Ajuma!

Hello all. Today's blog is thanks to one of my students, Chae Young, and her writing homework for my class this week. Ajuma, technically (I think), is Korean for a married woman who has already had kids. In reality, I think most of us think of the visor-wearing, no-shit-taking, subway-stomping, fear-inducing ladies (as pictured above). Anyway, Chae Young explains this life-blood of Korea much better than I could ever hope to, as a foreigner. Over to you...

Last month (during my mid-term exams) I was going home with my books and some clothes. It was really heavy. I was wearing a back pack, shoulder bag, and a shopping bag. There weren't many people in the subway, but there were no seats. I stood in front of an ajoshi (middle-aged Korean man). He offered to give me his seat. He said, "I'm getting out in two stations so please sit here - you have a lot of things". I was really thankful. However, at that time an ajuma sat in my seat. I don't know where she was. She stole my seat! She didn't have any health problems or anything. I was just frustrated but couldn't say or do anything.

There are lots of ajuma stories. In a restaurant or cafe there are two kinds of problem people - ajumas and children. Ajuma's high pitch loud voices fill up the restaurant. Sometimes they don't look after their children. It's really terrible.

Not all ajumas are rude but most of them do annoying things under the name of ajuma. Even my mom and aunts (she was a really nice woman). She takes lots of tissues in cafes. During discount sales in department stores she runs to the counter surrounded by many ajumas and asks for more free dessert. After she does it she just says, "That's okay. I'm an ajuma". I really worry about becoming an ajuma.

In Korea, ajumas power is important. I know that they helped Korea's economy and society, but I want them to stop being annoying. I hope that our generation changes our behavior and thoughts to make a better Korea.

Amen to that! I remember being on the subway with the U R Seoul boys maybe a year ago and Kev nodding at a few purple-haired ajumas and saying, "see every time you see a really hot Korean girl, just remember that's what she's going to turn into". I think he may well have scarred me for life. Here's a video (sped up for some reason) of an ajuma v teenage girl brawl on the subway that was a big talking point here recently. Please don't turn into this, Ji...