For those of you who don’t live in Korea, here’s a hilarious article explaining what an ajumma is.
In the sauna, should the ajumma let out a fart and people stare at her, she will just leave without saying sorry. Ladies show respect to everyone, even their juniors. They are well aware of etiquettes in public places. They tend to be strict with themselves and generous to others: with ajumma it is the other way round.
Really, so very bizarre, and yet sort-of-right, one has to admit sheepishly. At least, right in terms of the Jeonbuk ajummas I encountered on a regular basis. Especially things like stepping on others’ feet and hollering into their phones on the bus. And the checklist at the end is killer. Even I answered yes to a couple of those questions!
What kills me is that the article, which is basically a “how-not-to-be-an-ajumma” piece, is in the same issue as the piece about breast implants to which Marmot linked.