Oh, informative! :)

I can't wait for the noona part. :D

Love this entry. I already knew all the nuances of "Oppa", but reading about them was great. I esp appreciated the clips and all the examples. It felt like going down memory lane! Hee.

Thank you guys!

Yes, your assumption is correct. We non-Koreans may not know the meaning of all these words even if we have been watching K-drama for a long period of time. Thanks for the information plus illustrations! Look forward to the "noona" piece.
thanks again, really love your site !

same for ajusshi

This is a great entry! I remember when I first started watching Kdramas a lot of subbing teams did not define these titles (oppa, noona etc) and it took me quite a while to figure out the meaning and different applications of them. Loved the examples ^^ Great read!

Hahahahahaha... The first and the last time for Ki Hoon to hear Eun Jo calling him oppa, since he'd be dead from shock??? SO TRUE!!!

Ahaha. Awesome disctionary for confused souls. And we got lots more to go. Noona, yeodongsaeng/namdongsaeng, unni etc etc.

I used to watch korean movies a few years back and I was confused. They kept using their names on the subtitles, but I never heard them call each other's name! After I started watching more stuff, I realized they were using all these terms.

It was nice to finally crack the Mystery of the Missing Names. XD

Can't wait for "noona". :D

Delightful and informative! yey for more of this coming! This stuff is so engrossing. . . and here I thought I'd be rid of my drama addiction after three years!

hahahaha "WTF kdramas and your obsession with faux-incest?" Thanks for elaborating on the term "oppa". I've wanted to call my older classmates that for so long, but alas I live in a world of non-Koreans. The risk of awkward "WTF"s is too much too handle -_-

wow - this is amazing!! keep up more posts of these!!! people should read these (especially those who don't know korean culture and yet watch kdramas) because they're so helpful!!!

loved the soulmate video! hahaa!

Great way of putting things. I always love the way you write!

Watching the mv for Wax's Oppa made me think of Chae Rim's version in Oh! My Lady. I laughed so hard when she sang off key.

I'm excited for these extended glossary entries. I've been around kdramas enough to have most of the terms figured out, but it's nice to have refreshers. Plus, your explanations are fun reads. ^_^ Thanks!

thanks for sharing!

Hahahaha.

This was both informative and hilariously entertaining. I think I'll like this new feature. Can't wait for noona!!!

I suspect the faux-incest obsession can be traced back to Winter Sonata.

This song by WAX remember me of Chae Rim singing it so horribly on Oh My Lady. Si Won was horrified, this scene is so funny lol

To illustrate just how powerful the word Oppa is, let me say this:

I haven't watched a Korean drama to completion for almost 2 years now, mainly because I find k-dramas have become quite stagnant in recent years with very little creativity and innovation, but if there's anything that can get me back into it, it's definitely the word "Oppa".

It really is that powerful.

I mean, instead of sending diplomats and politicians into peace negotiations, why not send cute Korean girls for some good ol' O-P-W ? You'll have a peace treaty signed, sealed and delivered before you even get to the 'P' part.

All we are saying, is give OPW a chance.

A Koreaphile due to Kdramas, I really enjoy your daily dramabeans stream of consciousness insights. This "oppa" essay rates as one of the best. Thanks for explaining the nuances of Korean relationships ... it will certainly enhance my Kdrama viewing! Your could teach this sociology course!

Very interesting article, thank you! And what a great choice of vids! (I miss Ha Ji-Won, she's too rare on screen).
I was going to ask if "nuna" carries the same meanings, but I see that I'll have to wait for girlfriday's explanations.
I assume that it doesn't have the girlfriend meaning, but it may not be so simple, isn't it?

bring "Noona" explanation yesterday :P
btw which are the kdramas with faux incest?.... the only i saw it is "My girl" until now...and that's between "cusins"(and I'm kinda klala addict.. I saw over 30 kdramas and over 20 kmovies) and to me japs seem addicted to the subject...not klala land

this is so fantastically wonderful. xD after countless confusion, many a k-drama as well as abusing 'oppa' while bargaining in korea later, I do get the word oppa, but this will be so useful for explaining to my clueless friends! :)

thanks dramabeans! i especially love the clip from Soulmate. xD 200 million times more than circle lenses?! really, i gotta start getting myself some of those circle lenses too then for those times when I can't abuse the word 'oppa'. :)

but the younger guy in relationships like to be called oppa too... lol... like min-jae from the woman who still wants to marry.. :P

Haha, what a winning entry!

I suspect girlfriend's "noona" entry will cover Lee Seung Gi's MV... ;-)

Haha.. love the Soulmate and wax montage!! If you post Chae Rim singing wAX'S Oppa off-tune THAT would be perfect!! XP

Thanks for this - can i just say i bloody love this blog!!! Keep it coming.

This was great! Loved the clip from Soulmate (which I haven't seen yet, but will soon). Looking forward to the rest of the series. Thanks!

as I know in Korea and in my country ... by law you can't marry until the 4th grade cousin... here we have 2 weeks notice by registrar so he could verify bigamy and blood relationship
this could happen in many countries (except the ones wich allow more than one wife or husband)

Leona- there are LOTS of kdramas with faux incest especially around 1999-to early 2000s.

1. Autumn in My Heart- now this is the blurry lined "oppa"...

SSH and SHK grew up as brother and sister... nothing like being close to your siblings, right? You're 13 and he's 15... you do everything together... and he makes fun of your boobs. BUT! they're not really brother and sister all this time! The big reveal happened... because for some reason a 2 year old SSH switched SHK and his real sister in the hospital (truly wtf) when they were just newborns. What an evil child.

So now, SSH gets his real sister back. So he separates from his faux sister.

They see each other again when they are adults. and they remember each other as brother and sister... you have a suitor as hot as Won Bin who is your brother's bff.... what do you do?

you choose your faux!brother. Because it's fated. OPPPPAAAAAAAAA.

2. Winter Sonata because they could have shared the same daddy... all. this. time.

3. And then there's One Fine Day... Sung Yuri and Gong Yoo are long lost siblings who separated after a bad fire. Oppa's main goal is to find his long lost sister again... and they fall in love. Of course it's really faux!incest but dayumn

4. 90 Days of Falling in Love... Kang Ji Hwan is about to die and he's married... but he's like, but that's not my twu wub!!!!! and he meets Kim Ha Neul... that's his twu wub... but they're first cousins.

Granted, there's more to Kdramas than faux!incest but especially during the early 2000s, I always watched the "ARE WE...??? BUT I LOVE YOU????!!!" kind of scenarios.

But I think this is for ASIAN dramas in general not just Kdramas.

@20Leona - If you haven't seen the faux incest, you've probably stuck to the newer romantic comedies and trendies. A lot of the older Hallyu hits, as well as today's tearjerkers and melodramas have faux incest. The quintessential faux incest storyline: Winter Sonata. Also, Autumn Fairy Tale, maybe Snowman (brother-in-law/sister?), Ireland, One Fine Day, a little bit in Que Sera Sera.

The key here is it's not REALLY incest. It all comes down to being "raised like brothers or sisters" or "being 'family' but not blood related" or "thought to be blood-related not but really".

Thank you very much for the very informative article, and love seeing picture of Lee Da Hae and Lee Dong Wook together like that, Lee Da Hae still with her baby fat and both of them-the cutest couple ever. MY GIRL, my first introduction to kdrama land and of course the word 'oppa'.

OMG a very entertaining and informative post indeed. That soul mate video was the bomb! haha... Can't wait for Noona, but I can't imagine how any different it could get from its male counterpart.

Yippee! a much needed refresher course on Kdramaspeak. thanks much!

I loooooved this post! You always amuse me. I've always felt that the OPW and the use of pet names was childish and annoying but that's what these girls are going for I guess. There's always a childlike or immature element to the female lead, no? Dang, even by a few months, I still don't have the right to call Bae Soo Bin oppa. *sighs*

Anyhow, I came across this once, thought it would be perfect to share here for those like Samsooki who love the opw!

http://www.funkyktown.com/product_info.php/call-oppa-p-139

Awesome article, Java! I always admired your writing style. :)

@22 Sanny: True, some want to be called "Oppa" despite being younger. But I guess it's was those mushy couple things and how guys like being called Oppa kinda stuff. But you wouldn't really call someone younger Oppa unless... well... they might ask you to or something XD

I really enjoyed this! Being half Korean and my mother raising me more according to Korean culture, knowing who to call "Oppa" or who I wasn't suppose to (etc) came naturally without thinking. So it's always been hard for me to explain to others why I call so-and-so "Oppa" and the differences. So this really, and I mean, REALLY helped!

JB thanks once again for expanding on the Kdrama world, makes us the kdrama addictees maybe less confused on why oh why I/we can't shake off the addiction... but it's okey... It's the best kind of therapy, treatment, stressbuster it may be---oh no moooore "sucked" into the drama addiction!!! Oh well, thanks for all the recaps and the companion guides to help explain why I and many others accept that the kdrama addiction cannot be cured nor shaken...

Again thanks JB and Girlfriday...how awesome you used Chae Rim's Oppa from the enchanting Oh! My Lady!!! Check all the OML Angels that are posting daily, it's now 300 and beyond.... Those inerested are welcome to join. It's not just OML Chae Rim and Choi Si Won but also Kpop---Super Junior, kmusic, even discussions on Jane Austen's books in relation to OML....

Have a wonderful weekend all Kdrama addictees, lurkers, romantics and everyone who just simply love JB and soon Girlfriday...

thanks for explaining i'm not korean so when i would watch korean dramas i would
be really confused but now that you've explained it makes sense. thanxs

"Could you imagine the reaction she’d get if Eun-jo ever tried to call Ki-hoon oppa? I’m guessing that would be the first and last time, since he’d be dead from shock. "

i LOL-ed at this part because it's so true! Just the thought of EJ calling KH "oppa" is too funny! :P

I too don't understand kdrama's obsession with incest-that's-not-incest-but-it-so-feels-like-it! Like in Autumn In My Heart which was my first faux incest story. Probably why I rooted for Won Bin so much, aside from the fact that he's so hot. And why oh why did they have to introduce the love angle into Lee Jung-jae and Min Hyo-rin's relationship?? I was really enjoying the brother-sister angle. But ah well, at least they didn't end up together or get torn apart by some disease. They played it out to be a crush, which was nice and appropriate :)

Thanks for teaching us abt the multifunctional "oppa" term! :)

@28 You're totally right about there being a lot of faux-incest storylines in Kdramas..I've noticed it also in Japanese dramas/movies/mangas (actually in some of these the incest is between true blood relatives, usually siblings). I've always found that very strange and have wondered why these outlets of Asian entertainment seem to have such a fascination with incestuous relationships. Is it because it's such a taboo and therefore very attention-grabbing?...hmm...

oh, oh, oh, oh...oppareul saranghae!

That was such a delightful read and the video from soulmates was so funny
Thanx dramabeans :)

You know what's interesting, I never realized just how complicated the term "Oppa" was until this post. Yes, I understood all the nuances and differences but it never occurred to me just how messy it can get. I'm starting to realize that explaining this to my white friends would make their heads spin. LOL.

That said. I'm pretty sure I'd get a serious case of daksal if I had to call anyone "Oppa" even though I'm Korean. Probably too American to use the term like that. Ick. =X

Thanks for the super informative post!
I'm one of the people who gets confused easily when the lines start getting blurry.
But now it's all clear =D

@ Langdon813 I feel your pain...I'm buying this though: http://www.funkyktown.com/product_info.php/ajumma-p-99

and I don't care if no one will understand. I'm an ajumma at heart dammit!

also, java: thanks for this article. It really made me laugh and it's a great idea. i feel like this blog is suddenly more exciting (although I love it already and check it everyday). Looking forward to the next installment! esp. while waiting for coffee house and bad guy!

Omg... I love this!!! Thanks for this JB... ITA to many of the scenarios and the clip of Soulmate is cool... the "kekeke" part made me lol so hard...

And Wax's oppa totally reminded me of Chae Rim's off key rendition in OML...

Can't wait for the noona ver... Also will love it if you do the ahjussi - ahjumma one... it seems there is more than one defination for these terms, which I believe more non-Korean would love to know!

Well done javabeans, thanks for the insightful article! I was wondering about one thing you mentioned- I think I remember learning in Japanese class that in Japan actually the twin born first is considered the younger sibling. Is that not the case in Korea? Not assuming that both cultures would have everything in common, just curious (since I don't know the origin of the concept, I wasn't sure if it was an East Asian thing or strictly a Japanese thing...).

OMG YOORIN && GONGCHAN!!!!!!
*0* I worship that couple maaaaan

*spazzes*
*dies*
*gets up and rewatches My Girl for the 50th time*

That picture of them together made me have warm fuzzy feelings inside :3

Thanks for posting this! I already knew the whole Oppa deal but I like that you delved into the levels of meaning it holds. It was really interesting to read! Can't wait for the noona entry!