Half man, half woman, 1/2 a bottle of soju and look out!

In Korea, there is an interesting phenomenom perpetrating everyday life at all levels of society. The ajumma, 'ah jew mar', is a she- who must be obeyed. Cross her at your own peril. Stand aside, or behind, and watch the mastery at work. There are no loose ifs, buts, maybes or perhapses in her mind. Your neighbourhood is her kitchen, and you are standing too close to the oven my friend.

Without revealing too much of a personal ignorance of Korean history, my twin-set theory is that the ajumma has evolved over centuries of foreign usurpation of everything local, and as a backlash toward the recent societal manufacturing of pretty, little barbie dolls (or 'eye candy' to the foreign blokes who enjoy chewing what they see).

Or, from personal gleaning, a combination of the two.
Here's Monica, not her real name, an adult student who is pretty, petite, intelligent and sophisticated. Married to a successful professional and openly ajumma!
"You mean a middle aged Korean woman?"
"No, I mean forcefully independent enough to protect the future of my family." (Not her real words either, word order has been corrected and adjective converted from adverb- Ed.) "Because my husband is addicted to his work."
" ".

If I could post photographs here, you might walk through a mall of outdoor ajumma in various guises, hilariously bedecked in a blend of what's hot and what's not, smiling down at you from below ...
Well, look at Mr Moneybags, his tongue bigger than his heart.
I bet he has never done an honest day's work in his life.
And what about that face,
eyes made for watching television
and cheekbones, what cheekbones?
Skin so white
he must have washed it off and replaced it with that fur they call hair, look it's everywhere haha.
"Hey, what have you been teaching my grandson today?"