What is the difference in usage between 화가 and 화공? Minjung says that both mean "a painter; and artist"? It only gives 화가 if you go in the English->Korean direction, though.
This is coming from somebody whose Japanese is a lot better than their Korean, so maybe take this with a grain of salt...
Looking at the hantcha, the 가 in 화가 is the character which is usually added to mark something as an "artsy" profession (like in 작가, author). The 공 in 화공 means something like "being apt/talented at sth". I don't know for Korean, but it seems that at least in Japanese, the two words are simply synonymous ("somebody who paints as their job").
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화가
1 an easel
2 a painter; an artist; ((익살)) a knight of the brush
3 brother of the brush
화공
1 a fire attack; an attack by fire
~하다 attack by setting fire to ()
2 a painter; a limner; a wright of the brush
3 a shoemaker
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Looking at the hantcha, the 가 in 화가 is the character which is usually added to mark something as an "artsy" profession (like in 작가, author). The 공 in 화공 means something like "being apt/talented at sth". I don't know for Korean, but it seems that at least in Japanese, the two words are simply synonymous ("somebody who paints as their job").
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