Note: I write in Canadian (it's actually mostly British) English, but please do not blame Canada (or the UK) for my grammar infidelity.

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I am actually writing this entry in response to a ton of reading tips around writing here in AFF. First off, the intent of these writing articles is not to tell you what to do, but encourage you to explore writing techniques. This is generally how I approach life and people. I do not tell people what to do (with writing or their lives), and the onus of doing things responsibly is on that individual.

I am an extremely tight-laced person with very strict guiding principles. I am often perceived as kind, and over the course of knowing me, you will see I am straight (in morals, not uality) and somewhat overbearing. The strictest principle I follow in life and in writing is not to be prescriptive in most aspects because often you will find exceptions to the rule. Even "Thou Shall Not Kill" is trumped by self-preservation and protection of other people's lives, so you know, live without a leash on your neck, and don't expect others to be leashed. This, to me, is the simplest foundation of living well.

Now, you might be going, but sevvy why you always ramble and never make sense?! So okay, okay, I am going to get to the point. You will see a common writing recommendation here on AFF telling you to be a serious writer, you should opt out using Oppa/Nuna/Hyung/Sunbae in your stories. The argument is simple. Your whole story world is set in Korea and it follows that dialogue written in English is inferred as Korean, hence any Korean words are just there to somehow your ego of knowing some spare Korean you throw in the mix for a more Korean effect. It's like an inedible garnish. It's there-- a plastic rose on your pork and beans, and you go wtf? At least, that is the argument.

Now from this point, I will argue that there IS a necessity in using certain Korean words in your story. I am not a big user of Oppa (I have used it though), but I pepper a lot of my writing with hyung. Now before I burst your temporal artery (and I heard that you need that or something), I am going to tell you why. First off, there is no direct translation of hyung, which if you don't know roughly translates to "an older man who I respect and who I will listen to". It's not as simple as an "older brother" because in the Western cultural context siblings are usually seen as equals, and in many instances, friends here in the west disregard age, as we have this rather popular axiom "age is just a number". In the East and in this instance Korea, however, the adage is not applicable. I would like to that say it's something derivative of the Confucian xiao, or filial piety or respect to parents, and elders where Asians generally regard age as notch on the wisdom pole, but for the sunbae-hoobae, hyung/unnie/nuna/oppa-dongsaeng relationship, it's a more inclusive bond, going beyond blood ties, where a younger individual is taken under an elder, and they share not only a bond of friendship, but also responsibility. It's like a patron relationship or a mentor-protege relationship which is  somewhere in between a formal/informal agreement that we don't see in the west. If you only watch this from a far in dramas or other TV shows, then you have a glimpse of the surface of the pond, and not the depth of the power dynamics and other complexities in the relationship.

The thing is, of course, what we write here in AFF is painfully white-washed, and I am not going to be a snoot and tell you that's wrong because I am a self-proclaimed white-washed Asian (although I'm going to say just a little bit) and I do acknowledge transcendental culture and believe that blending in cultures are not always necessarily bad. However, I think there is a place for foreign words in literature, and in turn, in fanfiction too specially for words that would lose social context in translation. I think that it is actually the responsible thing to do-- to acknowledge that there is cultural disparity and that not all people live the same lives.

As an Asian (I am Filipino-Chinese. I was raised in the Philippines, but raised with a lot of Chinese values), I can say that the concept of hierarchical social structures in Korea is easier for me to understand, and even the conservative gender politics too. The western adage of "earning respect" doesn't agree with me, and I still strongly, strongly believe the more Eastern "deserving respect". I think people with more life experience should be acknowledged as such, and hence, given the titular honourifics. I think, then, the argument is if you write a story without the Korean cultural context then not appending honourifics in names to your characters is fine. If you do not take into account that a woman when she calls a man "oppa" means she is saying they are in a relationship where the guy will be willingly looking out for her, then you don't need it. This is especially the case for a more Westernize strong female lead who would not yield her authority in a relationship because if she wears the pants... Then there is no oppa because the pants is what makes oppa. If you know what I mean.

Now I will qualify, of course (golf course, main course, inter...) that I do believe that having other Korean words that have English equivalents like bwoh, ani, kajima, annyeong is clutter in your story because it gives linguistic disparity where there shouldn't be any. I, however, sometimes like using some of them because I like the rhythm of ani more than no. And yah. I like yah, better than hey. But whether or not that's wrong, is entirely up in the air because it's a stylistic choice... I think rhythm is something writers should consider like onomatopoeia or ideophones, but that, I guess, is another argument. I will end this here with the summation of when you come across a writing tip that tells you something specific, always think that grammar and linguistic rules are relatively new inventions to give the reading audience an easier time consuming your story. There were books before grammar, as there is oppa before fanfiction. Grammar was adapted by many writers because it was a light bulb invention that enlightened the act of reading, but taking out oppa because "it's annoying" is not a light bulb---it's turning away from cultural implications. The rule of "Do not use Korean" is not hard and fast. It's malleable to your intentions as most things are. As grammar is.

Remember writing is an expression and an art, and Van Gogh couldn't have created the "Starry Night" if he coloured within the lines. I still believe that if anyone tells you what to do, you should have the first instinct of trying it out for yourself. One should have your own convictions. Yes. Even in Fanfiction. LOL. I told you. I'm a straight arrow, except an arrow isn't straight. It flexes and spins during flight, and it travels in a trajectory and with specific fletching...

Shut up, sevvy. Shut up.

So yeah, this is in defense of Oppa and cultural disparities. Let me know what you think, and do you use Korean in your stories? Is your setting in Korea? Or not? Do you take in consideration Korean cultural values in your stories? How much so?

If you're going, sevvy when will you stop philosophizing writing and do something like review, or update, then my answer is NEVER! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!!!

/runs away

Yours,

secretseven