English

Noun

yangban ‎(plural yangbans or yangban)

1. (historical) A ruling class of male Confucian intellectuals in Korea at and before the time of the Korean Empire.
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 900:

     One yangban, Yi Sŭng-hun, provided a new answer to this crisis of authority: while in Beijing serving as a diplomat, he was baptized a Catholic Christian and went home to propagate his faith.