Yoo Jae-hoon, 30, vividly remembers the first time he was called an “ajeossi”.

“I was at a cafe when a little girl, maybe four or five years old, accidentally spilled her juice on my pants. Her mother turned to her and said, ‘Say sorry to ajeossi.’

“I was still in my 20s, and I was so shocked to be called ajeossi that I barely even noticed the juice,” Yoo recalled.

Typically used for middle-aged men, often married with children, the Korean term carries a connotation of being outdated and uncool – essentially the opposite of an eligible bachelor.