A reference for terms that are frequently used in our pages:
#18: Refers to the standby song that you always sing when in a norae-bang (singing room)
Ajumma: (아줌마) a married woman characterized by short permed hair and aggressive attitude
Ajusshi: (아저씨) generally a married or older man characterized by poor sense of fashion and a huge ego
Apku (short for “Apkujong-dong”): Hip and happening area on the south side of the Han River in Gangnam. This is where the best restaurants, bars and plastic surgeons are located. A hang-out for celebrities and the stylish. Adjoining neighborhoods are Cheongdam-dong, Samsung-dong and Shinsa-dong.
Back: (빽) strong and powerful social connections that can get you what you want (i.e. a job)
Black Day: (블랙 데이) Exactly 1 month after White Day (March 14th), it’s the day where singles eat “jja-jang-myun” (Korean style black bean noodles)
CC: acronym for “campus couple” or couples who meet and date during school (or sometimes work). A publicly announced school couple.
CF: acronym for “commercial film” or better known as “t.v. commercial”
Chaebol: (재벌) Large conglomerates that are run by families such as Samsung, LG/GS, Hyundai, Lotte etc.
Dica: a Konglish term that is the shortened from “digital camera”
Dongsaeng: (동생) a younger sister/brother
Gong-ju Byeong (공주병) literally refers to “princess sickness/disease”; a female who thinks she is a princess and above everyone else; conceited and vain.
Hoobae: (후배) a person who is younger than you at school or work
Hyung: (형) Older brother or close older male (used by males only) Being “hyung” comes with responsibilities
Kyopo (교포) A person of Korean descent who has lived in the west
Jjim-jil-bang (찜질방): Korean style sauna and public bath with services such as Korean style exfoliation, massages, and other body treatments. Good for families and friends to hang out, relax and enjoy the “spa” food.
Maknae (막내): The youngest or baby in the family or group.
Namchin: (남친/남자친구) short for “namja chingu” which means boyfriend
NG: “Not good” A term used for outtakes when filming a movie or taping a television show
Noraebang (노래방): a singing room to practice your #18 (see above). Generally cheaper than Karaoke, which is considered to be more posh and upscale rooms with luxurious decor and usually delicious anjoo (side dishes with drinks).
Moos: (무다리) our own term derived from “moo-dari” or thick or hefty calves in reference to the shape of “moo” or Korean turnip
MV: music video
Nae-soong: (내숭) inconsistency between a girl’s true personality (i.e. extroverted), and external (i.e. introverted, shy and innocent) personality. In other words, trying to hide your true intentions self by acting sweet and innocent.
No chu nyu: (노처녀) an old maid or spinster
Nuna: (누나) a term used by males to address older sisters or older women
Mohm-sal: (몸살) a condition when your body is unable to function (i.e. get up) due to exhaustion or extreme fatigue- a uniquely Korean phenomenon. Many ajummas get this. However, “mohm-sal” affects all ages.
MT: “membership training” is a casual term that refers to trips taken for the purpose of bringing the members of a group closer together. Generally involves overnight stays, recreational activity (hiking, skiing etc) and drinking.
Netizen: a term for “internet citizens” or persons who are part of the internet community.
Om-chin-ah: (엄마친구아들): short for my mother’s friend’s son. A mother’s friend who brags about her son’s accomplishments (generally work or school related) and the lowly son has to hear about it.
Oppa: (오빠) older brother or close older male (used by females only). Being “oppa” comes with responsibilities
Oppa-dongsaeng
오빠-동생) used to describe a relationship between an older male and younger female. Also commonly used by celebrities to cover up their romantic relationship
Baram-doong-i: (바람둥이) a playboy; someone who is smooth with the ladies
Pama: (파마) a perm
Pi-bu-mi-in: (피부미인) a woman who has beautiful skin
Pepero Day: (빼빼로 데이) An informal holiday on November 11 (11.11) where peppero chocolate sticks are given out as presents
s-line: refers to the shape of a woman’s body
selca: (셀카): term that refers to “self-camera” or taking pictures of yourself
Sogaeting: (소개팅) blind date
Ssang-ul: (쌩얼) bare face or without make-up
Ssulung: (썰렁)a term widely used to describe cheesy jokes (literal translation: it’s cold)
Sunbae: (선배) a word used to address people that are older than you, usually in more formal situations
UCC: refers to “User Created Content” or short video clips
Ul-jjang: (얼짱) a term created by netizens to describe a person with the best face (ul-gul [얼굴]: face and jjang [짱]: best)
Unni (언니) or “sister.” The term is used for referring to your real older sister (by a girl) and to a close older female (by a female). Also see “noona”
v-line: refers to the ideal face shape in Korea- a “v” or oval.
Yang-dari (양다리) : a two-timer; having 2 boyfriends/girlfriends at the same time
Yeochin: (여친/여자친구) short for ‘Yeoja Chingu’ which means girlfriend
Wang ja: (왕자) 6 pack or washboard abs
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Holidays and Traditions in Korea
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November 11: Pepero Day. The chocolate covered biscuit sticks are eaten or given out as presents since it resembles the day “11.11″
Mid November : College entrance exams. (usually on the coldest day of the year) To “stick” or pass the exam, friends and family give test takers chocolates, rice cakes or “yeot” (traditional taffy) for good luck.
December 25: Christmas. Generally, the holiday is spent hanging out with close friends more than family.
January 1, New Years: Spent with family. To bring in the new year, rice-cake soup (떡국) is traditionally eaten. Yum!
January/February: Lunar New Year. One of the 2 biggest holidays of the year (the other is Chuseok) to celebrate the new lunar year. The dates varies according to the lunar calendar.
February 14, Valentines Day: Celebrated on February 14, On this day, the women give chocolates or big basket of goodies to their men. This tradition is opposite to the west.
March 14, White day: Celebrated on March 14, exactly 1 month after Valentines Day. On this day, the men give chocolates or big basket of goodies to their women
April 14:. Black day: A day for lonely singles. Celebrated exactly 1 month after White Day (see above) where single friends meet up to eat Jjajang-myun (짜장면 or Korean style black bean noodles) to mourn their status and to perhaps catch the eye of an attractive single slurping down noodles….
June 14: Kiss day. Yep, that’s right. The brilliant minds of someone in the land of the morning calm have thought of an excuse to kiss someone. So pucker up and plant one on whoever your heart desires…






thank uuuuuuuuuuuuu~~ ^^
credit to anyone who added it up. That answer most those complicated words.
@SELAH
If you don’t mind, can you explain me why they’re called elves and cassiopoeias ?
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-they are called elves because.. the fanclub of SUPER JUNIOR is ELF – EverLasting Friends… to make it short, they are called ELF and its plurals is ELVES…
-same as DONG BANG SHIN KI… their fan culb is CASSIOPEIA.. their fans are called Cassiopeias.. sometime they’re called as Cassio(am i right?)..
more examples…
ft island – primadonna
big bang – v.i.p.
shinee – shinee world
wonder girls – wonderful
ss501 – triple…
^those are my faves with sj and dbsk … hahah
From what I know, DBSKs fans are called Cassiopeia because DBSK on a keyboard looks like the Cassiopeia constellation
ThankQ for these! ;D I got really confused o~o
Wow…im born on White Day >.>
#18: Refers to the standby song that you always sing when in a norae-bang (singing room)
–> isn’t this also along the lines of just “f@ck it”?
Where’s my Astrology Post? -__-
omg. this is quite organized. are you blogger Korean?
thanks for this. ^_^
owh..really2 helpful!
what does engrish mean? english mix with what? do koreans pronounce the letter “L” with “r”? what the! i dont get it…anyone care to explain? i’LL be deeply delighted. LOL. tnx in advance! =)
When they say Engrish, it usually refers to the broken English most Asians employ. Because the sentence structure and particles are different, a’s and the’s get left out, or the sentence is just awkward. Case in point and brand new example: SNSD – Genie “I’m Genie for you boy, I’m Genie for your world, etc.” Although I THINK it’s a proper noun, it’s still weird. Another one I love: SHINee – Romantic. “Still I have romantic in my heart.” ?? Haha. Hope this helps and sorry for the long explanation.
“the broken English most Asians employ” ?
Uhh, Asians don’t speak like that. Anyone who doesn’t know how to speak a certain language very well will speak it “broken”, be it Korean, Spanish, English, Greek, whatever. It doesn’t matter if they’re Asian, Black, or White.
As for the SNSD thing, it’s not a proper noun. It’s incorrect because there’s a particle missing.
I dont think it was specifically directed towards asians, its just that this blog is directed towards korean world, i think engrish can be towards anyone learning english and still getting it wrong.. haha
….which is exactly what I said….
We, Filipinos speak english fluently. Iam mean Koreans/Chinese learned english here.
can anyone explain what the term ‘idol’ means?
an idol is a singer or group (usually group) where the member/s are young, good looking and have a lot of other good qualities and talents and are kind of like “idols” to younger audience like teens and tweens
i like june 14..haha
:p
thank u! really helpful
and what does “maknae” means? cause they use it a lot in interviews.. “the group’s maknae”, etc. but it’s not here >_<
Maknae (막내): The youngest or baby in the family or group.
what’s an idol
ive been wonderin bout that too
Hahaha!! Awesome. My birthday is KISS DAY
I should go to Korea on my next birthday celebration~ LOL.
what is unni?? and honey in korean languge??
pls reply ü
Unni is like saying sister, like if you have a best girl friend you call her unni, this is only used by girls though. you can use that for like even your real sister.
oh.. thanks a lot!! ^^,
very helpfull..
thanks again!
but its only used for an older female
dont say it to your younger sis/younger female :S and you wouldnt say it to anyone your age either..
uhmm what does ‘Netizen’ means?
can you please add some more of the terminology?? thank you~
great!! Thanks..
great translation..
one more if possible to help with…
how do korean say ‘I Love You’?
saranghea….=)
hi. can i request? actually, i’m from Philippines. I’m LEE min-HO fanatic. can you post more unseen images of him? because there’s no other website where i can see other pictures of min-ho. hope you can post some of them. well, thanks in advance. ^^ i’ll just wait and see for it. –more power, jexx.♥
na nananana ahahaha nana
Can you guys describe what Chuseok is like, and what it is for?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuseok
Does any body know what Sone means in regard to SNSD?
i am new to kpop but i was wondering what does the leader do in a idol group?? seeing that they have managers and everything!!!!
what is PD means??