Korean for Dummies (12 page)

When talking, Koreans sometimes move back and forth between formal polite endings and informal polite endings. However, during everyday conversations, do not worry too much about the degree of politeness. If you use informal polite form of the conversation, you are well on your way without offending anyone. Just make sure to add
[some word] ssi
at the end of someone’s name to show respect.

Koreans impose a strict hierarchy among themselves, even when they’re

among only people of a similar
nai
(
na-ee;
age) group. You may notice that the
hubae
(
who-bae;
junior) bows to the
sunbae
(
sun-bae;
senior) Korean, and that the junior acts a little more reserved when he’s in the presence of someone who’s his senior. And if you listen carefully enough, you may hear the “junior” using a more respectful form of Korean when they talk to their “senior.” This self-imposed hierarchy is a social custom in Korea that stems from Confucianism and still plays an important role in modern Korean culture. If you ignore this hierarchy, especially the hierarchy of “age” (even if it’s only one year older) you will be in deep trouble.

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Korean has no set rule for deciding seniority, but it’s based on a combination of age and status within an organization. Although the idea may seem a tad overbearing and restrictive, Koreans think that seniority and the hierarchy that it entails bring order and a sense of community. Koreans often use the expression
wi areaga itda
(
wee-aa-rae-ga-it-da;
to have a top and bottom) to refer to communities that observe seniority.

Seniority is more than one-sided respect on the part of juniors for seniors.

Seniors are also expected to council and provide for their juniors, and tradi-tionally, seniors oversee gatherings, give advice, and even pay for meals.

Koreans believe this tradition of respect and care allows people to form tighter personal bonds.

For this reason, most Koreans appreciate it if you can follow a senior or junior role in your immediate relationship with them. But even if you’re the perfect senior or junior with one individual, you leave a black mark if he sees you raising your
moksori
(
mok-so-ri;
voice) to your parents, disrespecting a senior, or neglecting a junior. In this instance, your Korean friends will say that you have
wi areaga eopda
(
wee-aa-rae-ga uhp-da;
to have no top and bottom). If you hear this from someone, this means that he/she thinks you are very rude and you have no respect for your seniors. If you want Koreans to believe that you understand their culture, begin by observing seniority with them and the people around you.

Talkin’ the Talk

Hyeonghuon So and Eric Choi work in the same building. Here is

how they may greet each other. Note how they mix formal and

informal Korean.

Hyeonghun So:

annyeonghaseyo Eric sshi.
(bows slightly)

an-young-ha-sae-yo Eric-sshi

Are you doing well, Eric?

Eric Choi:

a ye. oraenmanimnida. geudongan byeoril

eopseusyeotjyo?
(bows slightly and approaches

to shake hand)

a-ye. o-raen-man-im-ni-da. geudong-an byul-il-

uhp-sseu-syut-jo?

Ah, yes. It’s been a long time. Has everything

been all right for you?

Hyeonghun So:

byeoril eopseotseumnida. najunge hanbeon sik-

sana gachi hapsida.

byul-il-uhp-ssut-ssum-ni-da. na-joong-ae han—

buhn sik-sa-na gat-ee hap-si-da.

There’s nothing much. Let’s grab some food later.

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Eric Choi:

ye, ye joayo.
(the two shake hands, bowing

slightly for the second time)

ye, ye jo-a-yo.

Sure, sure, that sounds good.

Words to Know

daehwa

dae-hwa

Conversation

insa

in-sa

Greetings

najunge

na-joong-ae

Later

nalssi

nal-sshi

Weather

saram

sa-ram

Person

siksa

shik-sa

Food/meal

Introducing yourself

You can’t always rely on
dareunsaram
(
da-reum-sa-ram;
someone else) to make introductions. Introducing yourself isn’t hard — all you do is give your name and affiliation. Start with one of these informal polite phrases:
jeoneun . . . ieyo
(
juh-neun [your name] ee-ae-yo;
I am [your name] )

je ireumeun . . . ieyo
(
jae-ee-rum-eun [your name] ee-ae-yo;
My name is

[your name].)

jeoneun . . . iragohaeyo
(
juh-neun [your name] ee-ra-go hae-yo;
They call me [your name].)

Koreans, especially in formal settings, give their affiliation before they give their name. They use the word
[some word] eseo geunmuhaneun
[your company name] ae-suh geun-moo-ha-neun;
I work at [your company name].). Conversely, some people say just the name of their workplace or affiliation, rest for a second, and then say their name. Check out the following examples:
Juneun eunhaengaeseo ilhaneun Seuteisieyo.
(
Juh-neun eun-hang-ae-suh
il-ha-neun Seu-te-shi-ae-yo;
I’m affiliated with bank
:
my name is Stacy.)
Juneun baekhwajeomaeseo geunmuhaneun Allisseu Haeriseuirago
haeyo.
(
Juh-neun baekhwa-jum-ae-suh geun-moo-ha-neun Al-li-sseu
Hae-ri-sseu-ra-go-hae-yo:
I work at the department store, and they call me Alice Harris.)

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Talkin’ the Talk

Jae Woo, and Christina Ridgeway introduce themselves at a party.

Jae Woo:

yeoreobun annyeonghaseyo. jeoneun AIG hoesawon

ijaewooibnida.
(bows)

yuh-ruh-boon, an-young-ha-sae-yo. juh-neun AIG

hwae-sa-won ee-jae-woo-im-ni-da

Hello everyone. My name is Jae Woo Lee, and I am an

employee at AIG.

Christina:

yeoreobun annyeonghaseyo. jeoneun hanguk insam-

gonsa daeri keuriseutina rijiweiragohaeyo.
(bows)

yuh-ruh-boon, an-young-ha-sae-yo. juh-neun han-

goog im-sam-gong-sa dae-ri keu-ri-seu-ti-na ri-ji-wei-

ra-go-hae-yo

Hello everyone. My name is Christina Ridgeway, and

I am a representative of the Korea Tobacco and

Ginseng company.

Words to Know

baekhwajeom

baekhwa-jum

Department store

eunhaeng

eun-hang

Bank

ireum

ee-rum

Name

hoesawon

hwae-sa-won

Company employee

hubae

who-bae

Junior

jeoneun

huh-neun

I’m/I am

seonbae

seonbae

Senior

sogae

so-gae

To introduce

yeoreobun

yuh-ruh-boon

Everyone

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Introducing a friend or a peer

To start an introduction, begin with
je chingureul sogaehalkkeyo
(
je-chin-goo-reul so-gae-halkkae-yo;
Let me introduce you to my friend.) You can replace
chingu
(
chin-goo;
friend) with words such as
dongnyo
(
dong-ryo;
co-worker).

The next thing to do in an introduction is give specific information about the person you’re introducing. For example, you may want to give her

position in a company and then her name:
i sarameun byeonhosa haena
aendeoseunimnida.
(
ee-sa-ram-eun byun-ho-sa hae-na an-der-seun-im-ni-da;
This person is Hannah Anderson, a lawyer.) Here,
i saram
(
ee-sa-ram
) means “this person,” but if you’re less familiar with the person you’re introducing, or if you want to be a little more respectful, use
i buneun
(
ee-boo-neun
), which is a gender neutral term that’s close to “this gentleman,” or “this lady.”

When you talk about someone’s affiliation, start from big to small. In English, you usually start from small to big, so this rule may be tough to remember.

In English, you begin an introduction by giving the person’s name, the person’s status within the organization, and then the organization’s name.

(For example, This is Hannah Anderson, a CEO at Paper Company, Inc.) In Korean, personal introductions begin with the organization the person is affiliated with, and end with the person’s name. Check out the following examples:
ibuneun uri daehakkyo beopdaee gyesin udeuro wilseunimnida.

(
ee-boon-eun uri-dae-hak-gyo byup-dae-ae gae-shin u-de-ro wilseun-im-ni-da:
This gentlemen belongs to the law school of our university
:
his name is Woodrow Wilson.)

i sarami je dongsaeng Jeieyo:
(
ee-sa-ram-ee jae-dong-saeng jae-ae-yo;
This person is my younger brother, Jae.)

i chinguneun samsung junja gwajang ijaeneyo
: (
ee-chin-goo-neun samsung-jun-ja gwajang ee-jae-oo-ae-yo;
This is my friend, a director in the finance department of Samsung electronics, Lee Jae Woo.) You use the big-to-small rule when you’re giving
juso
(
joo-so;
addresses) in Korean, as well. In English, you start with the house
beonho
(
bun-ho;
number) and end with the state. In Korean, you write an address the other way around, by starting off with the state (or province, as it’s known in Korea) and ending with the house number.

You determine the formality of your speech by whatever it is that you want to convey. You use the formal polite, informal polite, or honorific forms based on how much respect you’re showing the person you’re speaking about.

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You can think of the following people as your peers:

dongnyo
(
dongnyo;
colleagues)

chingu
(
chin-goo;
friends)

jipsaram/anae
(
jeep-sa-ram/aa-nae;
your wife)

nampyun
(
nampyun;
your husband)

ttal
(
ttal;
daughters)

adeul
(
a-deul;
sons)

namjachingu
(
nam-ja-chin-goo;
boyfriends)

yeojachingu
(
yuh-ja-chin-goo;
girlfriends)

hubae
(
who-bae;
juniors)

dongsaeng
(
dongsaeng;
younger brothers or sisters)

Introducing a senior or your parents

When you’re introducing two people in Korean culture, you always begin by introducing the junior to the senior, and then you tell the junior who you’re introducing him or her to. If the senior person is your senior as well, make sure you use the appropriate politeness markers. The following examples show you what I mean:
i buneun uri eomeoniseyo
(
ee-boon-eun oo-ree uh-muh-ni-sae-yo;
This person our my mother;
Literally:
This is our mother.) For more information on why Koreans use
our
instead of
my,
see Chapter 2.

i bunkkeseo siripdaehak gyosunimisin hong gyosunimisimnida.

(
ee-boon-kkae-suh shi-rip-dae-hak gyo-soo-nim-ee-shin hong gyo-soo-nim-ee-sim-ni-da;
This person is Professor Hong from
Sirip
university.) In Korean, you call your mother
eomeoni
(
uh-muh-ni;
mother) and your father
abeoji
(
a-buh-ji;
father). You can call your friend’s mother and father
ajeossi
(
a-juh-sshi;
Mr.) and
ajumma
(
a-joom-ma;
Ms./Mrs.), but you can also call them
eomeoni
and
abeoji,
just as you do your parents. Calling them your mom and dad doesn’t mean that you’re abandoning your parents. If you’re around a group of parents, you want to be more specific. For example, if you’re talking about your friend Lola’s mom and dad, say
lola eomeonim
and
lola abeonim.
By adding
[someone’s name] nim
(
[someone’s name] nim;
more respectfully calling someone) after someone’s name or position, you are showing more respect to that person. However, if you want to sound more formal, call them
Lola ssi eomeoni
and
Lola ssi abeonim.

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Usually, when your friends introduce you to their parents, they don’t tell you their names. You’re just going to have to call them mom and pop. When children introduce their parents or grandparents to other elders, they spell out their names, letter by letter. So, if your father’s name is
Choe Nam Hyun,
you say
uri abeoji jonhameun Choe ja, Nam ja, Hyun ja simnida
(
oo-ree a-buh-ji
jon-ham-eun Choe-ja Nam-ja Hyun-ja-shim-ni-da
;
My father’s name is the letter Choe, the letter Nam, and the letter Hyun.) Talkin’ the Talk

Jessica wants to introduce her boyfriend Eric to her mother,

Amanda Im.

Jessica: