Korean Hierarchical Language in Real Men

by NURUL HUDA BINTI ABDUL HALIM (214765)

A case study about the application of Korean hierarchical language in a South Korean reality show, Real men

Relation between Korean Hierarchical

Language and Real Men

the promotional poster of the reality show, Real Men

The Koreans are widely known to use a hierarchical system in their language where the speakers will use honorifics and politeness in their speech according to the social hierarchy. The use of this language system portrays their heritage and identity. This concept aligns with the definition of the study of language and culture.

Real Men is a famous South Korean reality show featuring eight male celebrities who experience life in the army. In this show, the casts will be doing some actual training and are trained by real military instructors. Reality shows are known to have very less to no script at all. It means that the ways the casts communicate depict the real-world example of their reality therefore, in this case, audiences will see the application of hierarchical speech by the cast members.

Background of Korean Hierarchical Language in Real Men

Korean Hierarchical Language in Real Men

Korean hierarchical language is broken down into seven levels, however, in this modern era, Koreans commonly use only four levels. The levels can be summarize like the following list:

Formal and polite : Hasipsio-che (하십시오체)

used in broadcasting, to elders and people with higher social rank

Formal and casual : Haera-che (해라체)

used in reported speech and written materials

Informal and polite : Haeyo-che (해요체)

used between strangers, colleagues

Informal and casual : Hae-che (해체) or banmal (반말)

used between family members, close friends and to younger people

Now, let us discuss deeper on the application of hierarchical language in the reality show. The clip shows one of the casts, a conversation between a Chinese origin idol singer, GOT7 Jackson and a military grand general. Jackson accidently addressed him as "hyung" (big brother) and quickly apologized. The instructor then told him to call him "Joon Daejang". It means Joon = his surname and Daejang = grand general, his military rank. From this scene, viewers can learn that Jackson made a slight mistake in switching the speech level. In Jackson’s mind, he is aware that he needs to address the grand general with honorifics in regard of his seniority. By referring to the above speech-levels summary, Jackson accidently used "Hae-che" instead of "Hisipsio-che".

Now, let us discuss deeper on the application of hierarchical language in the reality show. The clip shows one of the casts, a conversation between a Chinese origin idol singer, GOT7 Jackson and a military grand general. Jackson accidently addressed him as "hyung" (big brother) and quickly apologised. The instructor then told him to call him "Joon Daejang". It means Joon = his surname and Daejang = grand general. From this scene, viewers can learn that Jackson made a slight mistake in switching the speech level. In Jackson’s mind, he is aware that he needs to address the grand general with honorifics in regard of his seniority. By referring the above speech-levels summary, Jackson accidently used "Hae-che" instead of "Hisipsio-che".

Hae-che or Banmal is used with people we are intimate with like our family members and close friends. It is also used when we are talking to younger people. The speaker will call the hearer with friendly terms like the one Jackson used. Power-related social factors (gender and age) can take precedence over solidarity-related factors (degree of intimacy) and vice versa, at different times in societies (Sohn, 1986, p. 390). It is common to use kinship terms for people who are not family members (Sohn, 2010, p.117). However, it is considered wrong in their context as they do not have close fellowship and the grand general has a high social rank.

Therefore, this justifies the reason why Jackson needs to switch to Hisipso-che when addressing the grand general. This speech level is used to show respect for people who rank higher than us in the social hierarchy such as the politicians and the military officers. The polite and deferential levels are used correspondingly between non-intimates and non-correspondingly by those subordinates to their superiors in terms of age or rank (Chang, 1996). Such mistakes are bound to happen even to people who master the language as it is not the speech-level that is used in daily conversation and the possibility for us to say the most accurate title is quite low too. it is considered polite enough for the speaker to use honorifics in their attempts.

Interesting Aspects of Korean Hierarchical Language

According to Sohn (1989), Korean hierarchical language is listed among the hardest languages to acquire by native English speakers. It is viewed as a language that is complex yet detailed. The speaker must pay extra attention to the addressee’s hierarchical status before addressing him/her.

In this language, the reciter needs to pick the correct final suffixes for each noun, verbs, and adjectives and not just the hearer’s title. It will be confusing to the learners, however, it is what makes the language amusing. The grammatical structure and the speech levels made the language, and the speakers sound thoughtful and sensible. It also makes the auditors feel respectful and appreciated. The different levels are also used to indicate the fellowship with one another.

There are, indeed, other languages that apply hierarchical systems, especially Asian countries. On the contrary, those languages mainly focus on the person’s titles and do not change much in terms of terms used. Therefore, this is what makes Korean hierarchical language unique and fascinating.

What is My Opinion on Korean Hierarchical Language ?

From a foreigner point of view, Korean hierarchical speech is something very interesting as it is a feature that symbolizes their culture and identity. From their language, we understood that Koreans put respecting people as a high importance in daily life. I find it interesting how they are very strict about respecting people and even after many decades, this heritage is still strongly applied.

Foreigners like me will face difficulties in mastering their language because it has a lot to understand and is mostly distinct from my mother tongue. But we should show respect by mastering the basic skills. This is because the language is shaped by their ancestors, and they are very proud of it. Hence, non-native should view it as a form of heritage despite being just a means of communicating.

Conclusion

Today's generation will be the future succeeder

of this interesting language

In conclusion, this compelling topic of language and culture is something very amusing and important for everyone to know and understand. Society needs to remember that one’s heritage can be told from the language features, rules, and systems. The Korean hierarchical language is a good example to portray how language and culture are related. From this language, we understand that its specialness is the cultures’ idiosyncratic and has been in their vessels for more than a million years.

References

Brown, Lucien. Korean Honorifics and Politeness in Second Language Learning. Google Books, John Benjamins Publishing, 2011, books.google.com.my/books? id=exUxjX7gbaAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.

Sohn, Ho-Min. The Korean Language. Google Books, Cambridge University Press, 29 Mar. 2001, books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Sx6gdJIOcoQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=korean+honorific+language&ots=qqOXoc2-qB&sig=SlsDz_efn6Hvjp8HrmdHLlAsw8Q&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=korean%20honorific%20language&f=false. Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.

The Korean Language. Google Books, Cambridge University Press, 29 Mar. 2001, books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Sx6gdJIOcoQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=korean+honorific+language&ots=qqOXoc2-qB&sig=SlsDz_efn6Hvjp8HrmdHLlAsw8Q&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=korean%20honorific%20language&f=false. Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.

Sohn, Ho-min. Korean Language in Culture and Society. Google Books, University of Hawaii Press, 31 Dec. 2005, books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=H4CsWDEi52IC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=korean+honorific+language+system&ots=tGS9kgP3B9&sig=v416rDQgGyu9ZtZ_iN2Yh3-6nD0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=korean%20honorific%20language%20system&f=false. Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.

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