By Wonsuh Song
Recently, my family stayed at a hotel in Korea for the first time in a long while. We checked into a room meant for four people, but there was only one enormous bed. At the front desk, we asked for the bed to be split into two, and they assured us it would be taken care of. Yet no one came. When I called again, the response was: “A madam will be coming shortly to fix the bed.” At that moment, I felt a strange discomfort.
In Korean society, the word yeosa-nim—roughly “madam”—is a term of respect. It is used for the First Lady or women of dignity and refinement. But to hear hotel housekeeping staff referred to as “madam” raises a question: is this truly about human equality, or has the spirit of service been lost in linguistic inflation?
In most contexts, housekeeping staff are simply that—housekeeping staff, room attendants, or maids. Their work deserves respect, but when the title “madam” is applied indiscriminately, it feels like an artificial elevation of status. If this logic were extended, should street cleaners be called “president” or “chairman”? Such overuse dilutes the meaning of honorifics, creating what might be called “title inflation.”
The discomfort doesn’t just affect the guest. As a customer, I felt awkward, almost guilty, receiving service under this oddly inflated language. And for the staff themselves, being called “madam” while tidying up another’s messy room must be confusing. Instead of honoring their labor, the title risks undermining the dignity it aims to confer.
Perhaps my 20 years abroad made me more sensitive to this. In hotels overseas, no one would ever use such a term. Instead, respect is shown not through exaggerated titles, but through professional service and fair treatment. Yet in Korea, “madam” seems to have become a catch-all term of politeness, applied far beyond its original scope.
So I ask: is this really the right way to show respect? True dignity comes not from inflated titles, but from recognizing the value of work itself. When every service worker becomes a “madam,” the authenticity of respect is lost. It may be time to reflect on whether such language truly serves equality—or merely creates confusion.
Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)
Full-time Lecturer, Shumei University / NKNGO Forum Representative
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