Talk:Ajumma

Not perjerotive - article is rather western-centric
I find this article in many places to be not-quite accurate, and instead of reflecting what I observe in Korea, to be more what American Military people think of Korea.

Ajumma is, in fact, a term of respect. It is not pejorative in the least when used properly. I would suggest looking at the references again and asking the question of whether it is mildly pejorative, or whether it is a term that has a proper, and a pejorative usage. As a parallel, I would offer the term "Grandma" in English.

Ajumma does not mean "Grandma," but "Grandma" has a proper and pejorative usage in English much like Ajumma does in Korean. You call your grandmother "Grandma," and some close friends of family may be called "Grandma." They will likely be happy about you using this term to refer to them as this is the proper usage, and it is seen as respectful (whereas calling them by name would be disrespectful). However; if you tell someone they are wearing "Grandma pants," you are using the term in a pejorative sense - one that will be recognized, and one that younger women are likely not to appreciate.

Likewise, Ajumma refers to a married, or marriage age woman. I can still use this term respectfully when talking to ladies working in shops, for instance. However; telling someone they are wearing Ajumma pants, or referring sarcastically to behaviors that may have once been acceptable, but are falling out of vogue as Korean culture tries to evolve itself into a gentler culture is a pejorative usage of the term.

I can think of at least 6 Korean words for the English word "Aunt." Ajumma is NOT one of them. there is no exact equivalent of the Korean word "Ajumma" in English. The Korean words for aunt are different depending on how you are related to that aunt. For instance, your mother's sisters are "Imo." Your father's sisters are "Gomo." Your father's elder brother's wife is "kun-omma" (Literally "Big Mom.") All of these are familial terms. Pretty much any of these relationships is going to be offended if you refer to them as "Ajumma." It is not that "Ajumma" is pejorative, but rather that it does not indicate a familial relationship. Any family member is going to see the use of familial titles as warm and accepting, whereas using a non-familial term such as "Ajumma" could be seen as excluding them from the family - something bound to raise anybody's ire. They will want to be included in family, and it will be seen as disrespectful to not use terms that includes them in family.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think defining Ajumma as "Aunt" or "Auntie" is something that came from Korean immigrants to the west, especially as they socialized with others of East Asian origins with similar terms of familial and elder respect as they struggled to find a comfortable term in English to teach their children to call elders. This is a bit of speculation on my part based on observation.

In modern times, the use of "Ajumma" is becoming less vogue in Korea. Still, I have not found it to be offensive any time I have used it respectfully. However; it is being replaced in large part by terms such as "Imo" which really is a term for "Aunt." Imo is literally your mother's sisters, but is also the term children are taught to use for their mother's female friends. This fits as younger friends use the terms for "Elder brother" or "Elder sister" for the elder friend - and this is true even if the elder is only one day older, the younger must use the term of respect. Since your mother and her friends use these familial terms for friends, it makes sense to extend that to children so that you call your mother's friends "Imo," for example. It seems to have started primarily in restaurants that workers were called "Imo" interchangeably with "Ajumma," and progressed to where this was used outside of restaurants, and Imo has gradually become a replacement for "Ajumma." Although "Ajumma" didn't really imply a lack of warmth, it seems that the use of the familial term "Imo" is perceived as a warmer term than Ajumma, especially these days.

However; I will say that mothers (Who would be Ajumma to some) tend to have a no-nonsense approach, especially when they have to work as hard as women in the history of Korea have had to work. They tend to need to take care of business efficiently and quickly. All mothers are fierce when you mess with their kids, and historically, the "Ajumma" in Korea was no exception - often surprising outsiders whose stereotypes led them to believe much different things of Korean women. In that sense, yes, Ajumma can refer to someone with a no-nonsense approach.

Summarizing, some parts such as equating "Ajumma" to the English word "Aunt" are just, simply incorrect. Some parts, such as defining Ajumma as "mildly pejorative" are just missing the point due to a lack of perspective - think of the parallel to the respectful and pejorative usages of "Grandma" in English. Look at the way that Korean culture is wanting to re-define itself as warmer and more inclusive and you get how Ajumma is falling out of vogue in favor of familial terms like "Imo" being used where Ajumma may have been used more often in years past. I hope I provided some observation as someone familiar with American and Korean culture, and with some perspective across a few decades in both countries. I think if you can change the tone of the article, it becomes a much better representation of the true usage and definition of the word "Ajumma." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.231.7.225 (talk) 04:33, 25 January 2015 (UTC)


 * My Grandmother is Korean and we were all taught to use Ajumma as a respectful term for Aunt. I call her best friend and most of her friends Ajumma. Most of the women are delighted to referred to as so, it makes them feel like family and shows I respect them. 69.194.182.98 (talk) 15:37, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

How can the term be respectful and have a pejorative meaning at the same time? The article should explain when and how it is used respectfully. Andries (talk) 09:31, 19 May 2018 (UTC)