Glossary of Terms

Terms Related to Asexuality/Aromanticism You May Encounter On This Blog

• Asexuality - A sexual orientation meaning one does not experience sexual attraction. It is different from celibacy, in that celibacy is a choice and asexuality is an orientation. People with this orientation will often describe themselves as asexual or "ace" for short. The opposite of "asexual" is "allosexual," a person who does experience sexual attraction.
  
  
• Asexual Spectrum - The varying levels of sexual attraction or lack there of that different asexual people experience. People on the asexual spectrum will often use the term "acespec" as an umbrella term to cover multiple identities.
  
  
• Aspec - A term that can either be short for "asexual spectrum," or a term that can encompass both the asexual AND aromantic spectrums (see below). NOTE - On this blog, I will often use "aspec" to mean "asexual spectrum and/or aromantic spectrum".
  
  
• Demisexuality - A sexual orientation meaning one experiences sexual attraction only after forming a deep emotional or romantic bond. People with this orientation will often describe themselves as demisexual or "demi" for short. A similar or related identity is grey asexuality, which can mean experiencing sexual attraction very rarely or in a small amount. Both demisexual and grey asexual people will sometimes use the term "grace" for short.
  
  
• Romantic Orientation - Romantic orientations can be experienced separately from sexual attraction, just as sexual attraction can be experienced separately from romantic attraction. Some romantic orientations include, but are not limited to: 

• Heteroromantic - Romantically attracted to the opposite gender

• Homoromantic - Romantically attracted to the same gender

• Biromantic - Romantically attracted to either gender

• Panromantic - Romantically attracted to any gender

• Demiromantic - Developing romantic feelings only after forming a deep emotional bond. 

• Aromantic - Does not experience romantic attraction. Aromantic people will often describe themselves as "aro" for short. Aromanticism also has a spectrum, known as the "aromantic spectrum" or "arospec" for short.
  
  
• Aphobia - A dislike of aspec people (asexual, aromantic, and otherwise) and/or discrimination against them because of their identity. Aphobia can also manifest as people believing asexuality, aromanticism, and related identities do not exist. (Sometimes individually referred to as "acephobia" and "arophobia")
  
  
• Amatonormativity - A term coined by Arizona State University professor of philosophy Elizabeth Brake, which describes the societal pressure to make romance a priority in your life.
  
  
• Erasure - Ignoring, invalidating, or glossing over the experiences or feelings of aspec people, characters, or historical figures by trying to explain them as something else.

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Korean Terms You Might Find Useful

Please keep in mind that I am not Korean, nor do I speak Korean (although I'm certainly trying to learn!); these are merely terms that I've picked up from Korean media or did research on myself when I first began my journey with Korean media. As such, my explanations are probably a bit simplistic and lack the full nuance an actual Korean speaker would be able to give you.

• Honorifics - The Korean language has several honorifics, words of respect and politeness often used to refer to people who are older than the speaker or occupy a higher position. In Korean, these change depending on the gender and age of the speaker and the person to whom you are speaking. Sometimes in K-Dramas, these are not translated, but are kept as they are in subtitles; other times, the subtitles choose to interpret these honorifics differently, and knowing them can add to a scene or character moment. The most common honorifics you might encounter during K-Dramas are listed below:
  
  
• Hyung: "Brother" as used by men towards older men. "Hyung" can refer to a man's actual older brother or a man they respect who is older than they are.
  
  
• Oppa: "Brother" as used by women towards older men. "Oppa" can refer to a woman's actual older brother or a man they respect who is older than they are; it is also commonly used in a somewhat romantic/flirtatious sense if a woman is referring to her boyfriend or romantic interest who happens to be older than she is.
  
  
• Noona: "Sister" as used by men towards older women. "Noona" can refer to a man's actual older sister or a woman they respect who is older than they are.
  
  
• Unnie: "Sister" as used by women towards older women. "Unnie" can refer to a woman's actual older sister or a woman they respect who is older than they are.
  
  
• Ahjussi: Meaning "uncle," this is used by men and women either for a biological uncle or for a man they respect whose age difference is too great to use "hyung" or "oppa".
  
  
• Ahjumma: Meaning "aunt", this is used by men and women either for a biological aunt or for a women they respect whose age difference is too great to use "noona" or "unnie".
  
  
• -Nim: "-nim" is a respectful suffix that can be added to titles. For instance, "hyungnim" is like "hyung" but with an added layer of respect.
  
  
• -Ah and -Shi: "-ah" is a suffix added after a person's name if the speaker knows or is close to them (ex: friends, parents to children, older siblings to younger ones, etc.); "-shi" is a suffix added after a person's name for respect, almost as if saying "Mr." or "Miss."
  
  
• Sunbae: A term referring to a mentor, older worker at a job, older schoolmate, etc. The opposite of "sunbae" is "hoobae", used when older workers or students refer to their younger counterparts.
  
  
• Korean Names - Korean names, like many names in Asian speaking countries, begin with the last name (surname) first.

• Hangul - The Korean language and form of writing is referred to as Hangul.
  
  
• Military service - During the course of Korean dramas, you may hear male characters refer to military service, or even see dramas that feature military service prominently. This is because all South Korean men - except in the case of medical exemptions or very specific circumstances - must serve in the military before they turn 28 years old.
  
  
• Polite/Respectful Language - It's not uncommon for characters in K-Dramas to mention speaking respectfully or tell another character to "speak properly." This is because the Korean language has a specific "respectful" or "polite" verb tense that is usually used alongside various honorifics (see above).
  
  
• Interjections - The following are a few words that are sometimes not translated by K-Dramas, but are commonly used interjections or colloquialisms:
  
  
• Aigoo: Usually means something like "oh my gosh," "oh my goodness," or "oh my"
  
  
• Aish: A declaration that is translated various ways. It can be translated as more mild interjections such as "darn it" or more severe ones depending on the context or the style of media (for instance, a more intense/serious media might translate it as an actual swear word, whereas more comedic or lighthearted media might have it as "darn")
  
  
• Daebak: Typically used in the same way as "awesome" or "jackpot"
  
  
• Fighting: Used to encourage or support someone, this can either be translated directly as "fighting!" or as something similar like "cheer up" or "good luck"