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If you're watching Netflix's The Scandal, there's one relationship that may sound especially strange to modern viewers.
Netflix's official description says Lady Cho proposes that Cho Won seduce So-ok, a young woman who is set to become a concubine in her household.
A concubine?
Does that simply mean a mistress?
A second wife?
Or something completely different?
The Korean word behind this historical relationship is:
첩 — cheop
And understanding it opens up a much bigger part of Joseon family culture.
What Does Cheop Mean in Korean?
Cheop (첩, 妾) refers to a woman who had a recognized relationship with a man but did not hold the same status as his legal wife in the traditional Korean family system.
It is usually translated into English as:
concubine
That's a useful translation.
But just like many historical Korean words, the English equivalent doesn't tell the whole story.
A cheop was not simply another wife with an equal position.
And she was not necessarily equivalent to what modern English speakers would call a “mistress.”
To understand why, we first need to understand marriage itself in Joseon Korea.
Could a Joseon Man Have More Than One Wife?
This is where things get interesting.
You may watch a historical K-drama and think:
So wealthy men were allowed to have several wives?
Not exactly.
Joseon followed a one-wife system in which a man had one recognized wife, while elite men could also have concubines. Historical records therefore distinguish between the wife (처) and concubines (첩) rather than treating them as several equal wives.
That distinction mattered enormously.
It affected not only the women themselves but also their children.
So instead of imagining:
Wife 1 + Wife 2 + Wife 3
it is more accurate to think:
Legal wife
↓
different status
↓
Concubine
That hierarchy is essential for understanding many historical K-drama families.
Cheop vs. Wife: What Was the Difference?
The legal wife occupied the primary marital position in the household.
A concubine did not have the same status.
That meant the difference between 처 (wife) and 첩 (concubine) was much more than a romantic label.
It could affect:
family status
household hierarchy
children's status
inheritance and lineage
social recognition
This is why a historical drama can make a seemingly small question—
Who is his mother?
—extremely important.
The answer could affect a character's position for the rest of their life.
Is Cheop the Same as a Mistress?
Not really.
This is probably the most important English comparison in this lesson.
In modern English, mistress usually suggests a woman having a sexual or romantic relationship with a married man, often secretly and outside the marriage.
A historical Korean cheop belonged to a recognized social and household system.
So:
첩 ≠ simply “secret lover”
and
첩 ≠ equal second wife
Concubine is generally the better historical English translation.
But even concubine needs cultural context because systems of concubinage differed across societies and historical periods.
When you see 첩 in a Joseon story, think first about family hierarchy, not just romance.
Why Did the Difference Matter So Much?
Because Joseon society placed enormous importance on family and lineage.
Marriage wasn't only about two people falling in love.
It connected families.
It affected descendants.
It helped determine where someone belonged within the household and lineage.
That meant the status of a child's mother could matter too.
And this takes us to one of the most important consequences of the wife-concubine distinction.
What Happened to the Children of a Concubine?
Children born to concubines could face a different social and legal position from children born to the principal wife.
One important Korean historical term is:
서얼 — seoeol (庶孼)
The National Institute of Korean History defines seoeol as descendants of yangban men born to women who were concubines rather than wives. It further distinguishes 서자 (seoja), born to a concubine of free status, and 얼자 (eolja), born to a concubine of low or enslaved status.
That distinction could have serious consequences.
Historically, seoeol faced restrictions that other yangban descendants did not. Government service and civil-service examinations were among the areas affected by discriminatory rules.
Suddenly, the word 첩 isn't just about one woman's relationship.
It can shape the next generation.
Why This Matters in The Scandal
Netflix's official trailer description specifically identifies So-ok as a young woman who is expected to become a concubine in Lady Cho's household.
For an international viewer, “concubine” can sound like a dramatic old-fashioned romance word.
But for a Joseon audience, the idea carries questions of:
status
marriage
household hierarchy
family
future children
That's the cultural layer worth noticing.
You don't need to know what happens to So-ok to understand why the word itself matters.
The social position already tells us something about the world surrounding her.
Cheop and the Women of the Household
Our previous The Scandal lesson looked at another Korean word:
안채 — anchae
The anchae was the inner residential area of many traditional Korean homes, particularly associated with women's domestic life in later Joseon society.
Now add 첩 to that picture.
Women could live within the same larger household while occupying very different positions within its family hierarchy.
So a historical K-drama house wasn't simply divided into:
men over here / women over there.
There were layers even within the women's world.
Age mattered.
Marriage status mattered.
Family relationship mattered.
And whether a woman was the principal wife or a concubine could matter enormously.
This is why learning the words makes the drama easier to read.
Related Korean Words
Here are several words worth remembering together:
첩 (cheop) — concubine
처 (cheo) — wife; a historical/formal word appearing in compounds and historical contexts
본처 (boncheo) — principal/original wife
정실 (jeongsil) — principal wife; especially common in historical contexts
서얼 (seoeol) — collective historical term for certain yangban descendants born to concubines
서자 (seoja) — historically, a son born to a free-status concubine
얼자 (eolja) — historically, a son born to a concubine of low or enslaved status
These aren't simply vocabulary words.
Together, they form a map of historical family hierarchy.
English Comparison
Here's the easiest way to remember the distinction:
| Korean concept | Closest English | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 처 / 정실 | wife / principal wife | Primary marital position |
| 첩 | concubine | Recognized but lower status than the wife |
| mistress | mistress | Modern English concept; not an exact equivalent of 첩 |
| 서얼 | no simple equivalent | Historical status connected to birth from a concubine |
The important point isn't memorizing four translations.
It's recognizing that English does not reproduce the Joseon family system exactly.
That's why subtitles can tell you what a word means without telling you everything the Korean audience understands from it.
Real K-Drama Viewing Examples
Imagine a historical drama where a wealthy man has children by two different women.
One child is born to his principal wife.
Another is born to a concubine.
Modern viewers may naturally think:
They're both his children. Why would it matter?
In Joseon society, their maternal status could affect how those children were categorized and what opportunities were available to them.
Or imagine two women living within the same extended household.
They may both have relationships with the same man.
That does not mean they have equal positions.
Once you understand 처 vs. 첩, scenes involving jealousy, inheritance, marriage, children and family honor can suddenly make much more sense.
Quick Korean Tip
The next time a historical K-drama subtitle says “concubine,” listen for:
첩 — cheop
Then don't stop at:
“She's another woman.”
Instead ask:
Where does she stand within this family?
That one question will help you understand many Joseon family dramas much more naturally.
FAQ
What does cheop mean in Korean?
Cheop (첩) means concubine: a woman in a recognized relationship with a man who did not hold the same status as his legal wife in the traditional Korean family system.
Is cheop the Korean word for mistress?
Not exactly. Mistress usually describes an extramarital lover in modern English. Cheop refers to the historical institution of concubinage and carried a recognized but subordinate position relative to the wife.
Could Joseon men have several wives?
Joseon's system recognized one wife rather than several equal wives, although men—particularly among elite families—could have concubines.
Were a wife and concubine equal in Joseon Korea?
No. The wife and concubine occupied different positions within the family hierarchy, and the distinction could also affect the status of their children.
What were children of concubines called?
Seoeol (서얼) was a collective historical term for certain yangban descendants born to concubines. Historical terminology further distinguished seoja and eolja according to the mother's status.
Why does cheop matter in The Scandal?
Netflix's official description identifies So-ok as a young woman set to become a concubine in Lady Cho's household. Understanding the historical meaning of cheop helps viewers recognize the family and status implications behind that description.
Keep Exploring The Scandal
If you're watching The Scandal, continue with:
→ What Does “Yangban” Mean? The Korean Social Class Behind The Scandal
→ Why Couldn't Widows Easily Remarry in Joseon Korea? The Culture Behind The Scandal
→ What Is an Anchae? Why Joseon Women Lived in Separate Quarters in The Scandal
And explore more Korean words and culture through the:
One More Word to Watch For
Understanding 첩 (cheop) creates another question.
If children born to a wife and children born to a concubine could occupy different positions…
what exactly did 서얼 (seoeol) mean?
That's our next Korean culture story.
And it's one of those historical concepts that can explain a surprising number of conflicts in Korean period dramas.
Keep watching.
Keep listening.
Keep discovering Korean through the K-contents you already love.
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