'Noona' relationships gain popularity both on small screens and in real life

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'Noona' relationships gain popularity both on small screens and in real life

Published: 02 Jun. 2026, 07:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Actors Kim Go-eun, left, and Kim Jae-won pose for a photo at a press conference for the third season of Tving series ″Yumi's Cells″ (2021–) at a hotel in Guro District, southern Seoul, on April 7. [NEWS1]

For generations, Korean romance revolved around the oppa — a term women use for an older brother, but also a common nickname for an older boyfriend. More recently, however, noona, or older women, are increasingly becoming the ideal in both Korean dramas and real-life relationships.

On screen, that shift was on full display in the third season of tvN’s “Yumi’s Cells” (2021–), in which female protagonist Yu-mi blushes after hearing the word “noona” from the younger male lead, Soon-rok.

“Can I just call you noona instead?” Soon-rok asks Yu-mi in a scene where their relationship begins evolving from colleagues into lovers. Yu-mi’s heart instantly races, with the word lingering in her ears like a pounding heartbeat.

In another scene, the word noona is emphasized again as Yu-mi tries to reassure herself that it is “nothing unusual, just an everyday expression” after Soon-rok casually replies, “Yes, noona.”

The so-called amorous cell writes the word ″noona″ on a chalkboard in the television series ″Yumi's Cells″ (2021–) [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The series, a live-action adaptation of a popular digital comic, visualizes Yu-mi’s emotions and inner thoughts through animated “cells” living inside her mind.

Within the so-called cell village, the repeated use of the word noona awakens Yu-mi’s long-dormant “amorous cell,” which soon declares its next mission: dating a younger man.

In the past, however, men generally avoided calling older women noona in romantic contexts.

A famous example appears in singer Lee Seung-gi’s hit “Because You’re My Woman” (2004), whose lyrics include the line, “I’ll call you [the informal] ‘you.’” The Korean title of the track reads, “Because noona is my lady.”

A scene from JTBC’s “Something in the Rain” (2018) [JOONGANG ILBO]

But among Korea's Gen Z, attitudes have shifted dramatically.

Depending on the context, noona itself has evolved into a flirty gesture. Much like oppa, the word has taken on a dual role: both an everyday form of address and a romantic one.

The shift first became noticeable with JTBC’s “Something in the Rain” (2018), the Korean title of which literally translates to “pretty noona who buys me meals a lot.”

In line with shifting perceptions, powerful female characters are increasingly portrayed as more desirable on screen.

In tvN’s series “ Filing for Love,” for instance, the female lead Joo In-a, played by Shin Hae-sun, serves as the head of an audit team. Her love interest is Noh Gi-jun, a much lower-ranking assistant manager played by Gong Myoung.

The drama has seen a steady rise in viewership, climbing from 4.4 percent at its premiere on April 25 to 7.9 percent by its eighth episode on May 17, according to Nielsen Korea.

A scene from ″Filing for Love,″ in which a younger male romantic interest hands a teddy bear to the lead female protagonist [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Television dramas can mirror broader social trends. The number of couples with older women and younger men accounted for 20.2 percent of 198,603 first-time marriages last year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the first time that couples with older women surpassed the 20 percent threshold.

Meanwhile, couples with older husbands and younger wives fell to a record low of 63 percent.

The first season of KBS reality dating show “ Noona, You Are a Woman to Me” (2025–), which aired from October last year through January, produced three couples out of its potential five pairings.

Ahead of its second season which premiered on May 23, the broadcaster released promotional videos introducing contestants with phrases such as “a woman who earns 10 billion won ($6.6 million)” and “a man proud of his physique.”

“People used to specifically say ‘older-woman younger-man couple,’ but now those relationships have become so common that the label itself is fading away,” pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun said.

“The breakdown of fixed gender roles is driving this change, and the evolving function of the word noona reflects that broader shift as well.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG EUN-HYE [[email protected]]