브로맨스 (beuromaenseu): The Friendship Between Men That K-Dramas Love Most
브로맨스 (beuromaenseu)
브로맨스 (beuromaenseu) is the word for a friendship between two men that has nothing to do with romantic feelings, yet still looks as special and as tender as a love story. Watch enough Korean dramas and you will always hit that one scene: two male leads who spent the whole show at each other’s throats, and then one of them gets badly hurt and the other spends the entire night in the hospital hallway. The second that scene airs, the live chat fills up with a single word. “이거 완전 브로맨스잖아 (igeo wanjeon beuromaenseu-janha)” — “This is a total bromance.”
The heart of this word is that “연애는 아닌데 연애만큼 진하다 (yeonae-neun aninde yeonae-mankeum jinhada)” — “it isn’t romance, but it’s every bit as intense as romance.” You don’t call just any pair of close friends a bromance. Taking a loss for each other, knowing without being told, bodies moving first when things get dangerous — in other words, it’s the word you reach for when the temperature of the relationship runs unusually high for a friendship. That’s why 브로맨스 always comes with a little admiration and a little mischief mixed in. It isn’t a serious analysis of a relationship; it’s closer to a pleased remark tossed in by whoever happens to be watching.
Grammatically it’s a noun, so it travels in forms like 브로맨스가 있다 (beuromaenseu-ga itda) (“to have a bromance”), 브로맨스가 터지다 (beuromaenseu-ga teojida) (“a bromance bursts out”), and 브로맨스 케미 (beuromaenseu kemi) (“bromance chemistry”). Paired with 터지다 (teojida, “to burst”) in particular, it brings out the feeling of “they held it in and held it in, and now it’s finally out in the open.”
See It in a Real Conversation
Situation: The wedding of one of Jun-kyung’s university classmates. The ceremony is over, and the two of them are standing at the back of the guest seats, waiting their turn for the group photo.
Jun-kyung: 아까 사회 본 애 있잖아. 신랑이랑 스무 살 때부터 붙어 다녔어. You know the guy who emceed? He and the groom have been inseparable since they were twenty.
Emily: 어쩐지. 축사하다가 둘 다 울더라. 완전 브로맨스던데. That explains it. They both cried during the speech. Total bromance.
Jun-kyung: 야, 그게 축사냐. 거의 고백이지. 신부가 웃겨 죽으려고 하더라. Come on, that wasn’t a speech, it was practically a confession. The bride was dying laughing.
Emily: 근데 저런 브로맨스 보면 괜히 기분 좋아지지 않아? 드라마 한 편 본 것 같고. But doesn’t watching a bromance like that just make you feel good? Like finishing a whole drama.
Jun-kyung: 인정. 나도 저런 친구 하나 있었으면 싶더라. Agreed. Made me wish I had a friend like that.
Emily: 너 있잖아, 승우 씨. 주말마다 붙어 다니면서 무슨 소리야. You do — Seungwoo. You two are glued together every weekend, what are you talking about.
Where It Sounds Off
✗ (To your department head at a company dinner) 부장님이랑 상무님, 두 분 브로맨스 정말 보기 좋습니다. (Bujangnim-irang sangmunim, du bun beuromaenseu jeongmal bogi joseumnida.) — “Sir, the bromance between you and the managing director is really lovely to see.” ✓ (Quietly, to a coworker) 부장님이랑 상무님, 진짜 친하시더라. (Bujangnim-irang sangmunim, jinjja chinhasideora.) — “The department head and the managing director are really close, aren’t they.” → 브로맨스 is a label that onlookers stick on a relationship because they’re enjoying the show. Stick that label on the relationships of people senior to you and it turns grown adults’ bond into a light piece of entertainment. In front of a senior, something like “두 분 오래 알고 지내셨다면서요 (Du bun orae algo jinaesyeotdamyeonseoyo)” — “I hear the two of you have known each other a long time” — is the safe choice.
✗ 언니랑 나는 진짜 브로맨스야. (Eonni-rang na-neun jinjja beuromaenseu-ya.) — “My older sister and I have a real bromance.” ✓ 언니랑 나는 진짜 **워맨스 (womaenseu)**야. (Eonni-rang na-neun jinjja womaenseu-ya.) — “My older sister and I have a real womance.” → Since the “bro” up front means brother, 브로맨스 is used only between men. The same kind of bond between women gets its own word: 워맨스 (womaenseu). And for a man and a woman, you need an entirely different word.
Example Sentences by Situation
1. Binge-watching a drama, talking to a friend (casual speech)
Situation: A scene where the two male leads cover for each other — and suddenly this is more fun than the male-female romance the show is supposedly about.
야, 나 솔직히 이 드라마 멜로보다 브로맨스 보려고 봐. (Ya, na soljikhi i deurama mello-boda beuromaenseu boryeogo bwa.) — 야, 나 솔직히 이 드라마 멜로보다 브로맨스 보려고 봐. Honestly, I watch this drama for the bromance more than the romance.
2. Chatting about office life with a coworker (polite speech)
Situation: Two senior colleagues who bicker constantly are pulling an all-nighter together, and you turn to the coworker beside you with a comment.
저 두 분 맨날 싸우시더니 요즘 브로맨스 생기신 것 같아요. (Jeo du bun maennal ssausideoni yojeum beuromaenseu saenggisin geot gatayo.) — 저 두 분 맨날 싸우시더니 요즘 브로맨스 생기신 것 같아요. Those two used to fight all the time, but lately they seem to have a bit of a bromance going.
3. Posting a review on an online community
Situation: You’ve just come out of a movie and want to leave a short reaction — and the center of the story wasn’t love, but the trust between two men.
이 영화는 러브라인이 없어서 오히려 브로맨스가 제대로 살았다. (I yeonghwa-neun reobeurain-i eopseoseo ohiryeo beuromaenseu-ga jedaero saratda.) — 이 영화는 러브라인이 없어서 오히려 브로맨스가 제대로 살았다. This film has no love line, and that’s exactly why the bromance works so well.
Polite and Casual Forms, and Similar Expressions
Because 브로맨스 is a noun, you settle the politeness level just by changing the end of the sentence. Casual: 브로맨스야 (beuromaenseu-ya). Polite: 브로맨스예요 (beuromaenseu-yeyo) or 브로맨스입니다 (beuromaenseu-imnida). Remember, though, that even when the form turns formal, the light temperature of the word itself stays exactly the same. In an official report or when speaking to your elders, it doesn’t fit — no matter what ending you attach.
| Expression | Temperature & intensity | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| 브로맨스 (beuromaenseu) | Warm and affectionate; admiration with a playful edge | Among peers, on social media, in drama commentary. Between men only |
| 워맨스 (womaenseu) | The same temperature as 브로맨스 | For a special friendship between women |
| 케미 (kemi) | Neutral; refers only to how well a pair clicks | Any pairing — mixed, same-gender, whole teams. Variety-show and drama commentary |
| 우정 (ujeong) | Calm and earnest | Anywhere. Written language, speeches, even in front of seniors |
| 의리 (uiri) | Weighty and masculine; a duty you’re bound to keep | Gangster films, sports, longtime friends |
The same relationship gets a different word depending on who’s choosing it. Watch a scene where two men risk their lives for each other: if an older adult comments seriously, it becomes “의리가 있네 (Uiri-ga inne)” — “Now that’s loyalty”; if someone their own age comments cheerfully, it becomes “브로맨스 터졌다 (Beuromaenseu teojyeotda)” — “The bromance just exploded.” What differs isn’t the meaning, but the stance of the speaker.
Cultural Background — Stories That Run Without Romance
브로맨스 is a loanword taken straight from the English bromance. It was built by fusing brother and romance, and Korean borrowed only the sound, settling it in as a noun. That’s why you’ll run into it far earlier and far more often on drama forums and in article headlines than in any Korean dictionary.
There’s a reason this word grew especially well in Korea. Korean dramas are full of genres that require two men to stay side by side for a long time. A detective and a prosecutor, a senior and a junior, a boss and an employee, a king and his bodyguard — when the axis of the story is not love but trust and betrayal, the process of two men coming to know each other takes over the role romance would otherwise play. Works like 《미생 (Misaeng)》, which draws the senior-junior relationships inside a company with real density, and 《슬기로운 의사생활 (Seulgiroun Uisasaenghwal)》, which builds itself out of the everyday lives of longtime friends, were loved for the same reason. Viewers read emotions there that were every bit the equal of a romance plot — and they needed a name to call those emotions by.
So there’s a quiet compliment tucked inside this word. Saying “브로맨스가 좋다 (Beuromaenseu-ga jota)” — “the bromance is good” — usually means “those two actors have great chemistry” and “the relationship wasn’t written lazily.” These days it shows up openly in drama promo copy, too. Put two male actors’ names side by side and write “역대급 브로맨스 (yeokdaegeup beuromaenseu)” — “an all-time-great bromance” — and that alone tells you what kind of story you’re in for.
One more thing worth adding: 브로맨스 is, from start to finish, a word that presupposes this is not romance. It isn’t an expression for an actual romantic relationship or for someone’s sexual identity, so it’s best not to drag it in where you’d be pronouncing judgment on real people’s relationships. Leaving it as a fun name for a relationship on screen is plenty.
Today’s Quiz
Which of the following is the most natural place to use 브로맨스?
- At a company workshop, saying to your department head and the managing director: “두 분 브로맨스 정말 멋지십니다 (Du bun beuromaenseu jeongmal meotjisimnida)” — “The two of you have such a wonderful bromance.”
- Watching a drama with a friend and pointing at the two male leads: “쟤네 브로맨스 장난 아니다 (Jyaene beuromaenseu jangnan anida)” — “Their bromance is no joke.”
- Greeting a man and woman about to get married with: “두 분 브로맨스 부러워요 (Du bun beuromaenseu bureowoyo)” — “I’m jealous of your bromance.”
- Looking at two close sisters and saying: “두 분 브로맨스 보기 좋네요 (Du bun beuromaenseu bogi jonneyo)” — “Your bromance is lovely to see.”
See the answer
Answer: 2
브로맨스 is a word used among peers, by someone fondly watching a relationship between two men. Option 1 amounts to slapping a light label on the relationship of people senior to you, so it comes off as rude; option 3 involves a man and a woman, so the target is simply wrong; and option 4 is between women, which calls for 워맨스 (womaenseu).
‘브로맨스’ is not listed as a headword in the National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr), so the definition, example sentences, dialogue, and quiz in this post are all original work.