Today’s post is inspired by a question from one of the blog’s regular visitors, MelloYello.
In one of our chats, she asked me what it means to “ship” someone.
As I answered her question, I realized that a lot of the words that we use here in the dramaverse might actually be quite confusing for the relative newbie.
Don’t worry. Help is at hand, so that you’ll never feel caught unprepared again.
If you’re fairly new to the dramaverse, it’s highly possible that you might have come across some completely unfamiliar terms, phrases and abbreviations as you trawled the net for information on your favorite shows and actors.
In blog posts, bloggers throw about foreign-sounding words as if they’re part of the English vocabulary (yes, I admit I am also guilty *raises hand*).
And on forums and comments sections, other netizens sometimes sound as if they’re using a completely incomprehensible language, where almost half the words don’t look familiar to you.
For example: “Unnie prefers the jimjilbang to the noraebang?! Daebak!” I know, that sounds more like, “What in the what?” to some of us.
This might have possibly made you feel like you’re an outsider, excluded from the fun and delight shared by True Kdrama Lovers. But honestly, that’s as far from the truth as you could get.
True kdrama lovers are only ever too happy to welcome more kdrama lovers. We don’t want exclusivity. We want kdrama to take over the world.Β (*shifty eyes* did I just say that out loud?)
No matter.
In the spirit of helping the relative newbies among us to settle into our lovely kdramaverse more easily, I’ve come up with a handy-dandy treasure map, also known as kfangurl’s Hodge-Podge Glossary. Go here to find it!
Study it well, and never feel like an outsider again π
You don’t even have to tell anyone where you learned all these important things. You can just be, y’know, one of the cool kids *wink*
PS: If you’re a dramaverse sunbae, do me the favor of looking over the glossary to see if anything needs to be added in? Kamsahamnida! Saranghae! β€
April 10, 2013 at 9:31 pm
thanks a lot for the glossary….there were so many terms I wasn’t aware of before…..
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April 10, 2013 at 9:32 pm
but yeah…..being a fangirl from 1.5 years, I was able to identify some of them π π
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April 10, 2013 at 11:26 pm
Yay that you could identify some of them! The list has been beefed up some since you saw it – thanks to lots of suggestions on Twitter – so when you have some time, you can take another whirl at it, just to see if there’s more that you didn’t know before! ^^
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April 11, 2013 at 12:42 pm
oh really…..I’ll go through them then π
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April 11, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Hope you enjoy it & find more useful stuff in there! ^^
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April 10, 2013 at 10:08 pm
Cool! And I knew them all. ;P Yeah, my addiction is kinda longstanding (OMG! All the hours spent on watching dramas…..! Better not think about that, LOL!).
I don’t think anything vital is missing but then my memory is not what it used to be. *g*
A friend of mine actually did this for another fandom that has a sort of specific lingo. It’s called The Fangirl Lexicon. π
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April 10, 2013 at 11:30 pm
Aw Timescout, you’re definitely a sunbae around these parts! ;D The list has grown some since you last saw it, thanks to lots of Twitter suggestions.. If you do think of something that I missed out, do give me a shout & it’ll go right in! ^^
Also – what a fab name! The Fangirl Lexicon! Love it! π
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April 11, 2013 at 1:03 am
Your glossary is a thing of beauty! Coming into Kdrama obsession as a longtime internet fangirl, I already knew a lot of these terms so it’s easy to forget that not everyone has been accustomed to watching their ships sink, etc., for a decade or more.
I worry that “pull a Park Shi Hoo” might come to have a totally different meaning in the near future, though =X
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April 11, 2013 at 11:39 am
Aw THANKS, Amanda, that is possibly the sweetest thing I’ve heard said about the glossary! π Yeah, after being in the dramaverse for a while, we start to assume that all these are common knowledge.. Which they are, but just not for the newly initiated. I wouldn’t have thought to make the glossary myself, if not for a couple of questions that readers asked, which made me realize not everyone knows these words & abbreviations ^^
I did think about that “pull a Park Shi Hoo” connotation, based on the current case too π I couldn’t leave it out coz I’ve seen it asked on DB threads more than once, so I guess I’ll just have to edit the entry if the meaning of “pull a Park Shi Hoo” ever does change =X
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April 11, 2013 at 1:08 am
Naturally two potential additions occurred to me just as I hit “post comment.” How about “soft sub” (subtitles that exist in separate file distinct from the video file, allowing you to watch the video and take screen caps without them showing) and “hard sub” (subtitles that are part of the video file and will always appear on screen whenever you watch it)?
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April 11, 2013 at 11:41 am
Great suggestions, thanks!! I’ve added them both in as sub-entries (Ooh, pun not intended!) under Subs. ^^
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April 11, 2013 at 1:32 am
Great idea! Just a couple of things for clarification.
In English “pretty boy” tends to have very negative connotations, sort of implying that someone is completely effeminate and potentially gay (not that it’s bad being gay). And the same for “flower boy” in English. I believe that in Korean, the connotation is not negative, and while would perhaps be better translated as a man with young, well-manicured looks, who dresses well, and is often much more groomed and attractive than women. They also often used cosmetics and perhaps a better English equivalent would be a very pretty metrosexual looking young man. And then perhaps give some examples. I don’t know if that’s too much ^^
And with the pronunciations of “gomo” and “imo” – I think the sound is better transliterated as goh-moh and i-moh
This is a wonderful addition to the bloggersphere and dramaverse!
And yes, we are going to take over the world π
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April 11, 2013 at 11:42 am
Thanks for the clarifications, dewaanifordrama!! I’ve adjusted the entries as you suggested.. the glossary is looking more and more robust now! π Woot!
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April 11, 2013 at 11:44 am
Well, you are doing such an amazing job! ^^
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April 11, 2013 at 11:47 am
D’aww.. It’s you guys who make it robust! Everyone’s been so generous in offering corrections, clarifications & suggestions.. It feels more and more like a shared pool of knowledge now, with so many contributions from everyone ^^ I can just feel the lurve β€ β€ β€
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April 11, 2013 at 11:52 am
^_^ β€β€β€
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April 12, 2013 at 10:03 am
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful idea! And I totally learned something today! I had no idea what the “choco” from “choco abs” meant. I assumed it meant something like — “looks as yummy as chocolate” — or some such thing. But it’s actually quite logical. π
Also, I had no idea there were other second leads who managed to scoop the girl. “Hotelier” just got bumped up my list. And “Beautiful Days” has been added.
And I can add some info: The term, “‘ship” comes from “relationship”. (It’s from waaay back in X-Files days when fans who supported the idea of Mulder and Scully getting together were called “relationshippers” which quickly got shortened to “shippers” and then spread across the internet and took on a life of its own.)
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April 12, 2013 at 10:36 am
Aw yay that you learned a couple of things from the list – I learned something today too! π I had NO IDEA that X-Files was where all the shipping began!! I’ve updated the glossary to include this new tidbit of information – THANK YOU! β€
Also, it's fascinating to me, that BYJ and LBH both scooped the girl from the original male leads at the exact same time! Hotelier and Beautiful Days were airing at the same time, in the same timeslot on 2 different networks. How's that for some fun context?! I loved Hotelier and have watched it several times. I thought BYJ was exceedingly charismatic & charming in it. & Beautiful Days is also a worthy watch for some retro melo & lots of smoldery LBH ^^
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April 12, 2013 at 1:30 pm
Oh wow, thank you for this glossary! It’s daebak! (Newly learned term) hehe. It’s so helpful and has clarified so many things I didn’t understand before. Thanks once again chingu π
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April 12, 2013 at 2:12 pm
You’re very welcome, MelloYello!! Thank YOU, for asking the question that inspired the glossary! π
Also, I must say that you’re an excellent learner, putting your newfound knowledge to immediate use & all π I think that’s DAEBAK, & I’m super pleased! ^^
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April 25, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Thanks for the glossary! Totally daebak! Especially for a kdrama newbie like me π
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April 25, 2013 at 10:28 pm
Aw, you’re very welcome! I’m so glad you found it useful! π Welcome to the dramaverse, kdramaskmovies! And also, welcome to the blog ^^
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