Korean for Dummies (39 page)

Hotels of every kind and quality are available in Korea, from the fanciest of world-class hotels, to more affordable, “efficient” motels. Instead of staying at hotels, you may also give hostels a try, or give temple stay a go. There are many Buddhist temples that offer temple stays and it’s a completely different experience of the country than what a stay at a hotel can offer. If it is a genuine “Korean” experience you crave, these hostels or temple stays might just do the trick.

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 239

Getting Around Town

You’ve finally arrived at your hotel room, have unpacked, showered, and properly stretched out your
dari
(
da-ree;
legs). Now you’re ready to hit the town. How do you go about doing it? Well, if you’ve arrived at a major metropolitan area like Seoul, or Busan, all the transportation options imaginable are available to you and can easily be found. The front desk at the hotel can be more than helpful in accomplishing this task. They may have a compli-mentary
jido
(
jee-do;
map) available for you, and because a
gichayeok
(
gee-cha-yuhk;
train stop) or a
beoseu jeongnyujang
(
buh-sseu jung-nyoo-jang;
bus stop) is usually right in front of the hotel or a short walk away, they will be more than happy to call you a
taeksi
(
taek-shi;
taxi, cab), or rent you a
jadongcha
(
ja-dong-cha;
car). If you’re staying at a more rural area, some travel by foot may be necessary before you reach one of these transportation hubs. Acquiring a map of the area you’re staying at, and circling out from your hotel as the central point is a good way to maximize your stay and enjoy the sights.

Hailing a cab

You’ll find taxis all over the city. Parked in front of bus terminals, train stations, hotels, within a large, metropolitan area, you can find cabs pretty much anywhere. All you have to do is stand by the edge of the street and raise your
son
(
sohn;
hand), and a cab will pull up to pick you up eventually. However, if you’re out in the country, or more rural areas, you have to call a taxi. This can be done by looking in a phone book, taking a phone number off the side of a cab, or you can ask someone to call a cab for you at any hotel or restaurant. Simply walk up to the front desk and say, “
jeo taeksi handaeman bulleo
juseyo
” (
juh taek-shi han-dae-man bool-luh joo-sae-yo;
Please call me a taxi”).

Once you’re in the cab, remember to put on your
anjeon baelteu
(
an-jun belteu;
seat belt) and try using the following phrases:

yeogiseo jeil gakkaun baekhwajeome deryeoda juseyo.
(
yuh-gee--suh
jae-il ga-gga-oon baekhwa-jum-ae dae-ryuh-da joo-sae-yo;
Please take me to the nearest department store from here.)

i jusoe deryeoda juseyo.
(
ee joo-so-ae dae-ryuh-da joo-sae-yo;
Please take me to this address.). While saying this phrase, you need to show the

driver the piece of paper with the address written down.

[some word]
-e deryeoda juseyo.
(
[some word] -ae dae-ryuh-da joo-sae-yo;
Please take me to [some word].). You can substitute [some word]

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 240

with the names of the places you need/want to go. For example,

yeongsagwan
(
young-sa-gwan;
embassy),
sicheong
(
shi-chung;
city hall),
gyeongbokgung
(
gyoung-bok-goong;
gyeongbok palace),
etc.

[some word]
-kkaji ganeunde eolmaeyo?
(
[some word] -kka-jee ganeun-dae ul-mh-ae-yo?
How much to go to [some word] ?). Substitute

[some word] with the names of places you need/want to go.

eolmaeyo?
(
ul-ma-ae-yo?
How much is it?)

Taking a bus

At a major transportation hub, a
jido
(
jee-do;
map) of the bus
gyeongno
(
gyung-no;
routes) may be available, but at a bus stop, you may have to rely on the map that is against the wall. Taking some time to study the routes of buses is a good idea. Korea has a pretty extensive public transit system and you can take the buses pretty much to anywhere. Not only can you take a bus in and around a city, you can also take a
gosok beoseu
(
go-sok buh-sseu;
express bus) from one city to another. It’s a pretty inexpensive way to travel and see the countryside as well.
gosok beoseu
usually does not stop at regular stops like the
sine beoseu
(
shi-nae buh-sseu;
city bus) does, and you can only ride the
gosok beoseu
at one of the
beoseu jeongnyujang
(
buh-sseu jung-nyoo-jang;
bus terminal) only. When getting on a bus, don’t forget to ask the driver whether the bus is going to your destination. Ask the driver
i
beoseuga
[some word]
euro gayo
? (
ee buh-sseu-ga [some word] eu-ro ga-yo;
Is this bus going to [some word]?). Substitute [some word] with your destination city/town. Usually the bus driver does not give change, so you need to have the correct amount of money to ride on the bus (even if you pay more than the bus fare, you won’t get the change). Most Koreans use prepaid bus passes to ride the bus.

Riding the subway

A
jihacheol
(
jee-ha-chul;
subway) is a pretty efficient way to travel around the city. Seoul has an excellent subway system that will take you to just about any part of the city. However, during
chultoegeun sigan
(
chool-twae-geun shi-gan;
rush hour, time to get to and from work), the subway can be extremely crowded as people try to get to and from work. If you’re the least bit claustro-phobic, I strongly suggest you avoid the subways during rush hour. Another benefit of the subway system is that they run pretty late into the night. So, if you’ve had a late night drinking and singing with your friends at a
noraebang
(
no-rae-bang;
karaoke room), you can take advantage of any one of the public transit systems available in the city and save you the trouble of a DUI in a foreign country.

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 241

Talkin’ the Talk

Ryan is talking to Eric on the phone about meeting up for drinks

later tonight.

Eric:

yeoboseyo?

yuh-bo-sae-yo?

Hello?

Ryan:

ericssi, ryan ieyo. jal iseoseoyo?

eh-rik-sshi, ra-ee-un-ee-ae-yo. jal ee-ssuh-ssuh-yo?

Eric, this is Ryan. Have you been well?

Eric:

o raianssi, oraenmanieyo. anbonji han dudal jeongdo

doeneungeo gateunde. geudongan jal iseotjiyo?

oh ra-ee-un-sshi, o-raen-man-ee-ae-yo. an-bon-jee

han doo-dal jung-do dwe-neun-guh ga-teun-dae.

geudong-an jal ee-ssuh-jee-yo?

Oh Ryan, it’s been a while. It’s been about one or two

months since the last time I saw you. Have you been

well during then?

Ryan:

ye, ye. byeoril eopseoseoyo. yo dudal dongan yeol-

lageul mothaeseo mianhaeyo.

ye, ye. byul-il uhp-ssuh-ssuh-yo. doo-dal dong-an

yuhl-la-geul mot-hae-suh mee-an-hae-yo.

Yes, yes. Not much has gone on. I’m sorry I haven’t

kept in touch with you for the last two months.

Eric:

geureochi anado jeodo ryan -ssi hante hanbeon yeol-

lageul haetseoya doeneungeonde anhaeseo mian-

haeyo. yosae il ttaemune neomu bappaseo bap

meogeul sigando eomneungeo gateyo.

geu-ruh-chi a-na-do juh-do ra-ee-un-sshi han-tae han-

bun yuhl-la-geul hae-ssuh-ya dwe-neun-guhn-dae an-

hae-suh mee-an-hae-yo. yo-sae il ttae-moon-ae

nuh-moo ba-ppa-suh bab muh-geul shi-gan-do um-

neun-guh ga-tae-yo.

I’ve been meaning to contact you as well, Ryan. Sorry

I haven’t done so. I’ve been so busy at work, it seems

like I don’t even have time to eat.

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 242

Ryan:

geuraeseo jega oneul jeonhwa deuringeoeyo. oneul

jeonyeok jeorang gachi hasillaeyo?

geu-rae-suh jae-ga o-neul jun-hwa deu-rin-guh-ae-yo.

o-neul juh-nyuk juh-rang ga-chi ha-shil-lae-yo?

That’s why I’m calling you today. Would you like to

have dinner together?

Eric:

oneul jeonyeogeun jom gollanhaeyo. je yeoja chin-

gurang jeonyeogeul gachi meokgiro yaksok hae-

seoyo. jeonyeok meogeun daeume mannamyeon

eottaeyo?

o-neul juh-nyuh-geun jom gol-lan-hae-yo. jae yuh-ja

chin-goo-rang juh-nyuh-geul ga-chi muk-gee-ro yak-

sok-eul hae-ssuh-yo. juh-nyuk muh-geun da-eum-ae

man-na-myun uh-ttae-yo?

Dinner this evening’s not very good. I promised my

girlfriend that I’d have dinner with her. How about

we meet after dinner?

Ryan:

geureom uri ahopsie seoulyeok baro ape inneun

suljibeseo mannaneunge eottaeyo? jeon geu jibeseo

jeonyeok meokgo gidarigo iseulkkeyo.

geu-rum oo-ree a-hop-shi-ae gee-cha-yuk ba-ro a-pae

in-neun sool-jeep-ae-suh man-na-neun-gae uh-ttae-

yo? jun geu jee-bae-suh juh-nyuk muk-go gee-da-ree-

go ee-sseul-kkae-yo.

How about we meet at the bar right in front of the

Seoul train station at nine o’clock? I’ll have dinner

there and just wait for you.

Eric:

joayo. doelsu iseumyeon ppalli gakkeyo. geureom

oneul bame bwayo.

jo-a-yo. dwel-soo ee-sseu-myun ppal-lee gal-kkae-yo.

geu-rum o-neul ba-mae bwa-yo.

Great. I’ll try to get there as soon as I can. Then I’ll see

you later tonight.

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 243

Words to Know

anbonji

an-bon-jee

Haven’t seen

bappaseo

ba-ppa-suh

Been busy

byeoril

byul-il

Nothing much

geudongan

geudong-ahn

During those time

il

il

Work

jariseoseoyo

jal-ee-ssuh-ssuh-yo

Have you been

well?

jeongdo

jung-do

About

jeonyeok

juh-nyuk

Dinner

jeorang

juh-rang

With me

jom gollanhaeyo

jom gol-lan-hae-yo

It’s not good

mianhaeyo

mee-an-hae-yo

I’m sorry.

namjachingu

nam-ja-chin-goo

Boyfriend

oraenmanineyo

o-raen-ma-nee-

It’s been a while

nae-yo

ppalli

ppal-lee

Hurry, fast

suljip

sool-jeep

Bar, drinking

house

yeojachingu

yuh-ja-chin-goo

Girlfriend

yeollak

yuhl-lak

Keep in touch

yosae

yo-sae

These days

20_037188-ch14.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 244

Getting on the train

Railways cross all over the country. The rail system connects just about every city to each other. By as early as 2012, Korea plans to have a commer-cialized maglev train system up and running. This train will run at over 300

miles per hour and make the trip from Seoul to Busan in less than an hour.

People will be able to travel further and cover greater distances in shorter amount of time, allowing people to work further away from their homes and get away quicker and easier and faster than ever before. When you buy your
pyo
(
pyo;
ticket) make sure you know what
peulaetpom
(
peullaet-pom;
platform) your train leaves on,
myeot si
(
myuht-shi;
what time), whether it’s a
pyundo
(
pyun-do;
one-way ticket), or a
wangbokpyo
(
wangbok-pyo;
round-trip ticket) when you’re at the
kaunteo
(
ka-oon-tuh;
counter). Some useful phrases are
;
i gichaneun myeotsie tteonayo?
(
ee gee-cha-neun myuht-shi-ae ttuh-na-yo;
What time is this train leaving?)

seoulganeun gichaneun myeotsie tteonayo?
(
suh-ool-ga-neun gi-cha-neun
myuht-shi-ae ttuh-na-yo;
What time is this train to Seoul leaving?). You can substitute Seoul with any other city you need/want to go.

i gichareul taryeomyeon eoneu peullaetpomeuro gayahaeyo?
(
ee gee-chareul ta-ryuh-myun uh-neu peullaet-pom-ae-suh ta-ya-hae-yo;
If I want to catch this train, which platform do I need to go to?)
seoureseo busankkai wangbokpyo juseyo.
(
suh-oo-rae-suh boo-san-kka-jee
wangbok-pyo joo-sae-yo;
Please give me a round trip ticket from Seoul to Busan.). You can substitute Seoul and Busan with the destination cities of your choice.