Korean Job Discussion Forums

[butter808fly]

Hey there,

I am writing something for my family and friends back home, so they can understand some of the cultural differences of Korea. I have only begun, but I am amazed that I dont know?!

In Korea, names are important. Here are the -formalities that I know:

teacher - call them -song-sang-nim- not by their name
person older than you - dont refer to them as -you-
older married woman - ajuma
older married man - ajoshi
woman older than you - ouni (sister)
man older than you ???

So, people younger than you, can you call them their name or do you need to add -na to the end of it?

These are my questions thus far. There are so many differences in Korea! Some are great, and some I hate.

Great: Yesterday when I was teaching English class, I caught a 3rd grader reading 'the alchemist'.

[ajgeddes]

[butter808fly]

oh cray-yo? oh hehe... i thought this whole time it was 'song' ... funny. thanx.

[PEIGUY]

[ajgeddes]

[kermo]

If you want to refer to a co-worker, don't use either their given name or their family name alone, because to them it will sound weird and way too informal. When friends speak to each other, they often add "ya" or "a" to the ends of their names, so if you're particularly close to someone, you can get away with this. If you're not so close, stick to "family-name + seonsaengnim." Another alternative, if you want to show some respect, is to add "shi" to the end of their name.

Example:
My friend's name is Paeg Hyun Mi. At school I refer to her as "Paeg Seonsaengnim." Between us, I call her "Hyun Mi-ya" or "oni" (because she's a couple years older than I am.)
I never call her just "Paeg" or "Hyun Mi."

I have another friend named Lee Joo Kwon. I usually call him "Joo Kwon Shi" because even though we are close, he's fairly high ranking in the military, so it's like using the term "Mr." in an affectionate way.

When I need to speak to a woman I don't know, I use "oni" if she's around my age (late twenties), "ajumma" if she's middle-aged and "halmoni" (meaning grandmother) if she's elderly. I love having tens of thousands of grannies!

With unknown men, a woman never ever use "oppa" because even though it literally means older brother, it's usually used between a girl and her boyfriend, so you'll just sound skanky. I use "ajossi" with people an informal setting, "sonsaengnim" (it means "Mr." as well as "Teacher") or sometimes "Harapoji" (grandfather.)

In families, kids don't usually call their older brothers and sisters by name. Boys call their older sisters "nuna" and their older brothers "hyeong." Girls call their older sisters "oni" and their older brothers "oppa."

I've only been here two years, so if someone with more insight wants to disagree, feel free.

[RACETRAITOR]

This would be a lot easier if you did it using Korean.

[butter808fly]

This was insightful, thanks. I dont ever call Koreans 'oni' cuz it just seems strange to me, but I do like being called it cuz it makes me feel like they've accepted me into their Korean family or something The older Koreans I work with want me to call them Ms. or Mr. etc, and the more wannabe western thinkers have me call them by name, or their English name.

Such an interesting hierarchy of society!

One thing though, I thought that people said 'na' meaning you, not 'ya' meaning hey at the end of someones name. Am I mistaken?

EDIt: Id love to use Korean, but I have a western computer so its easier just to type it.

[bigverne]

[Hater Depot]

Men do sometimes call waitresses 언니 for a joke.

[kermo]

I talked to a Korean friend last night, and he confirmed the weird "oni" thing but not the "oppa." Where do you live, Verne? Some terms certainly vary by region.

[bigverne]

Used to live in Seoul. It's something you will often hear college girls say to young waiters in bars and restaurants. I have also heard guys saying 언니, but as someone has said this is just a joke. However, I have never heard 형, or 누나 used in this situation.

[peony]

adding the -ya, -ah, to the name is the most informal way of calling someone, the one used is determined by whether the name ends in a vowel or consonant sound

so it would be jun hyung-ah, hyun ah-ya

only to be used for someone younger or the same age who you are very close to as its considered very familiar


i've called guy waiters (if they were very young) oppa


i've never used sunsengnim for mr. before, if i dont know someone, i will just call out juh-gee-yo; most times its just to get the attention of someone as in korean you dont really have to say you or the name when speaking, its understood in the context