I found this on another forum of mostly Spanish language novelas. They've just started an Asian drama forum, and someone wrote this great post: http://foro.telenovela-world.com/n4/read-t.php?f=589&i=21&t=21#reply_21

I'm posting it here, because this is really interesting. Some of you may already be aware of these terms, but it's good to refresh this information.

Quote:

Watching K-dramas 101 Korea, like many Latin countries, is a very hierarchical society and how respectfully you speak to someone is determined by a scale of authority set by Confucianism. There are 6 levels of respect. So, characters will ask someone how old they are (the person who is older, even by a month, gets the more respectful address). You may hear someone say that another person is not talking to them with sufficient respect. These levels of respect change the way verbs are ended. For example: If I say "ka" (go) to someone, it had best be to a child, someone exactly my level or below me in the social order, or I'm being very disrespectful. If I say "kayo" I've improved things quite a bit, the "yo" ending is polite. I can use this with many people and not offend them. If I want to be really polite I would say "kaseyo". I would never say "ka" to my parents or grandparents or important people, like a boss. Why does this matter? You will see people react based on the level of respect someone shows them (or does not show them) in their speech and generally they're being offended. Think about the difference between "tu" and "usted" and multiply by 10. (Note: this refers to the Spanish terms for "YOU"; the informal term "tu", and the formal term "usted") There are titles given to people out of respect. It shows your place in the hierarchy. Some of these are: Ajusshi: Used for any man over 21, it can mean "Mister" or "Uncle" as a respectful term. You will even hear women call their boyfriends or fiances "ajusshi" instead of their given name! Men who are turning 30 really cringe to be called this, btw! There are almost no personal pronouns. Tangshin might be used for "you" but usually someone's title or name will be used. Ajumma: Used for women who look like they're married so this is "Mrs." or "Aunt" as a respectful term. But sometimes it's used pejoratively, like in "boring housewife". This will definitely offend some women, especially the higher the class Agasshi: Unmarried woman, like "Miss." A sister-in-law in a traditional household will call her husband's unmarried sister agasshi, rather than by her name. It seems odd, but it's true. Aboji: Father. Also Abah (casual) or Abonim (very respectful). This is not just for your father but for your friends' fathers. Omani: Mother. Also Oma (casual) or Omanim (very respectful). When a woman marries and has children, people no longer call her by her first name, they instead refer to by the name of her child, as in Mi-rae Oma (Mirae's Mother), or Aggi Oma (Baby's Mother). Oppa: A woman calls her older brother this. It can also be used by a girlfriend talking to her brother or a young wife talking to her young husband. (Imagine calling your boyfriend "older brother"!) Noona: A man calls his older sister this. A man dating a woman older than he is may call her this too! Onni: A girl calls her older sister this. You might use it with someone assisting you in a restaurant too, to be polite (and if she looks older than you). Donsaeng: Younger sibling of either sex (namdongsaeng is younger brother, yodongsaeng is younger sister) Hyung: A boy calls his older brother this. You will also here men call someone else "Hyung" (or "Hyungnim" for higher respect) they are friends with or work for in dramas. When you see dramas with gangsters (like the Japanese yakuza, called 'gangpeh'), they'll call their fellows "hyung" and boss "hyungnim." Sonsaengnim: This is a general honorific used for people in authority but it means "teacher" or "master." Sonbae: This means someone is either a superior (like your supervisor at work) or an older classmate (like a senior to a junior classman), maybe one or two levels up. Someone who is your junior you call "hubae". Yeobo: This literally means "you there" (from the days when a husband would not even call his wife by name or title, just like a piece of property) but it's softened over the years to come to mean "honey" or "dear" when a spouse is talking to his/her wife/husband. Chagi: Younger couples will use this (you'll here this with the noun qualifier 'ya' added, sounding like 'chagiya') and it means 'sweetie.' The reason I explain this is that sometimes you will hear a character say "Oppa" and the captions will spell out the name of the character being spoken to, as in (spoken) "I want to be with you, oppa" and (captioned) "I want to be with you, Han-gyul". If you're listening closely, it can throw you, especially if you're listening to figure out how to pronounce a character's name, or even want to figure out what it is! I find it interesting from a linguistic point too: they don't really use much in the way of personal pronouns either so instead of "you" they'll use either the character's name or polite title. Welcome to Korean duramas 101!

Karma to ya!

You know I always thought that Asian cultures and Spanish/Latin cultures are very similar in that way.

Like when calling an old lady Donna for an older respected lady and Don for a older respected man.

I always remember everyone calling my Grandma "Donna Carmen" and Grandpa "Don Cruz". They were always just Abuela and Abuelo to me.

And a married woman or a woman with children is called "Senora"
Where as an single woman is called "Senorita"