Korean for Dummies

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Korean

FOR

DUMmIES‰

by Jungwook Hong and Wang Lee

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Korean

FOR

DUMmIES‰

by Jungwook Hong and Wang Lee

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Korean For Dummies®

Published by

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

111 River St.

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit-ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600.

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About the Author

Wang Lee
was born in Seoul, Korea, and he moved at an early age to the Middle East. He spent two years in Kuwait and another six and a half in Saudi Arabia. At the age of 13, he moved with his family to the United States and has been there ever since. He graduated from Shimer College in 2000, with a B.A. in Humanities. Since then, he’s been working as an interpreter and a translator. He has worked for various school districts helping children with disabilities and has worked as a translator in many different fields ranging from the medical profession to the auto industry. He tutors Korean children in English and writes in his spare time.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my parents, Sang Gil and Tae Kyun Lee, and my sister, Eun Jung. I am forever in their debt for all the love and support they were kind enough to show. None of this would have been possible without their help and guidance.

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Author’s Acknowledgments

When I was a little kid, I was fortunate enough to travel the world and live in many different places. It had a large part in shaping the person that I became.

I was only three or four when my family moved to Kuwait. My sister, being a couple years older than myself, attended school while we were there. She went to a British school and I first learned English looking over her shoulders. I didn’t learn to read then; I just memorized what she was reading and correlated that with the pictures that were on the pages. Later, when my family moved to Saudi Arabia, I continued to learn English from a British lady named Mrs. Brodure. For the first few years of my English-speaking career, I said things like “parcels” instead of “packages,” “bonnet” instead of “hood,”

“lift” instead of “elevator,” and the like.

When I moved to the States, I quickly learned that my bilingual skills were a valuable asset. It was a very marketable skill, in fact. I quickly realized that something that came quite naturally to me was something that many people struggled with. I knew that I was fortunate to learn English at an early age, which enabled me to communicate with perfect pronunciation and pass myself off as a native speaker. Then, I would raise a few eyebrows by turning around and speaking perfect Korean as well. My parents at home made sure I spoke Korean very well.

So my first set of thanks goes out to my parents, who taught me Korean and made sure I read and spoke it well. To my father, who always brought home a Korean newspaper for me to read, and for my mother, who was always there for me and pushed me to test my limits.

A most sincere thanks to my sister, Eun, and my brother-in-law, Jin Won Jung, who helped me maintain my sanity while I was sick and in the hospital. A special thanks to my sister, without whom this project would not have been possible.

To my nephew Miles, though he’s just 14 months old, he taught me to smile and take delight in the little things, like pointing and laughing, and putting things in your mouth.

To Mike Grossinger, for coming through for me time and time again, no

matter what I needed. He has been a sympathetic ear as well as a sounding board for my ideas and rough translations, even though he doesn’t speak a word of Korean.

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To Eric Hoch, for fixing my computer when it was on the fritz and I was freak-ing out, worried that I’d lost all my work. His calm patience and computer repair skills saved my hide more than once.

To Tom Cyr, who was always there to help me take the edge off, who also seemed to know exactly when I needed to take a break.

A sincere thanks goes out to Barb Doyen, my agent, who found this work for me. Without her, I would have never been involved with the
For Dummies
project and the fine folks at Wiley. I have to thank her also for having faith in me even when I doubted myself. Her steadfastness, like fuel, allowed me to keep going.

To Jennifer Connolly, my project manager, whose seemingly unending

patience I tested time and time again, with one delay after another, and who was a tremendous help to me every step of the way.

To Stacy Kennedy, Acquisitions Editor at Wiley, who along with Jennifer, showed an incredible amount of patience with me and stuck with me through all the hassles, problems, and delays. I owe both of you a great deal of gratitude.

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Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and

Composition Services

Media Development

Project Coordinator:
Patrick Redmond

Project Editors:
Jennifer Connolly,

Layout and Graphics:
Claudia Bell,

Natalie Harris

Melanee Habig, Stephanie D. Jumper

Acquisitions Editor:
Stacy Kennedy

Proofreaders:
Melissa Bronnenberg,

Copy Editors:
Jennifer Connolly,

Mildred Rosenzweig, Amanda Steiner

Sarah Faulkner

Indexer:
Joan K. Griffitts

Technical Editors:
Sung-Eun Won, Teresa Lee

Special Help:
Constance Carlisle

Media Development Coordinator:

Jenny Swisher

Assistant Producer:
Shawn Patrick

Quality Assurance:
Angie Denny

Senior Editorial Manager:
Jennifer Ehrlich

Editorial Supervisor:
Carmen Krikorian

Media Development Manager:

Laura VanWinkle

Editorial Assistants:
Erin Calligan Mooney,

Joe Niesen, Jennette Einaggar,

Leeann Harney, David Lutton

Cartoons:
Rich Tennant

(www.the5thwave.com)

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele,
Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple,
Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A. Cocks,
Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring,
Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan,
Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings,
Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services

Gerry Fahey,
Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey,
Director of Composition Services

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Contents at a Glance

Introduction .................................................................1

Part I: Getting Started ..................................................7

Chapter 1: Getting Down the Basics ................................................................................9

Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Korean Grammar and Numbers...........................25

Chapter 3: Introductions and Greetings ........................................................................49

Part II: Korean in Action .............................................69

Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk ....................................................71

Chapter 5: Eating and Drinking.......................................................................................93

Chapter 6: Shopping Made Easy...................................................................................111

Chapter 7: Exploring the Town .....................................................................................125

Chapter 8: Enjoying Yourself: Recreation and Sports................................................139

Chapter 9: Making Connections: Phone, Mail, Fax, and Internet .............................151