yangban

See also: yàngbǎn

English

Etymology

From Korean 양반 (yangban), from Middle Korean 兩班.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈjaŋban/

Noun

yangban (plural yangbans or yangban)

  1. (historical) A member of the ruling class of male Confucian intellectuals in Korea at and before the time of the Korean Empire.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 900:
      One yangban, Yi Sŭng-hun, provided a new answer to this crisis of authority: while in Beijing serving as a diplomat, he was baptized a Catholic Christian and went home to propagate his faith.
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