Lee Soon-sil revealed that there are no honorifics in North Korea.
On the afternoon of the 19th, the KBS2 entertainment program ‘The Boss's Ears Are Donkey Ears’ (hereafter ‘Sadangui’) featured Lee Soon-sil and her group.
During the broadcast, Lee Soon-sil said, “We North Korean defectors come here feeling lonely and end up living with our husbands. But I have parents. When my in-laws brought cold noodles, I said, ‘Eat it with soy sauce! Eat it with chili powder!’ and they asked, ‘What does it mean to eat it?’ But that’s how we talk in North Korea,” she replied.
She continued, “When I said, ‘Bring them all,’ they responded, ‘How can you say that to your father-in-law? You should say you will serve him.’ Serving is something you only say for the General, not for your parents. There’s no term like ‘~께서’ (honorific form). There’s no word for elder either; we just say ‘old person’,” which surprised the panelists.
‘Sadangui’ can be seen every Sunday at 4:45 PM on KBS2.
[Seo Ye-ji, Star Today Guest Reporter]
