Korean for Dummies (24 page)

oneul jeonyeoge yeonghwa boreo gallaeyo?

o-neul juh-nyuh-gae young-hwa bo-ruh gal-lae-yo?

Do you want to go see a movie this evening?

Janet:

geuraeyo. museun yeonghwa bollaeyo?

geu-rae-yo. moo-seun young-hwa bol-lae-yo?

Sure. What kind of movie should we watch?

Peter:

museoun yeonghwaga bogo sipeoyo. gongpo

yeonghwaneun eottaeyo?

moo-suh-woon young-hwa-ga bo-go-shi-puh-yo.

gong-po young-hwa-neun uh-ttae-yo?

I want to watch a scary movie. How about a terror film?

Janet:

museoun yeonghwaneun sireoyo. jaemiinneun

yeonghwaga bogosipeoyo.

moo-suh-oon young-hwa-neun shi-ruh-yo. jae-mee-

in-neun young-hwa-ga bo-go-shi-puh-yo.

I don’t like scary movies. I want to watch a funny

movie.

Peter:

joayo. uri gachi komedireul boreogayo.

jo-a-yo. oo-ree ga-chi ko-me-dee-reul bo-ruh-ga-yo.

Good. Let’s go and watch a comedy together.

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Words to Know

geukjang

geukjang

Theater

bakmulgwan

bak-mool-gwan

Museum

misul

mee-sool

Art

eumak

eum-ak

Music

jeol

juhl

Temple

gongweon

gongwon

Park

gongpoyeonghwa

gong-po-young-hwa

Horror movie

komedi

ko-me-dee

Comedy

uri

oo-ree

We, us

gachi

ga-chi

Together

jeonyeoge

juh-nyuh-gae

Tonight

sireoyo

shi-ruh-yo

I don’t like it,

I don’t want to

jaemiinneun

jae-mee-in-neun

Funny, entertaining

bogosipeoyo

bo-go-shi-puh-yo

I want to see

eottaeyo

uh-ttae-yo

How about

museoun

moo-suh-woon

Scary

Korean noraebang

noraebang
(
no-rae-bang
; song room, karaoke room), when translated literally, means “song room.”
noraebang,
or a karaoke room, is one of the most popular destinations for Koreans of all ages. Unlike karaoke in the West, where the karaoke machine is set up next to an event,
noraebang
is a room specifically designed for karaoke. Koreans like to go to the
noraebang
to unwind from their hard work week and to belt out a tune to relieve their stress. In certain areas, you’ll see a
noraebang
on every street corner, as it is a very popular pastime for Koreans.

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When a Korean suggests this activity, don’t shy away from it, even if you’re not a good singer. Even though it could potentially be embarrassing for the both of you, it can be a disarming event, bringing you closer to your friend or partner.

Talkin’ the Talk

Maria, Katherine, and Adam discuss plans for the evening.

Maria:

simsimhaeyo. uri gachi nagaseo norayo.

shim-shim-hae-yo. oo-ree ga-chi na-ga-suh no-ra-yo.

I’m bored. Let’s all go out and have fun.

Katherine:

geuraeyo. jeodu simsimhaeyo. mwol hallaeyo?

geu-rae-yo. juh-doo shim-shim-hae-yo. mwol hal-

lae-yo?

Let’s. I’m bored, too. What shall we do?

Adam:

noraebange gayo!

no-rae-bang-ae ga-yo!

Let’s go to a karaoke room!

Maria:

geukjange aju jaemiinneun yeonghwa haneunde.

geugeo boreo gaji aneullaeyo?

geukjang-ae a-joo jae-mee-in-neun young-hwa ha-

neundae. geu-guh bo-ruh ga-jee an-eul-lae-yo?

There’s a good movie playing in the theatre.

Wouldn’t you like to go and see it?

Katherine:

yeonghwaneun ibeonjumalkkaji hajiman norae-

bangeun eonjena galsu iseunikka yeonghwaboreo

gayo.

young-hwa-neun ee-bun-joo-mal-kka-jee ha-jee-man

no-rae-bangeun un-jae-na gal-soo ee-sseu-ni-kka

yeonghwa-bo-ruh ga-yo.

The movie’s playing until this weekend, but the

karaoke place is always open. Let’s go see the movie.

Adam:

geuraeyo, yeonghwa boreo gayo. yeonghwa bogi-

jeone siksa halkkayo?

geu-rae-yo, young-hwa bo-ruh ga-yo. young-hwa-bo-

gi-juhn-ae shik-sa hal-kka-yo?

Okay, let’s go and see a movie. Should we eat before

the movie?

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Katherine:

jeon jigeum bae gopayo. jigeumgaseo jeomsim

meokgo yeonghwa boreo gayo.

juhn–jee-geum bae-go-pa-yo. jee-geum-ga-suh jum-

shim-muk-go young-hwa bo-ruh ga-yo.

I’m hungry now. Let’s have lunch and then go see the

movie.

Maria:

joayo. gasijyo.

jo-a-yo. ga-shi-jyo

Good. Let’s go.

Words to Know

simsimhaeyo

shim-shim-hae-yo

I’m bored

bae gopayo

bae go-pa-yo

I’m hungry

norayo

no-ra-yo

Let’s have fun, let’s play

geuraeyo

geu-rae-yo

Okay, me too

noraebang

no-rae-bang

Song room, karaoke room

ibeonjumal

ee-bun-joo-mal

This weekend

eonjena

un-jae-na

Always, anytime

boreogayo

bo-ruh-ga-yo

Let’s go see it

siksa

shik-sa

Meal, food

jigeum

jee-geum

Right now

Bar-and club-hopping

There are many weekend warriors in Korea who enjoy going from one bar to another until sunrise. You could start from the
itaewon
(
ee-tae-won
) area and end up near the
gangnam
(
gangnam
) Station area, famous for their bars and clubs.
itaewon
is a shopping area popular among foreigners, but if you want a real taste of Korean nightlife, you may want to end up near
sinchon
(
shin-chon
) on a late Saturday night.
sinchon
is a very popular shopping and entertainment district among the young people, and you’ll find many cafes, 12_037188-ch07.qxp 6/24/08 11:09 PM Page 135

clubs and beer houses in that district. Due to its popularity with the young people, you’ll have little problem finding people who speak English as well.

Giving and Receiving Invitations

Politeness and good manners go a long way in Korea, and of course, part of good manners is knowing how to invite other people as well as accept invitations. You also have to know how to respectfully decline an invitation if you can’t attend. So you can navigate social situations with ease, the following sections provide the ins and outs of invitations — both respectably giving and accepting.

A Korean generally asks you more than once to attend something, even if you decline. The generous nature of most Koreans may seem like persistence to Western eyes, and it is generally a good idea to accept an invitation unless you absolutely cannot make it. If you decide not to attend, just make sure you decline consistently. It is considered bad manners to say you’ll attend and not show up.

Getting something started

You can suggest something by using the phrase,
eottaeyo?
(
uh-ttae-yo?;
how about it? or How is it?). You can use this phrase when running an idea by someone, and it can also be used to solicit an opinion from someone. For example, one can say, “
nesie mannayo. eottaeyo?
”(
nae-shi-ae man-na-yo. uh-ttae-yo?;
Let’s meet at 4 o’clock, how about it?). You can also hold a shirt or a dress up against you and ask, “
eottaeyo?
” translated, “How do you like it?”

When suggesting something to do, you can say, “
uri noraebange gachi gayo.

eottaeyo?
”(
oo-ree no-rae-bang-ae ga-chi ga-yo. uh-ttae-yo?
; Let us go to a karaoke room. How about it?).

If you want to agree to do something, try using
joayo
(
jo-a-yo
; good, okay).

It’s used when you agree to something, or when something particularly grabs your fancy. For example, you can take a drink from your glass and say,

“
joayo!
” meaning, “It’s good!” When someone invites you to an event, you can say, “
joayo. gasijyo
(
jo-a-yo. ga-shi-jyo
; Okay. Let’s go).”
gayo
, and
gasijyo
all mean “Let’s go.” The word
gasijyo
is little more formal than
gayo
. You can use
gayo
in everyday setting, but you should always say
gasijyo
in a more formal setting, or when you are speaking to your senior. A common phrase that is used is
gachi gayo
(
ga-chi ga-yo
), or
gachi gasijyo
(
ga-chi ga-shi-jyo
), meaning, “Let’s go together.” “
uri yeonghwa boreo gachi gayo.

eottaeyo?
”(
oo-ree young-hwa bo-ruh ga-chi ga-yo. uh-ttae-yo
?) is translated,

“Let us go watch a movie together. How about it?”

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Inviting your friends to your house

jip
(
jeep
) is the Korean word for “house or home.” More commonly, the phrase
uri jip
(
oo-ree jeep
) is used, which means, “our house”. Another more polite form of our house is
jeohui jip
(
juh-hee jeep
). Use
jeohui jip
when you are speaking to someone your senior, or to your boss. This implies that you want to show them respect. If you want to invite someone over to your house, you can say,
uri jibe nolleo oseyo
(
oo-ree jee-bae nol-luh o-sae-yo
; please come over to our house; literal translation is come play at our house) or
jeohui jibe nolleo oseyo
(
juh-hee jee-bae nol-luh o-sae-yo
; please come over to our house, literal translation is come play at our house). If you want to invite someone over for a meal, you can say, “
uri jibe siksahareo oseyo
” (
oo-ree jee-bae shik-sa-ha-ruh o-sae-yo
).

If someone asks for you to come over, you can say,
joayo. jigeum gasijyo
(
jo-a-yo. jee-geum ga-shi-jyo
; That sounds good. Let’s go right now). or
joayo.

eonje galkkayo?
(
jo-a-yo. uh-jae gal-kka-yo
; Sure, when should I go?).

Talkin’ the Talk

Tony invites Samantha to his house for dinner.

Tony:

samantha ssi. eonje urijibe waseo jeoyeok gachi

meogeoyo. eottaeyo?

samantha-sshi. un-jae oo-ree-jee-bae wa-suh juh-nyuk

ga-chi muh-guh-yo. Uh-ttae-yo?

Samantha, come over and have dinner at my house

sometime. How about it?

Samantha:

eonjeyo? mwol mandeusilkkeoeyo?

un-jae-yo? mwol man-deu-shil kkuh-ae-yo?

When? What will you make?

Tony:

geulsseyo. ajik gyeoljeongeun anhaenneundeyo. eot-

teon eumsigeul joahaseyo?

geul–ssae-yo. a-jik gyul-jung-eun an-haen-neundae-

yo. uh-ttun-eum-shi-geul jo-a-ha-sae-yo?

Well, I haven’t quite decided yet. What kind of food

do you like?

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Samantha:

jeoneun hanguk eumsigi jeil joayo. doenjang jjigye,

bibimbap, tteokbokgi gateungeo.

juh-neun han-goog-eum-shi-gi jae-il jo-a-yo. dwen-

jang jji-gye, bee-bim-bap, ttuhk-bo-ki ga-teun-guh.

I like Korean food the best. Doenjang soup, mixed

rice, spicy rice cakes and such.

Tony:

geureomyeon, naeil jeoe jibe oseyo. yeoseotsi

jjeume. jega doenjang jjigyerang tteokbokgi masitge

mandeureo deurilkkeyo.

geu-ruh-myun nae-il juh-ae jee-bae o-sae-yo. yuh-suh-

shi–jjeum-ae. jae-ga dwen-jang jji-gye-rang ttuhk-

bok-gi ma-shi-gae man-deu-ruh deu-ril-kkae-yo.

In that case, come to my house tomorrow. Around six

o’clock. I’ll make you a delicious doenjang soup and

spicy rice cakes.

Words to Know

uri jip

oo-ree-jeep

Our house, our home

jeohui jip

juh-hee jeep

Our house, our home (more

polite)

eottaeyo

uh-ttae-yo

How about it

geulsseyo

geul-ssae-yo

Well, um

eumsik

eum-shik

Food