Korean for Dummies (21 page)

If you crave the hustle and bustle of a market, you may try to look for a
sijang
(
shi-jang;
market), or a
byeoruk sijang
(
byuh-rook-shi-jang;
flea market). Flea markets tend to pop up mostly during weekends at designated locations, and usually are held for that day only. A myriad of humanity sell and push their wares here, and occasionally, people have been known to find the bargain of a lifetime at these places.
sijang
is more like an outdoor market, where fresh foods and produce are bought and sold at a lively pace.

The hustle and bustle of these open air markets cannot be beat. Whether you’re looking for fabric, used books, dried fish, cooking utensils, watches, electronic equipment, or clothes, there is an open market for just about anything that you’re looking for. If you’re looking for that one bargain of a lifetime, you may be able to find it in any one of these open air markets. You can also find those rare and unusual items at these markets.
Dongdaemun sijang
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(
dongdae-moon shi-jang
; East gate market), for example, is the “Total Bazaar Fair” of Seoul, with everything from books to records to tools to shoes to clothes to musical instruments and antiques. You can normally handle the items, and the good-natured merchants won’t snub you. This is also an excellent place to haggle and negotiate for the best price, as prices vary from one merchant to the next.

Merchants won’t like it if you take pictures of their merchandise. Some of them won’t like you handling either, especially if you don’t buy the item afterwards, but this depends on the individual merchants.

Talkin’ the Talk

Jane and Mona decide to go shopping for the day. They decide where to go.

Jane:

jeo oneul sijange gayadoeyo.

juh oh-neul shi-jang-ae ga-ya-dwae-yo.

I have to go to the market today.

Mona:

jeoduyo. ga-chi gal-lae-yo?

juh-doo-yo. ga-chi gal-lae-yo?

Me, too. Shall we go together?

Jane:

joayo. uri sijange gatdaga baekhwajeomdo gayo.

jega hwajangpumi piryohaeyo.

jo-a-yo. oo-ree shi-jang-ae gat-da-ga baekhwa-jum-

do ga-yo. jae-ga hwajang-poom-ee pi-ryo-hae-yo.

Good. Let’s go to the department store after the

market. I need some make-up.

Mona:

geuraeyo. jeodu ot hanbeol saibeullyeoguyo.

geu-rae-yo. juh-do ot han-bul sah-ee-beul-yuh-

goo-yo.

Let’s do that. I want to buy new clothes.

Jane:

ppalli gayo. sijange ppalli gaya baekhwajeome gajyo.

ppal-li ga-yo. shi-jang-ae ppal-li-ga-ya baekhwa-jum-

ae ga-jyo.

Let’s hurry. The faster we go to the market, the

sooner we can go to the department store.

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Words to Know

baekhwajeom

baekhwa-jum

Department store

sijang

shi-jang

Market/Grocery store

byeoruk sijang

byuh-rook–si-jang

Flea market

seonmul

suhn-mool

Present/gift

chaek

chaeg

eum-ban

Music record

jangnangam

jangnan-gam

Toys

sinbal

shinbal

Shoes

undonghwa

oon-dong-hwa

Gym shoes

ot

ot

Clothes

hanbok

han-bok

Traditional Korean clothes

yangbok

yangbok

Western style suit

baji

ba-ji

Pants

chima

chi-ma

Skirt

boseok

bo-suk

Jewelry

banji

ban-ji

Ring

mokgeori

mok–guh-ri

Necklace

Browsing around

When you’re in a store, the owner or the employee will come up to you to ask you if you need any help. In the large department stores, you’ll most likely find an employee who speaks English, but at the smaller locations, or mom-and-pop establishments, you may not. Most often, you’ll hear the owner or employee say, “
mueoseul chajeuseyo?
”(
moo-uh-seul cha-jeu-sae-yo?;
what are 11_037188-ch06.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 115

you looking for?) or “
eotteoke dowadeurilkkayo?
”(
uh-ttuh-kae do-wa
deu-ril-kka-yo?;
how can I help you?). If you’re just browsing, you can say,

“
gugyeonghareo wasseoyo
” (
goo-gyoung-ha-ruh-wa-ssuh-yo;
I’m just here to browse).
gugyeong
(
goo-gyoung
) means to browse, or to spectate, so when you tell the employee that you’re just here to browse, most of the time, they will let you undisturbed.

Asking for help

If you decide that you do need some help, you can always flag down the employee by saying, “
sillyehamnida
”(
shil-lae-ham-ni-da; Excuse me
). When you’re looking for something, you can ask by saying,
“eodi itjyo?
(
uh-dee itjyo
?) or
eodi isseoyo?
(
uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo,
” which both means, “where is it?” If you know what the item is called in Korean, you can just add the phrase, “
eodi
itjyo
(
uh-dee it-jyo
) or
eodi isseoyo?
”(
uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo?
) after the thing you are looking for to ask for the location of it. For example, if you are looking for some toys, you can ask
jangnangamee eodi itjyo?
(
jangnan-gam-ee uh-dee it-jyo
; where are the toys?). If you’re looking for a suit, you can ask the employee, “
yangbogi eodi isseoyo?
”(
yang-bo-gee uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo?
). If you’re looking for a souvenir, you can ask, “
ginyeompumi eodi isseoyo?
”(
gee-nyum-poom-ee uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo?
). Another useful phrase might be “
jeojom dowajusillaeyo?”

(
juh-jom do-wa joo-shil-lae-yo?
) which means “Can you please help me?”

Talkin’ the Talk

Jane asks an attendant for help at a department store.

Jane:

sillyehamnida. jeo jom dowajusillaeyo?

shil-lae ham-ni-da. juh jom do-wa-joo-shil-lae-yo?

Excuse me. Can you help me?

Attendant:

ye sonnim. eotteoke dowadeurilkkayo?

ye son-nim. uh-tuh-kae do-wa-deu-ril-kka-yo?

Yes patron (customer). How can I help you?

Jane:

yeoja ot hago hyangsuga eodi itjyo?

yuh-ja ot ha-go hyang-soo-ga uh-dee it-jyo?

Where are women’s clothes and perfume?

Attendant:

ye. samcheunge itseumnida.

ye. samcheung-ae ee-sseum-ni-da.

Yes, They are on the third floor.

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Jane:

gomawoyo. aideul jangnangameun eodi itjyo?

go-ma-wo-yo. a-ee-deul jangnan-gam-eun uh-

dee it-jyo?

Thank you. Where are the children’s toys?

Attendant:

ye. jangnangameun sacheunge itseupnida.

ye. jangnan-gam-eun sacheung-ae ee-sseum-ni-da.

Yes, the toys are on the fourth floor.

Jane:

gomawoyo

go-ma-wo-yo.

Thank you.

Words to Know

sonnim

son-nim

Customer/guest

jiha

jee-ha

Underground/basement

ilcheung

ilcheung

1st floor

icheing

ee-cheung

2nd floor

samcheung

samcheung

3rd floor

sacheung

sacheung

4th floor

itseupnida

ee-sseup-ni-da

It’s there/it’s at [some word]

eotteoke

uh-ttuh-kae

How

eodi

uh-dee

Where

Comparing Merchandise

You should familiarize yourself with several words if you want to compare one item with another.
ige
(
ee-gae
), or
igeo
(
ee-guh
) means “this one,”
jeoge
(
juh-gae
) or
jeogeo
(
juh-guh
) means “that one.”
igeo
(
ee-guh
; this one) and
jeogeo
(
juh-guh
; that one) are two good words to know.
joayo
(
jo-a-yo
) means “good.” You can add the prefix
an-
in front of the word
joayo
and its variation
anjoayo
(
an-jo-a-yo
) denote something that is “not good.” Other useful words to know will be
ssada
(
ssa-da;
cheap, good bargain) and
bissada
(
bi-ssa-da;
expensive).

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nappayo
,(
na-ppa-yo
) means “bad,” and should never be used when comparing goods in Korea. When comparing items, Koreans generally use the phrase

“
anjoayo
(
an-jo-a-yo
; not good)” opposed to “
nappayo
(
na-ppa-yo
; bad).”

Try not to insult the shopkeeper by insinuating that his wares are “bad.”

Generally, you want to state what you prefer, or what you like better, than what you don’t like, or what you consider bad.

Comparing several items

When you find that one item that you like out of many, you can point to an item and say, “
igeotdeul junge jeil joayo
” (
ee-guht-deul joong-ae jae-il jo-a-yo;
I like this one out of all these
.
) If you want to know which item between the two is cheaper, you can ask, “
igeorang igeo saie eotteonge deo ssayo?
”(
ee-guh-rang ee-guh sa-ee-ae uh-ttuhn-gae duh ssa-yo?;
between this item and this, which one is cheaper?). If you’re having a hard time deciding between the two items, you can always ask the attendant, “
eotteonge deo joayo?
” (
uh-ttuhn-gae duh jo-a-yo
?; which one is better).

Pointing out the best item

If and when you decide on the item that you like, you can say, “
igeo hana
juseyo
” (
ee-guh ha-na joo-sae-yo;
Please give me one of these.) “
ige jeil
joayo
”(
ee-gae jae-il jo-a-yo;
I like this one the best.)
jeil
(
jae-il
) means “the best,” or “number one,” so when you say, “
jeoge jeil joayo
” (
juh-gae jae-il jo-a-yo
), translated literally means, “I like that one the best.”
joayo
(
jo-a-yo
) means “good,” or “I like.” When you’re shopping for clothes, you can substitute the word
ippeoyo
(
ee-ppuh-yo
; pretty) instead of the variations of
joayo
or you can also use
meosisseoyo
(
muh-shi-ssuh-yo
; handsome, fashionable).
ippeoyo
is usually used to describe feminine or children’s clothing, while the term
meosisseoyo
is used globally in describing clothing.

Shopping for Clothes

Many fashion and clothing shops litter the shopping areas in Korea.

Mokdong
(
mok-dong
) Rodeo street for one, has over 150 stores that carry domestic and international brand name clothing at a discounted price.

Munjeongdong
(
moon-jung-dong
) Fashion Street also has over 200 clothing shops that sell all kinds of clothes from formal wear to sports wear, and
Guro
(
goo-ro
) Fashion Valley is another area that sells a wide variety of clothes.

There are many shops in these areas that cater specifically to male clientele, as there are many that cater specifically to females and children. There are specialty shops that focus only on Western style and some that concentrate 11_037188-ch06.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 118

on just traditional Korean clothing. You can also visit
itaewon
(
ee-tae-won
), for Western, brand-name shops, or
namdaemun sijang
(
nam-dae-moon shi-jang
; South gate market) and
dongdaemun sijang
(
dongdae-moon shi-jang
; East gate market) for the hustle and bustle of a wholesale market, where the items are sold at an incredibly affordable price. Regardless of where you decide to shop, you need to familiarize yourself with specific terms that I discuss in the following sections, such as those regarding size and color, so that you can be sure you get what you want.

Checking for sizes

Many formalwear shops will have a tailor on hand to measure you and make you a custom made suit, or a dress, but when you’re shopping for clothes on the rack, it’s nice to know a few words and phrases that will help you navigate through the desired size. You can grab an attendant and ask, “
igeoboda
han ssaijeu deo keungeo isseoyo?
”(
ee-guh-bo-da ha n sa-ee-zeu duh keun-guh
ee-ssuh-yo;
Do you have one a size bigger than this one?)”. If the item is too big, you can ask, “
igeoboda han ssaijeu deo jageungeo isseoyo?
” (
ee-guh bo-da han ssa-ee-zeu duh ja-geun-guh ee-ssuh-yo
; Do you have one a size smaller than this one?).