Since we discussed about the many different Korean terms for “aunt,” it’s only appropriate that we give an equal treatment to its counterpart, “uncle.”
Please note that I’m going to approach this post with the assumption that you’ve read and understood everything that was discussed in the earlier Korean language and cultures series: Aunty, are you there?
So let’s proceed now, shall we? And as always, we’ll use examples from dramas to illustrate our point.
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Earlier, we learned that “emo” refers to your mother’s (older or younger) sister and that “gomo” refers to your father’s (older or younger) sister.
Well, their husbands are emobu and gomobu, respectively. Both emo and gomo are Sino-Korean words, and the Hanja for “bu” (夫) in “emobu” and “gomobu” is that of a “husband.” Thus, emobu literally means “emo’s husband,” just as gomobu literally means “gomo’s husband.”
In Again My Love, Yoon-hee (PARK YE JIN) calls her uncle “emobu.” We are able to quickly gather that this Jung-nam character is her mom’s sister’s husband.
Contrast this with Best Love, in which Ding Dong (YANG HAN YEOL) calls Dokgo Jin (CHA SEUNG WON) his “gomobu” after he marries Gu Ae-jung. Ding Dong’s gomo (aunt), Gu Ae-jung, is his father’s sister, and so when Dokgo Jin marries Gu Ae-jung, he becomes Ding Dong’s gomobu.
Note that the subtitles translate both words as “uncle.” But next time you watch these scenes, pay special attention to what the characters actually call each other.
Emobu and gomobu are actually a pretty easy concept to remember. But things get a little more complicated when speaking of your parent’s brothers. Since there are different terms available depending on the specific circumstances, we’re going to first list all these terms.
1. Keun abeoji (also called “keun appa”): Literally means “older dad” or “big dad,” it is a term for your FATHER’S hyung (older brother). The Sino-Korean word “baekbu” is also available, but rarely used nowadays. When used, men tend to use the Sino-Korean terms more often than women. [Note: The "bu" in baekbu uses a different Hanja (Chinese character) from that of emobu or gomobu. Whereas the "bu" in emobu and gomobu uses 夫 (the Chinese character for "husband"), the "bu" in baekbu (and sookbu below) uses 父 (the Chinese character for "father").]
If your father has many older brothers, it is customary to number the uncles. In that case, the eldest uncle would be keun abeoji or keun appa. The second oldest would be “second keun abeoji/appa” (sometimes shortened to just “second abeoji/appa”), the third oldest would be “third keun abeoji/appa” (sometimes shortened to just “third abeoji/appa”), etc.
When using Sino-Korean, your father’s eldest brother is called “baekbu.” The second eldest brother is sometimes called “joongbu.” That said, I’ve never seen the term joongbu used in real life.
2. Jak-eun abeoji (also called “jak-eun appa”): Literally means “younger dad” or “little dad,” it is a term for your FATHER’S younger married brother. [Note: The Sino-Korean word "sookbu" is also available, but like baekbu, it is not as used often nowadays.]
If your father has many younger brothers, it is customary to number the uncles. (e.g., First jak-eun abeoji/appa, second jak-eun abeoji/appa, etc.)
When using Sino-Korean, your father’s younger brothers would be “sookbu.” If there are many younger brothers,the youngest is sometimes called “gyebu.” That said, like “joongbu” above, I’ve never seen the term “gyebu” used in real life.
3. Samchon: Bella and I disagreed on whether “samchon” is an acceptable term to use on your father’s married brother, but as generally used, “samchon” refers to your FATHER’S younger unmarried brother.
4. Weh samchon (frequently just shortened to “samchon”): It is a term for your MOTHER’S (older or younger) brother, whether single or married. Since shortening “weh samchon” to “samchon” may cause confusion because it is the same word as the example in #3, people may add back the “weh” if there are grounds for confusion.
The Sino-Korean term “weh sookbu” is used in the same manner as “weh samchon.” Like “weh samchon,” “weh sookbu” is used to refer to your MOTHER’S (older or younger) brother, whether single or married.
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~EXAMPLES~
In The Princess’s Man, the young king (King Danjong) calls Grand Prince Suyang his “sookbu.” Here, Suyang is the younger brother of Danjong’s father, King Munjong. As this example illustrates, characters often use Sino-Korean terms in sageuk dramas.
In contrast, Koreans nowadays use the native Korean counterparts. For example, Ra-ra (HAN HYE RIN) calls her uncle “jak-eun appa” in New Gisaeng Story. This indicates that the uncle is the younger brother to Ra-ra’s dad.
But of course, since New Gisaeng Story is a makjang drama, the man who she thought was her “jak-eun appa” was in fact her birth father. Instead, the man and the woman who raised her were her “keun appa” and her “keun umma.”
Whereas Ra Ra’s “jak-eun appa” is a married man, Han Jung-won’s (KIM HYUN JOO) uncle, Han Seo-woo (PARK YOO HWAN), in Twinkle Twinkle is a young, unmarried 18 year old. Seo-woo was born between Jung-won’s paternal grandfather and his much younger secretary, and thus, is her father’s half-brother. She calls him “samchon.”
In The Duo, Kim Jin-sa (CHOI JONG HWAN) is Gwi-dong’s (LEE SANG YOON) mom’s brother. Gwi-dong calls him “weh samchon,” angrily saying that if he was not his “weh samchon,” he would take revenge on him for his teacher. As Gwi-dong’s maternal uncle, Kim Jin-sa is a “samchon” to Gwi-dong even though he had been married before or is currently married.
People often drop the “weh” in everyday speech. For example, in My Love By My Side, Bong Woo-dong (MOON CHUN SHIK) is the younger brother of Do Mi-sol’s (LEE SO YEON) mother, Bong Sun Hwa (KIM MI SOOK). Although technically Woo-dong would be Mi-sol’s “weh samchon,” she shortens it and calls him simply as “samchon.”
There are some variations to the terms listed above, such as making the terms more respectful by adding “-nim” as a suffix (e.g. “Sookbu-nim”). There are also some regional variations. But by knowing these basic terms, you should be able to figure out the relationships between all the uncle characters in any given drama.
10 comments
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muchadoboutlove
September 8, 2011 at 7:10 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
thanks for coming out with this! you’re truly a big help to those who are trying to learn korean by themselves like me and using common examples from kdramas just make my learning experience to become more enjoyable
again, thanks for your wonderful articles!
snow
September 9, 2011 at 6:40 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
lovely! once again, thanks for an informative post! appreciate too that you included some of the hanja to illustrate the differences, and i notice that the terms of address for “uncle” are more complicated for the father’s side of the family but not so for the mother’s. do you know if there’s a specific reason for that?
diorama
September 12, 2011 at 1:17 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for your K-language and culture posts! It adds so much more flavor to English speakers like me.
Also, what would you call the wives of keun-appa, jak-eun appa, and samchon? Would they be keun-omma, etc?
blue
September 12, 2011 at 2:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Yup, you’re correct! Their wives would be keun umma, jak-eun umma, and sookmo.
For more details, you can go here:
http://belectricground.com/2011/07/08/korean-language-and-culture-series-aunty-are-you-there/
bon
September 14, 2011 at 8:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I have a question about the aunt in daring woman. It sounded like she called her 위해 이모, could it be that I’ve misheard and it’s actually weh imo?
blue
September 14, 2011 at 11:33 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hmm, actually neither option makes sense. 위해 이모 would only make sense if the aunt’s name was 위해, and thus, she would be calling her “Aunt Wihae.” That said, Wihae does not sound like it could be a person’s name.
And since “imo” is by definition your mom’s sister, you would never place “weh” before it.
If you’re curious, please let me know the exact episode and the time when the term in question was used. I could check it out and let you know what was the word used. If I may make a guess (since I’ve never watched this drama), it’s possible that you may have misheard her say, “Wae, imo?” That would be translated as “Why, Aunt?” or “What is it, Aunt?” But I would have to hear it myself to know for sure!
bon
September 14, 2011 at 11:42 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
the word I pasted is missing a syllable it should be wihaes. you can find daring woman on dramafever and you’ll meet said imo in about episode 5 or so. In the drama it seems like the aunt is her parents’ friend and not really related to the girl although she’s raised by her.
blue
September 14, 2011 at 12:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The aunt in question is not an imo, but “weh sookmo” (외숙모). “Weh sookmo” is the wife of your “weh samchon” (mom’s brother). You can read more about it under the post on aunts:
http://belectricground.com/2011/07/08/korean-language-and-culture-series-aunty-are-you-there/
LindeB
November 29, 2011 at 9:14 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
did l miss the series “adding ssi after a name, Oppa, Unni, Hyung, Noona ? l’ve been waiting for this series to come on. somebody please tell me if l the series came on. l can’t find it any where. it’s says it’s a november issue but l can’t find it anywhere. thanks for the help.
kaekaed
February 20, 2012 at 10:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thank you for this – I’ve been wondering about some of the terms specifically samchon used in Bad Family and in another show I can’t remember. (I think they had dropped the weh and that confused me)
I also used this as a way to annoy my family – I told them what our nieces/nephews would call us. 3rd emo/gomo = me. And I also get a kick out the fact that my eldest brother who doesn’t like kids is a Big Dad.
? is a guy a samchon if he is divorced? (say niece/nephew were born after the divorce)
Looking forward to the Ssi entry; actually Ah/Ya vs I confuses me more.