[Korean Culture & Language] The Oppa Obsession
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출처: 카카오 이모티콘
The emojis above are called “오빠티콘” and is really popular in Korea. They are cheesy, funny, and real at the same time. It reads “You like 오빠 that much?,” “Trust 오빠,” “오빠 doesn’t cry,” “오빠 promise you,” “It’s okay, you can cry,” “You don’t know what’s the problem,” “When I was your age,” etc.
Many Korean men like to be called “오빠,” or even call themselves “오빠” in third person. For example, instead of saying “내가,” they say “오빠가…”. The one I heard the most is “오빠가 해줄게,” which means “오빠 will do it for you,” as if you are not capable of doing simple things for yourself.
If you remind yourself of Psy’s famous song “오빠 강남스타일”. Instead of saying “나는 강남스타일” or “싸이는 강남스타일,” he says “오빠 강남스타일”.
That is because guys like to hear “오빠,” especially from the girls they like. But why? The guess is that many Korean men still like to feel superior to their women, because of the seniority culture that I discussed in the last article. Since in Korea, you have to “respect” and submit to older people, when a girl calls you ”오빠,” meaning older guy, implies that the girl has granted you superiority and authority.
Some people even joke and say, “잘생기면 다 오빠야”. It means “If you’re handsome, you’re an oppa”. It implies that they have the respect for the handsome guys.
(3) 잘생기면 다 오빠야 (feat.킬미힐미 안요나) - YouTube
It’s hard to understand at first, since English doesn’t really have a word to call both your brother and a date. That sounds wrong.
In current American pop culture, there’s a word that’s beginning to take on a similar feel. “Daddy” could be used in a similar context. For example, a couple is shopping and the girl sees a bag she likes, she could say “Daddy, can I have it please?” But it isn’t something you’d fall every man, as it has pretty sexual undertones.
So, it sounds more like a problem of the society. Why is it funny? It is funny because many people already see it as a problem and it has become cheesy to say “오빠가…”. The emojis are actually making fun of the guys who are insecure and desperate to be called “오빠”. There’s no problem calling someone an 오빠. It’s respectful. However, calling themselves “오빠” is now frowned upon.
It doesn’t mean that the obsession for “오빠” isn’t there anymore though.
If you ever date a Korean guy, and you make a mistake one day that cannot easily be forgiven. Say “오빠~”. It definitely is cheesy, but it could be the magic word that makes him laugh.
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