승전에 진출할 수 있습니다
= If we win the match today, we can advance to the finals

슬기는 축구팀의 주장으로서 결승전에서 큰 활약을 했다
= Seulgi played a big active role in the playoffs as the captain/leader of the soccer team

책임감 = the feeling of responsibility

Common Usages:
책임감이 강하다 = to have a strong sense of responsibility
막대한 책임감 = an enormous feeling of responsibility

Examples:
기업 내의 올바른 사내 질서를 잡기 위해서는 책임감 있는 리더가 필요해요
= In order to keep the order inside the company, we need a leader with a sense of responsibility

정치가로서 책임감을 가지고 문제해결을 위해 최선을 다하겠습니다
= As a politician, I will take on the responsibility, and do everything I can to solve the problem

성공적 = successful

Examples:
대통령의 성공적인 외교능력으로 여당이 더 힘을 얻게 됐어요
= Thanks to the successful diplomacy abilities of the president, the ruling party got more power

지금 하는 프로젝트를 성공적으로 마치고 휴가를 내고 프랑스로 떠날 거예요
= After now finishing the project successfully, I am going to put in for a vacation and leave for France

우리 팀의 상사로서 이번 일을 성공적으로 마무리하기 위해 열심히 일하겠습니다
= As the superior/leader of our team, I will work hard to successfully finish this work/task

Verbs:
겹치다 = to overlap with, to coincide with

Examples:
집들이하는 날이 하필 엄마 생일과 겹쳐서 집들이를 취소했어
= Of all days, the housewarming party happened to fall on the same day as my mom’s birthday so we cancelled the party

책임지다 = to be responsible for

Common Usages:
끝까지 책임지다 = to be responsible for until the end

Examples:
가장으로서 가족을 책임져야 하기 때문에 어깨가 무겁다
= There is a lot of burden on the breadwinner because he/she is responsible for the family

저는 아빠가 되자마자 제 아이를 평생 책임지기로 결심했어요
= As soon as I became a father I decided to be responsible for my child’s life forever

극찬하다 = to give high praise

Examples:
심사위원들은 그 영화를 극찬했어요
= The judges gave high praise to the movie

한 유명한 영화배우는 배우로서가 아닌 평론가로서 그 책에 대해 극찬했다
= One famous actor highly praised that book, not as an actor, but as a critic

채용하다 = to hire, to recruit

Common Usages:
채용 공고 = job opening, employment notice
채용 정보 = employment information

Examples:
회사는 새로운 직원을 채용하기로 결정했어요
= The company decided to hire new employees

저는 회사의 대표로서 직원을 채용할 수 있는 유일한 사람이에요
= As the representative of the company, I am the only person who can hire employees

인증하다 = to confirm, to certify

Common Usages:
인증서 = certification
국가 인증 = national accreditation

Examples:
이 제품은 국가가 인증한 믿을 만한 제품입니다
= This is a product is worth trusting as it has national accreditation

미술작품에 대한 전문가로서 이 작품이 진품임을 인증합니다
= As a specialist on (works of) art, I certify that this piece of work is authentic

전담하다 = to take full charge of

Examples:
저는 그 사건의 검사로서 재판을 전담하기로 했습니다
= I decided to take full charge of that court case as the prosecutor

저는 이 프로젝트를 전담하고 있어요
= I am in charge of this project

평론하다 = to critique

Examples:
저 사람은 영화를 평론하는 평론가예요
= That person is a movie critic that critiques movies

소설을 읽고 평론하는 일을 하기 위해 매일 책을 읽어요
= In order to get a job of reading and critiquing novels, I’m reading books every day

Adjectives:
존경스럽다 = to be respectful

Examples:
저는 저의 부모님이 존경스러워요
= I am proud of my parents

그 사람은 경쟁자로서 아주 존경스럽다
= That person is very respectful as a competitor

Adverbs:
때로 = sometimes

Examples:
때로는 적절한 비평도 삶을 사는데 필요해요
= Sometimes you also need some appropriate criticism in your life

엄마로서 해야 할 일이 너무 많아서 때로는 힘들다
= As a mom, there are many things that I have to do, so it is difficult

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

Introduction

Two similar looking grammatical principles, two completely different meanings. In this lesson and the next one, you will learn how to use ~(으)로서 and ~(으)로써 in Korean sentences. Korean people often confuse which one is which because of their similar looking structures. However, they are completely different and with these two lessons it shouldn’t be hard for you to distinguish them. This lesson will focus on (으)로서. Let’s get started!

~(으)로서: To do something as a person who holds a specific status

Often times, people are able to do a task simply because of the specific job title, status, rank, qualification or position they have. For the remainder of this lesson, instead of constantly referring to one’s “specific job title, status, rank, qualification or position,” I will simply use the word “status” to refer to all of these ideas. By attaching ~(으)로서 to a specific status, you can indicate that some situation is able to occur as a result of that person holding that status.

Let’s look at a simple sentence to start.

엄마로서 해야 할 일이 너무 많아서 때로는 힘들다

Here, as a result of person having the position of being a mom, she is indicating that she has a lot of things to do and therefore it is sometimes difficult. One of the things that is tough about ~(으)로서 is that while other Korean grammatical principles have a specific, easy to distinguish translation to English, the translation of ~(으)로서 is usually just “as.” For example:

엄마로서 해야 할 일이 너무 많아서 때로는 힘들다
= As a mom, there are many things that I have to do, so it is difficult sometimes

Below are many more sentences where you can see ~(으)로서 being used:

저는 그 사건의 검사로서 재판을 전담하기로 했습니다
= I decided to take full charge of that court case as the prosecutor

슬기는 축구팀의 주장으로서 결승전에서 큰 활약을 했다
= Seulgi played a big active role in the playoffs as the captain/leader of the soccer team

가장으로서 가족을 책임져야 하기 때문에 어깨가 무겁다
= There is a lot of burden on the breadwinner because he/she is responsible for the family

미술작품에 대한 전문가로서 이 작품이 진품임을 인증합니다
= As a specialist on (works of) art, I certify that this piece of work is authentic

저는 회사의 대표로서 직원을 채용할 수 있는 유일한 사람이에요
= As the representative of the company, I am the only person who can hire employees

정치가로서 책임감을 가지고 문제해결을 위해 최선을 다하겠습니다
= As a politician, I will take on the responsibility, and do everything I can to solve the problem

이순신 장군은 한국에서 가장 유명한 장군으로서 모든 사람이 존경하는 인물이다
= Yi Sun Shin is the figure/person respected by all as the most famous general in Korea

This actually happens in Korea. 추석 and 설날 are three day holidays on the lunar calendar. Sometimes they fall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not much of a three day holiday. If this happens, the government often designates the days prior to or after the weekend as “대체공휴일,” which is sort of like a “make-up holiday.” Also, sometimes the three days might fall on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. When that happens, sometimes the government declares the Monday and Friday of that week as “대체공휴일.” Nine days off!

민석이는 그 집안의 효자로서 항상 부모님께 잘한다
= Minseok, as the devoted son in the house, is always good to his parents

——–

I purposely put that sentence last because I want to talk about it for a moment. The words 효도, 효자 and 효녀 are difficult to translate to English. As you can see from the list of vocabulary given in this lesson, each one refers to an idea that we can describe in English, but not something that we can translate with one word:

효도 = kind acts towards one’s parents, filial affection
효자 = a devoted son
효녀 = a devoted daughter

If you’ve been keeping up with the Hanja lessons on our website, you should be able to understand자 (子), 녀 (女) 도 (道).

효 (孝) refers to being kind to one’s parents or filial affection. 자 (子) refers to a son. 녀 (女) refers to being a girl. And 도 (道) refers to some sort of method or action. Let’s apply the words in a sentence to let them describe themselves:

그 여자가 부모님께 매일 효도를 해서 그녀를 효녀라고 부를 수 있어요
= That girl always does kind things to her parents, so you can call her an “효녀”

——–

It is also possible to use ~(으)로서 to indicate that one is not able to do a task simply because of the specific status. For example:

엄마로서 자식을 버릴 수가 없어요
= As a mom, you can’t “throw away” your kids

저는 정치가로서 그 임무를 맡을 수 없어요
= As a politician, I can’t take on that work

선생님으로서 학생들의 나쁜 것을 하는 것을 참을 수 없어요
= As a teacher, I can’t deal with students doing bad things

——–

So far, you have seen how people can (or cannot) perform an action as a result of a status. It is also possible to use ~(으)로서 in a sentence with an adjective to describe how a person is in that particular status. In some cases with adjectives, it is difficult to translate ~(으)로서 to just as and “is known as” is usually more appropriate. For example:

그 사람은 경쟁자로서 아주 존경스럽다
= That person is very respectful as a competitor

아인슈타인은 과학자로서 제일 똑똑하다
= Einstein is known as the smartest scientist

그 사람은 운동선수로서 한국에서 유명하다
= That person is famous as an athlete in Korea

그 사람은 하버드 대학의 졸업생으로서 제일 똑똑한 학생 중 한 명이었다
= That person was known as one of the smartest graduates of Harvard University

——–

It is also possible to attach particles to ~(으)로서 to add their respective meaning on-top of the status-allowing meaning that ~(으)로서 creates. For example:

Describing an upcoming noun with something that is not an adjective using ~의, as discussed in Lesson 23.
엄마로서의 삶은 내가 생각한 것보다 훨씬 어려웠다
= Life as a mom was much more difficult than I thought

Comparing two situations with ~은/는, as discussed in Lesson 104.
저의 새 언니가 아내로서는 좋지만 엄마로서는 별로예요
= My sister-in-law is good as a wife, but not as a mother

Indicating that something is not one thing, but is another by using ~이/가, as discussed in Lesson 86.
한 유명한 영화배우는 배우로서가 아닌 평론가로서 그 책에 대해 극찬했다
= One famous actor highly praised that book, not as an actor, but as a critic

That’s it for this lesson!

Okay, got it! Click here to go to the next lesson.