Korean Pop Culture Dictionary

A.

Aegyo (애교):The act or ability to display cuteness.

Aigoo : An expression to show ones frustration or exhaustion.

Age : The Korean age system starts with being "1" at birth. Also, regardless of the exact birthdate, people are considered a year older as soon as a new year begins.

Age Line: given to people that were born the same year. Ex: Minji, Sulli, Krystal and Jiyoung are from the 94-line.

All-kill : When an artist has the #1 song or album on all the legal music download sites, such as Melon, Dosirak and Soribada. An all-kill on a daily chart (on the day of a new release) is normal for most popular groups. Weekly and monthly chart all-kills are much more difficult.

Ajumma: A Korean term for middle-aged married women. Stereotypically, these seasoned citizens have short permed hair and wear house dresses or slacks everywhere. Korean women in their 30's may will take offense to being called this.

Ajusshi: Literally means 'uncle,' but is used in polite conversation to refer to a man who is older than you, and who you don't know well. A bit like calling someone "Sir" in English.

Andwae: Korean word meaning "no way," usually used in moments of disbelief, shock, fear, or defiance. Andwae is also one of those words you'll end up using by yourself while surfing the web and stumbling upon a scandalous story or outrageous fan fiction.

Antis: Fans who unite against a certain actor or singer are anti-fans, or "antis" for short. Usually they become antis because they feel like their bias is in competition with the idol.

Army: South Korea's mandatory two years of military service that just about every male idol goes through, usually dropping out of the celebrity spotlight momentarily. When idols and flower boys come back from the service, they're expected to have a lot of abs, and an obligatory shower scene in their next project to show off said abs.

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Date Published: 04/20/15
Edited: 04/14/18