hoobae

hoobae

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Korean 후배 (hubae, “junior”).

Noun

hoobae (plural hoobaes)

1. (South Korea) An underclassman or junior.
   • 2010, "The Man in the Middle", Busan HAPS, October/November 2010, page 9:

     I love Korean culture, especially the sunbae/hoobae relationship. And in baseball, you are always someone's sunbae or hoobae.

   • 2012, Seung Hee Yoo & David Matsumoto, "Korean Culture Explored Through Survey Research", in Inter/Cultural Communication: Representation and Construction of Culture (ed. Anastacia Kurylo), page 400:

     It is expected that hoobaes treat their sunbaes with respect.

   • 2014, Ted Oh, "Korean Student Association makes promise for more inclusion", 30 October 2014, The Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University), page 14:

     The sunbaes and hoobaes want to engage in an unofficial meet-and-greet mentoring session, especially to help the incoming freshmen.

2. (South Korean pop culture fandom slang) A newer or less experienced idol.

Coordinate terms

• sunbae