[usagi~]

like someone mentioned above---

if you're talking about a non-asian person using asian words
isn't it just like people in asia using random english words?
and no one gets mad at them?.. i don't see how it's any different >___>

[Suggestausername]

I think it's pretty simple: Using these terms is perfectly appropriate if you're speaking Korean, regardless of whether you are Korean or not. Throwing them in to English or conversation in any other language that isn't Korean sounds bizarre, for obvious reasons.

[viedeluxe]

when i was still teaching/guiding some Koreans here in the Philippines, I asked them if I could call them dongsaeng or what.. but most of them just wanna be called by their names *w/c by the way shocked me coz i was expecting them to ask me to call them in a respectful way even if i'm older*..

but one of them *he's older than me even in his western age (korean age minus 2 years)* told me that i could call him Oppa and i was like, "Jinjja (serious)? Are you freaking serious about this?!" and yes, i was the one who felt uncomfortable by the idea of calling him Oppa.. So i suggested on calling him with the Tagalog equivalent of Oppa so that we're both comfortable with the name that I'll use on calling him..

Well people don't usually address younger people as dongsaeng too often. Instead you would just call them by their names because you're older and you can say whatever. But if you're addressing older people, oppa, unni, noona, and hyung are used for respect.

[LeCiel.]

i can only say oppa to my idols. hahaha. since they're korean!
but sometimes, when someone keeps on repeating it, i get annoyed. sometimes only.

[junsujunsu]

i actually think those terms are really cute, but i can't bring myself to use it XD

[dorky_Soojee]

Hm I don't call anyone "oppa"
only my brother and my cousins.
I say unni to feww people.
I'm full korean but I have never been in the habit of saying "oppa" and "unni"
Honestly I think it's annoying when girls go "OPPPPPAAA!"

[chungmah.]

I use to just use it online just a little
but I felt weird so I stopped lol.

[gd_is_great]

have i ever replied 2 diz thread ? nwai i think it depends cuz i think if ppl use it they might like the language b/c it sounds nice jux dunt use it if u dunt noe their meaning i think so

[starrie]

Never seen someone of another ethnicity other than Korean using those terms.

I'm a banana my self (typical born in Canada, white-washed, suck at korean, better at english) and I hardly ever use those terms. I only use oppa to people that I know very well (i.e someone I've known since childhood) and same deal with unnie or family. I was really white washed before and I only hung out with white people. Now that I have fob friends (some guys), I find it strange when people call them Oppa and I just call them by their name.

They WANT me to call them oppa but they won't force me. :'D

[Bk.]

like for Korean people it really doesn't matter just because its they're native language (and because we're taught to talk that way)
but I agree with you.. I dislike it when people over use the term
especially if they're not korean I don't know why it bugs me so much >< its like caucasians saying 'hola' on daily basis
btw.. if you're at work or school it really just more respectful to use 'sunbae' IMO it just sounds better then 'oppa/unnie/nuna/hyung'

[JJ.biased]

I say it rarely.. i get embarassed.. ><

[영원한 사랑]

I'm full korean and I only call my older cousins in korea unni and oppa. Or if I was to meet a fob way older than me, than I would refer to them as unni or oppa. Other than that, I don't use the terms......but if the person wanted me to call them that, then I would.

[LoveJiyong]

Yes yes yes.!!!
I agree w/ everyone else.
I think it's totally dumb & annoying when i see ppl using those words & they're NOT even korean.
Or using any other words that they aren't besides English. LoL
I'm NOT korean either, but i don't use it.
& it's even more annoying when i read comments on youtube LoL & girls be like Oppa this or Unnie that etc.
i mean i have this tutor who is "trying" to teach me korean since i like their music & shows so much
& tries to make me call her "unnie" but i can NEVER get use to it & just NEVER call her that.
& i'm struggling on learning it too. idk why either.

[EunhyeSuh]

I personally think it is okay but when im in korea, im non-korean but i know how to speak, write and stuff, i do call my korean friends unnie , oppa not so often but i will ask their permission first, so if my mum or what ever asks me to call them 'opppa' or they ask me to i will, i mean i do feel awkward at times because their usually much older then me and i know them as friends but sometimes im afraid that if I do not call them by the respectful terms, they will think im rude. BUt i usually call them with their name, like-'Ji-u unnie' or 'Tae-suk oppa' but its like very rarely.

So, it kinda depends i can understand why koreans don't like it because it does not sound really accurate and its like acting 'cute' or something but relax. I've been learning it since not long ago and becoming more fluent, other then when I travel to korea, I do chat with friends online although I'm better at speaking. But I really hope I can go to korea someday and I can have a korean younger brother who can call me noona=) I find korean children very cute when they speak. When I travelled to korea as a child, I picked up some words like 'Annyeong Hasseyo' and 'ajushi, ajumha, unnie,oppa' but i don't really speak much because I have not learnt it then.Anyway im 14 now, so kinda long time ago.

[prisonerzero]

Who cares if the person is not Korean?
Why would the Korean language only be acceptable to Koreans?
If a white non-Korean person was studying the language, wouldn't it be respect if they used those words to other Korean people?

[yoko102308]

I think it's okay to use it, when it's used correctly. I mean, I would have to be pretty close to you to call you oppa.{and you wouold probably have to ask me to call you that} &
I'm not Korean, and I think non-Koreans can use it, but eh~

I hate reading comments on youtube and stuff that add oppa/unnie to EVERYONE
{ex. ahhh saranghee TaeYang-oppa!" or "OPPPPPAAAA!"}. I also people on soompi automatically call someone noona/unnie/ect on their 411s.I'm just learning Korean, but I know enough to know when to use those honorifics. It's like people calling everything "kawaii" and adding "desu" to the end of everything. It's not cute. It makes you sound ignorant and uneducated.

>>_>> ughh.. My friend does that a lot too~she talks in a high voice every time she attemps to speak Japanese (notice the attempt). When I try to correct her she says I'm wrong. I mean, WTF, I speak Japanese fluently and lived in effin Japan & I'm wrong? Pshhh- She thinks she has to say 'baka neko' & 'aimini coopereru' all the time. & her pronunciation is always terrible.

It's nice that someone is trying to learn another language but so many people just learn the annoying random crap . They aren't really trying to learn the language.~

[영원한 사랑]

^I have to agree. It especially bugs the hell out of me when they try to act cute along with it.

[kimmmmy]

I don't think its wrong for non-koreans to use it..
I use only "unnie" for the people who I am close with on my 411 who I always talk to...
Well actually...I really don't even call everyone that in my 411. O.O
I only call like 2 of them "unnie" becasue I gave them a nickname and I just add "unnie" in the end becasue they are older than me.
Is that a bad thing? >.>
Like,I don't go around calling people I don't even know Unnie or Oppa or whatever.

For up there ^ Is there like a reason why people try to act cute along with it?
It's just a language...

[blbrychiti]

I'm also full Korean and because I live in America, I don't use the terms. It's just like infusing random bits of Korean into your everyday English conversation.

If I ever use it, then it's joking with others who know what the term mean. Because I'm in America, I try to discourage everyone but my blood-related siblings from using that term to reference me as well. My siblings live with me and we speak Korean at home so it's too annoying to call me something at home, then change that when they're in public.

The "feeling" of the words are completely different in Korea itself. It's much more matter-of-fact although girls often overuse it for cuteness.

[jhazmhine23]

i agree with the first post~ yeah~ i understand, even i'm not korean..i only use the term 'Oppa' and 'Unnie' to my real older siblings,also to my friends whose been a part of me~