Thursday, March 28, 2024
FILM&DRAMA

Korean nobility titles and ways to address others in Joseon

It’s so much easier to understand who is who in Korean historical drama when we get to grips with all the nobility titles! It can ben confusing since characters can be addressed differently depending on who they are talking to!  For example there are at least three ways to address the king depending on if you are his mother, his child, or a member of the Royal Court. Rank, age, and gender can all play a part.

So in this post, I’ll look at 10 essential Korean nobility titles and ways to address others in Joseon dramas.

Korea doesn’t have a Monarchy anymore, but some of the terms that we hear in the royal court remain in use in contemporary society. (see Aggashi, Yeong-gam and Orusin below

So let’s start at the top with the King.

Korean Nobility Titles: 1


The King


Jeon-ha 전하 (殿下) Your Majesty


All subjects to the king address him as Jeon-ha,’Your Majesty‘. It is the most frequent term of address for the King.

Fun fact:

Usually there was only one King. The Crown Prince did not become King until his father died, so there was only one Jeon-ha. But Sejong the Great (r.1418-1450) was unusual as his father (King Taejong, r.1400-1418) abdicated. Three kings abdicated, but King Taejong also stayed involved at the palace. So for a while there were two ‘Jeon-ha‘ there at the same time! 


Chu-sang 주상 (主上)


The mother of the king – the Queen Mother – (Dae-bi-mama) addresses the king as Chu-sang. In the hierarchy of the palace, nobody is higher than the king, but the the Queen Mother has a special status.

When the king enters official meetings, he is announced with his full title Chu-sang Jeon-ha.

Chu-sang jeon-ha nap-shi-o! 주상전하 납시오!

Here is his Majesty the King!


Abo-mama 아버마마


Abo-mama is the royal version of ‘Father.’ So the king’s children address him as Abo-mama. Non-royal children address their father as Aboji 아버지.


Related posts on Joseon kings:
Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings 
Chart of Joseon Kings and Related Dramas


Korean Nobility Titles: 2


The Queen Mother


Dae-bi-ma-ma 大妃媽媽


Everyone in the Royal Court addresses the mother of the King as Dae-bi-ma-ma except the King who addresses her as o-ma-ma-ma 어마마마 which is the Royal version of Mother. (Omma 엄마) The queen also addresses her as o-ma-ma-ma.

The Queen Mother is not always the biological mother of the king. And so might not support him as King. For instance, a famous queen mother is Queen Dowager Yesun who was the second queen of King Yeongjo (r.1724-1776). She appears as the villain in the dramas Yi San and Painter of the Wind as she continually sabotages the reign of Yeongjo’s grandson – King Jeongjo (r.1776-1800)


related posts: 

Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings 
Chart of Joseon Kings and Related Dramas


Korean Nobility Titles 3


The Queen


Jung-jeon-ma-ma 중전마마 (中殿媽媽)


The Queen’s subordinates address her as Jung-jeon-ma-ma.

One of the most famous queens in Joseon dramas is Queen Munjeong. (Queen to King Junjong (r.1506-1544)) She also ruled as regent when her son (King Myeongjong (r.1545-1567) was too young. She appears in Jewel in the Palace and Mandate of Heaven. The king and the Queen Mother – who are the Queen’s superiors – address her as simply Jung-jeon 중전  without the honorific ‘ma-ma’ at the end.


Korean Nobility Titles 4


Crown Prince


The sons of the king are all princes. But there is a hierarchy displayed through their titles.

  • Dae-gun 대군 (大君 literally ‘Big Prince’) is the way to address a son of the king and the queen.
  • Gun’ 군 (君 Prince) is the title for a son of the king and a concubine. (therefore lower in rank)
  • Se-ja 세자 (世子) Ideally, the eldest son of the king and queen will become the Crown Prince. And once he has been chosen he is addressed as Se-ja 세자.

related posts:

Jo, Jong, and Gun: the meanings behind the titles


Korean Nobility Titles 5: Royal and Yangban Noble Ladies


Ma-ma-nim 마마님 (媽媽您)


title for royal and noble ladies

  • ma-ma-(nim) 마마님 is used to address princesses and noble ladies. It is a stand-alone title or can be added at the end of another title. The shortened Ma-nim 마님 is also appropriate for noble ladies in a higher rank than the speaker. It’s like the female equivalent of 나으리 na-u-ri (see below).
  • Aggashi / ashi  아가씨 is another polite way to address a young noble lady. (This title is still used to address young, single women in Korea) 
  • Gong-ju-ma-ma 공주마마 (公主 媽媽) is the full title for a princess. Often shortened to ma-ma 마마.
  • Gong-ju 공주 -The king, queen, and queen mother don’t use the honorific ending ma-ma since they are above her in status.

Notably, princesses don’t seem to feature too much in dramas. Perhaps this is because they don’t have the power of the queen or queen mother. Princess Deokhye (1912-1989) was the last princess of Joseon and there is a film (The Last Princess, 2016 ) and musical about her. 

For the king’s concubines, there was a strict hierarchy and each rank had a specific title. So concubine titles include their rank plus ma-ma. Read about the Joseon concubine ranking system.  


Nobility Titles 6: Women in the Palace 


 Sang-gung 상궁 尙宮 Court Lady


Women of high status didn’t work for a living. So any women with jobs were from the middle and lower classes. Women in professions use their job title plus the polite title ‘nim.‘ But women in low level servant jobs  – like damos –  are just addressed by their first names!

  • Sang-gung 상궁 is the title added to the court lady’s name. Court ladies usually came from the middle or upper classes.

Court ladies have a certain level of respect. But there’s a funny scene in Horse Doctor episode 35 when someone addresses a court lady as adjumma‘ 아줌마  much to her shock and horror. Adjumma is simply used to address middle-aged ladies! Not court ladies!

  • Ui-nyo-nim 의녀님 means ‘female nurse‘; ‘head female nurse’ is su-ui-nyo-nim 수의녀님

In Horse Doctor (MBC) there’s an awkward situation when a noble lady works at a hospital as a nurse. A nurse would normally simply be ‘nurse’ ui-nyo-nim 의녀님.  But in this case, her social level is higher than the other staff so at first they don’t know how to treat her or address her.  


related posts:

What can we learn about Joseon society through the paintings of Shin Yun Bok?

Read about the court lady ranking system below concubines

see more from dramasrok about life in Korea on Facebook Pinterest and Instagram 


Nobility Titles 7: High Ranking Male Official-Scholars


Dae-gam 대감 (大監) 


For the highest ranking scholar-officials

There were three kinds of state exam during the Joseon period. The most prestigious was the civil service exam.

Upper class noblemen could take this exam and those who passed had the chance to become elite scholar officials in the government. The very top ranking officials in the government wear red uniforms and are addressed as Dae-gam 대감 ‘My Lord’.

Dae-gams are often villains in historical dramas! 


Yeong-gam 영감 (令監)


for high-ranking scholar-officials

Yeong-gam 영감  are below the Dae-gam.

They are high ranking noblemen who also wear red uniforms at court. Heads of Royal departments can be Yeong-gams.

  • Sang-seon yeong-gam 상선 영감 尙膳 is the head eunuch.
  • Su-iu yeong-gam 수의영감 is the head of the 삼의사 (sam-ui-sa) three Royal Departments of Medicine.

In contemporary society, Yeong-gam is still used to address judges or prosecutors. And I sometimes hear wealthy older wives call their CEO husbands ‘Yeong-gam’ in K-drama! But this title is going out of fashion. And it’s not used by younger people. 


Nobility Titles 8: Middle Ranking Noblemen


Na-u-ri 나으리 


Na-u-ri 나으리, ‘Sir’ Is used to address men in a higher rank than the speaker but lower than a yeong-gam. They tend to wear blue uniforms if they work at court.

Working men are addressed by their surname plus their job title or just na-u-ri often by commoners who don’t know their names and titles. So when the king goes into the city in disguise at night dressed as a ‘regular nobleman’ everyone calls him na-u-ri.

After the Civil Service exam, the next best exam to pass was the military exam. Noblemen and the middle classes could take this exam. But it was considered to be below the scholars in status. 

  • gun-kwan 군관 – Guards in the military class are addressed by surname +title gun-gwan.
  • sado 사또 means ‘magistrate’ 

The last of the three state exams was for professionals in the middle classes who studied practical subjects known as ‘miscellaneous’ subjects. Medicine was considered a ‘miscellaneous’ subject.

  • Ui-seng-nim 의생님 Doctor
  • ma-ui 마의 is the title for a vet. But this job was looked down on and done by lower classes and so there is no honorific suffix of Nim 님 at the end of his title. 

Related posts:
Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings 
Chart of Joseon Kings and Related Dramas


Nobility Titles 9: More Ways to Address Men 


O-ru-shin 어르신 


Older men may be addressed politely as 어르신 o-ru-shin. This  title is related to age not rank. And it’s sometimes used today instead of the term grandfather haraboji 할아버지 to address older men. (not family members).

  • Do-Ryeon-nim 도련님 is used by servants to address young noblemen who are the sons of the servant’s employer.

  • Hyeong-nim 형님 is the polite way for a man to address another man who is older than himself. It could be a biological older brother or older friend/senior. 
  • ‘O-ra-bo-ni 어라버니 is the honorific form of 오빠 oppa. Females use this to males who are older than themselves. A biological brother or older male friend. In Dong Yi the villainess Jang Hee Bin gets a lot of help  with her dastardly plans from her older brother Jang Hee Jae.
  • Friends use informal (panmal) titles for each other: first name + informal particle ah/ya on the end. 

Titles 10: How to address the Lowest of the Low


i-nom 이놈


‘you dirty scoundrel’

Finally, ‘i-nom 이놈 is usually for low class men when the speaker is not pleased.

As in ‘hey you!’ Or ‘you dirty scoundrel!’ 

This term is still in use today – but it’s not polite!

Related posts:
Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings 
Chart of Joseon Kings and Related Dramas
Dong Yi Review

18 thoughts on “Korean nobility titles and ways to address others in Joseon

  • Awesome post!! You make learning more about Korean language and history so simple and easy to understand 😀

    Reply
    • Thanks! It took a while to write this post but it’s been really helpful to me too – names and titles are a nightmare in Korean!

      Reply
  • what is the difference between “paeha” and “jeonha” ?

    Reply
    • Pyeha = emperor
      Jeonha = king
      seja jeonha = crown prince

      Reply
  • This was really helpful. Thank you!

    Reply
  • Great post! I was really curious about the writing of some names. Just discovered that isn’t Chona but Jeon-a 🙂
    One name that is missing is how women were called on that period. I can’t find anywhere. Anybody knows? It is very similar to the word namja, but yet this is the word that means man. I am really confused. Here is a part on the drama The Night Watchman’s Journal. Jung Il Woo calls the girl that way (min. 27:26).

    Reply
  • Hey! I just discovered this entry and found it so insightful. Do you know how they were addressed in conversations? For example, in English, if I were referring to a married woman named Sarah Walters, I’d say, “I heard that Mrs. Walters…” So what would be the equivalent of “Mrs.”? Maybe ‘madam’?

    I’m guessing for noblewomen, they called “Lady [surname]”..

    tricky.

    This just came to mind as I was reading this haha.

    Reply
    • It is always by their rank. Peasants are the lowest. Followed by Nobles and Royals (Highest) Also depends on their position which sometimes affect their ranks. In the drama Jewel in the palace, during junior palace maid training, they will be taught their ranks.

      Reply
  • Can I Ask something of this sort? In Arang and the Magistrate. She called him Sato? Can you tell me about that work…cuz Google Translate said otherwise.

    Reply
  • Have you seen Dae Jang Geum? If you have, which is better between it and Horse Doctor, in your opinion?

    Reply
    • Well, I’ve seen 6 of Director Lee Byong Hoon’s big sageuks – Heojun, Dae Jang Geum, Sangdo, Horse Doctor, Dong Yi, and I’m watching Yi San at the moment. Heo Jun is still my favourite of his dramas. It’s more serious and more intense than some of the others. I like the fact that Heojun isn’t perfect – he has character flaws which made his character more attractive to me.

      Between Dae Jang Geum and Horse Doctor I preferred Dae Jang Geum. I thought it was addictive, the female villains were great, the theme music was catchy and the extra elements of Royal food really added something to the drama.

      I enjoyed Horse Doctor but I found it quite a light drama. (except for the blood and sickness of course!) And I couldn’t help but compare it to Heojun since they are both medical sageuks.

      Reply
  • Hello, do you know the definition of “Su-nim” and “Su su-nim” (I dont know If i wrote it right…) in the Joseon Dynasnty? Wiki tells, its the title of the monks. But in the Drama there were Teacher called Su-nim. So whats the right definition?

    Reply
  • It is wonderful to have this spelled out for me. Thanks I wish you would have written about what you would call a prince. Gotta keep looking.
    fiddledeedeebooks.wordpress.com

    Reply
  • Finally! A post that explains what ‘Dae-gam’ is. I’ve been searching everywhere. Why is the internet so hard? D:

    Reply
    • I’m glad it was helpful! I’ll update this post soon and add a few more titles.

      Reply
  • Your post is really cool! It’s easy to understand and rich in information about Korean court members. As there is a section that tells about “이놈”, I want to ask you something related to it. I used to watch Dae Jang Geum and really enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorite Korean dramas. I remember that there are two terms, such as, “네 이놈” and “네 이년” in the drama used by old people when they are mad at young people or a person whose status is lower. Are they like swear words or curse words? Thx!

    Reply

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