I was born and raised in the city of Busan. South Korea. (almost 30 years now)
So yeah, I know a thing or two about Busan dialect.
Let me teach you some real Busan dialect — from a real local.
Busan dialect No 1. ‘MA!’ (마!)
In Busan, you can hear ‘Ma!’ everywhere.
and ‘Ma’ is one of the most iconic Busan dialect.
Meaning of ‘Ma!‘ is basically just ‘hey!’
But with that Busan in-your-face attitude.
When do you use this? – It’s usually used when guys are about to square up.
For example, when you’re walking down the street and someone bumps into you and just keep walking without saying sorry.
This is a perfect moment for you to shout “MA!!!”
Now, this might sound like a stereotype — but ‘Ma!’ is a pretty masculine word to say.
unless you encountered scary woman with a dragon tattoo all over her body, It would be hard to see a woman shout ‘Ma!’
but when Busan guys get into fights, they’ll almost definitely shout it out loud.
There is an exception, of course.
when really close friends say it to each other just for fun.
Caution! ‘Ma’ is considered very rude, if you use it toward someone older than you.
So use it wisely, my friend.
Busan dialect No 2. ‘Oppaya’(오빠야)
Next dialect : “Oppaya”!
You’ve probably already heard the word “Oppa” (Gangnam style etc.)
and the “Oppaya” is Busan dialect for “Oppa”
As you can see, my wonderful drawing shows a cute girl saying “Oppaya” and the guy is going crazy.
There’s a common stereotype that Busan words sound little rough and masculine.
but when a cute girl speaks in Busan dialect?
A LOT of people finds it very attractive.
“Oppaya” is an absolutely magical word.
Even tho this is a Busan dialect, it doesn’t just work on Busan guys.
It sets the heart of men all over Korea on fire somehow.
You can say ‘Oppaya’ is like Korean version of ‘Onichan’.
If you want to hit on a Korean guy.
Just gently say “Oppaya”
Pro Tip!!! : You don’t need an strong accent.
that makes “Oppaya” less attractive.
you get what I’m saying?
just say it gently and subtly, when he’s not expecting it.
Then, he will be yours.
Busan dialect No 3. “Bap mutna?”(밥 뭇나?)
Okay, now you’ve been educated on ‘ma’ and ‘oppaya’, It’s time for an advanced one.
“Bap mutna?” is a little bit short version of “Bap muguttna?”
This is also not a formal language to speak, so use it on your friend or young ones.
Bap (no it’s not ‘bep’ it’s just ‘bap’) means cooked rice and also means ‘meal’.
but meal is more accurate – because we have another word for uncooked rice (it’s called ‘Ssal’).
and Mutna mean ‘did you eat?’
So. basically “Bap mutna?” is just “did you eat?”.
You might be wondering, “Why is this important? and why the hell should I care if they ate or not?”
fair enough. but it’s more than just a mere question.
“Bap mutna?” is kind of like greeting ritual for Busan people.
Showing that I care about you, and your health. (this… might be an overreach but yeah.)
This is how we show Love in Busan.
Now you might be thinking , “Okay… but Kim, so how do I respond when Busan person hits me with “Bap mutna?”.”
Good question.
the answer is yes or no.
simple as that.
And then you just look them in the eyes and hit’em with a “Bap mutna?” right back.
Congratulation. you gained a massive respect from your friend.
If both of you guys didn’t eat, then you can go grab a bite with them.
Well class…
That’s it for today lesson – now you know how to sound tough, cute, and friendly in Busan dialect.
Welcome to Busan.
Stick around and you will learn much more about real Korea!