Korean for Dummies (26 page)

The winters are quite cold and there is a fair amount of
nun
(noon; snow).

gaeul
(
ga-eul;
fall) months are probably the most pleasant, as the continental winds bring cool, clear, and dry weather. When the leaves turn, the whole country turns red, orange, and vibrant yellow to create a beautiful panorama of fall colors.
bom
(
bom;
spring) is also very nice, as the weather is quite pleasant and mostly sunny days are expected from March to May. Each season has its own beauty, of course, spring with flowers blooming, summer with its warm pleasant days (however it can get quite hot and muggy in summer), fall and its beautiful foliage, and
gyeoul
(
gyuh-ool;
winter) and its white calm. Each season can be enjoyable for its own beauty.

Talkin’ the Talk

Carol and Diane discuss the seasons in Korea.

Diane:

carolssi, gaeuri doemyeon uri nagyeop gugyeong-

hareo sane gayo.

carol-sshi ga-eul-ee dwae-myun oo-ree na-gyup goo-

gyoung-ha-ruh sa-nae ga-yo.

Carol, let’s go to the mountain and see the leaves

change color when autumn comes.

Carol:

joeun saenggagieyo. gyeongchiga cham meosit-

seulkkeoeyo. gyeoureneun nungugyeonghareo gachi

gayo.

jo-eun saengga-gee-ae-yo. gyoung-chi-ga cham muh-

shi-sseul-gguh-ae-yo. gyuh-oo-rae-neun noon-goo-

gyoung-ha-ruh ga-chi ga-yo.

That’s a good idea. The scenery will be beautiful. Let’s

go together to look at the snow in the winter time,

also.

Diane:

joayo. uri yaksokhaeyo. gaeureneun nagyeop

gugyeong, gyeoureneun nungugyeong. eottaeyo?

jo-a-yo. oo-ree yak-sok-hae-yo. ga-eul-ae-neun na-

gyup goo-gyoung, gyuh-oo-rae-neun noon-goo-

gyoung. uh-ttae-yo?

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Good. Let’s make a promise together. Go see the

leaves turning in the fall, see the snow in the winter

time. How about it?

Carol:

joayo. geureom bomirang yeoreumeneun mweo

hajyo?

jo-a-yo. geu-rum bo-mee-rang yuhreum-ae-neun

mwuh-ha-jyo?

Good. Then what do we do during spring and

summer?

Diane:

gandanhaeyo. bomeneun kkot gugyeonghareo gago,

yeoreumeneun haesuyokjange gachi gayo.

gan-dan-hae-yo. bom-ae-neun kkot goo-gyung-ha-

ruh ga-go, yuhreum-ae-neun hae-soo-yokjang-ae

ga-chi ga-yo.

It’s simple. During spring, we go watch the flowers,

during summer, we go to the beach together.

Carol:

geuraeyo. geureom haesuyokjangeun eonje gal-

laeyo?

geu-rae-yo. geu-rum hae-soo-yokjang-eun un-jae

gal-lae-yo?

Let’s. When should we go to the beach then?

Diane:

ibeon jumareneun eottaeyo?

ee-bun joo-ma-rae-eun uh-ttae-yo?

How about this weekend?

Carol:

ibeon jumal jochyo. geureom toyoil achime bwayo.

ee-bun joo-mal jo-chyo. geu-rum to-yo-il a-chim-ae

bwa-yo.

This weekend’s good. I’ll see you Saturday morning,

then.

Words to Know

achim

a-chim

Morning, a.m.

bom

bom

Spring

gyejeol

gye-juhl

Seasons

gaeul

ga-eul

Fall, autumn

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Chapter 8: Enjoying Yourself: Recreation and Sports

147

gyeoul

gyuh-ool

Winter

haesuyok

hae-soo-yok

Going to the beach,

swimming

kkotgugyeong

kkot-goo-gyoung

Watching flowers

nagyeopgugyeong

na-gyup-goo-gyoung

Watching leaves turn

nungugyeong

noon-goo-gyoung

Watching snow

nyeoreum

yuhreum

Summer

ohu

o-who

Afternoon, p.m.

Talking about the Arts

Recently,
hallyu
(
han-nyu
), or the “Korean Wave” has heightened the interest the world has in Korean arts and
munhwasenghwal
(
moon-hwa-saeng-hwal;
entertainment). However, Korea also boasts of a rich history of culture and arts that can be enjoyed in many different places. The various
bangmulgwan
(
bak-mool-gwan;
museums) throughout the country catalog the arts and crafts of the Korean people throughout
yeoksa
(
yuhk-sa;
history) of course, but there are street festivals, musicians, and artists that embody this tradition and perform daily on the streets as well. In some of the historical and folk villages, you can still see traditional
eumak
(
eum-ak;
music) and
chum
(
choom;
dance) performed, and in various
gongwon
(
gongwon;
parks) and pavilions, more modern musicians and artists are showcased. You can find many galleries that house valuable
geurim
(
geu-rim;
paintings) from Korea’s history as well as street artists that sell their wares at open-air markets and street festivals as well.

Korea has its own unique types of music. Many traditional sounds can be heard in pavilions and festivals nation wide. However, Korean music, popular music, to be exact, has been growing and evolving into a powerhouse of entertainment by its own right. Largely responsible for
hallyu
(
han-nyu;
Korean wave), Korean-pop and the stars who perform them have received international recognition and have achieved international stardom through the Korean Wave. Many celebrities in Korea enjoy fame in other countries like Taiwan,
jungguk
(
joong-gook;
China),
ilbon
(
il-bon;
Japan), and Thailand to name a few.

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The term
hannyu
or Korean wave is a new term that Koreans and other Asian countries kind of “made up.” It means any kind of music, movies, drama, etc., that are “made in Korea” (for example, sang by Korean artists in Korean).

People from China, Japan, Thailand, etc., are learning Korean songs in Korean and also coming to Korea to see the live concerts of the singers. If the singer stars in a movie, they will definitely go and see that movie no matter what the cost. And the fans will do anything to get the star/singer’s autograph. Korean wave is huge in Korea.

Playing Sports and Gaming

Koreans enjoy sports of many kind. One sport that has risen in popularity since Korea and Japan jointly hosted the World cup in 2002 is
chukgu
(
chook-goo;
soccer). Koreans also enjoy
yagu
(
ya-goo;
baseball),
nonggu
(
nong-goo;
basketball), and many other sports, like
golpeu
(
gol-peu;
golf). Tae kwon do is the national martial art, and a sporting version of the discipline has been popular for some time now as well. Koreans also excel in archery and are active participants in international sports competitions like the Olympics, the Asian Games, the World Cup, and so on.
ssireum
(
sshi-reum;
wrestling) is also big in Korea, which is a traditional Korean wrestling. The champion is given the title
cheonhajangsa
(
chun-ha-jang-sa
), which means, “the strongest under the heaven.”

Playing games

Korea is known for its advances in computer and electronics technology, and it’s no surprise that gaming culture has developed accordingly. There are televised
gyeonggi
(
gyoung-gee;
tournaments) of
geim
(
gae-im;
games) and gamers achieve celebratory status in some circles. Many Koreans take their gaming quite seriously and some have even turned it into a
jigeop
(
jee-gup;
career). The computer game Starcraft, in particular, has a professional competition circuit, and two major game channels run a Starleague, which is viewed by millions of fans. They have garnered support and sponsorships from major Korean corporations and they participate in World Cyber Games
maenyeon
(
maenyeon;
annually).

Gaming at a Korean PC bang

PC bang,
literally translated “PC room,” is a cyber café. It resembles an internet café, which is easy enough to find in any metropolitan area. It’s a place where people gather to play multiplayer games online. It has become a cultural phenomenon in Korea with some controversy. It seems that people 13_037188-ch08.qxp 6/24/08 11:09 PM Page 149

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jungdok
(
joong-dok;
addicted) to gaming will often forget to drink
mul
(
mool;
water) or eat
eumsik
(
eum-shik;
food) and end up damaging their
geongang
(
guhn-gang;
health) sometimes, with severe consequences. The gaming industry is indeed a huge industry, poised to surpass Hollywood, and one can find a
PC bang
in just about every corner in a large metropolitan area. These rooms are usually filled at all times of the day and are very
ingi
(
in-gee;
popular) spots for
jeolmeun saram
(
juhl-meun sa-ram;
young people) to hang out.

If you have a particular knack for computer games, or if you have a desire to be humbled by a pre-pubescent Korean kid, I recommend you visit one of these places and engage one of them in an online game of sorts.

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Fun & Games

Below are few hobbies people like to do. Please write the Korean word for each of the hobbies illustrated below.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

A.
________

B.
________

C.
________

D.
________

E.
________

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Mail, Fax, and Internet

In This Chapter

Making a phone call

Sending a fax or a letter

Getting online

j
eonhwa
(
juhn-hwa;
telephones) and the Internet have become a part of the daily grind. Whether you need to make a quick call, or satisfy your
imeil
(
ee-mae-il;
e-mail)
jungdok
(
joong-dok;
addiction) here are a few lines to help you get in
yeollak
(
yuhl-lak;
contact) with your friend, that
sojunghan saram
(
so-joong-han-sa-ram;
special person) of yours, or with people related to your upcoming business deal.

Although we are so familiar with getting connected with telephones or

e-mails, there are also the “old ways” of getting connected: snail mails and faxes. For those of you who are more familiar with the old ways, I will also teach to how to get connected using these means. I personally get sentimen-tal with old ways, and prefer writing to my loved ones a snail mail. When I receive one of these, that really makes my day!!

Phoning Made Easy

When Koreans pick up the phone they’ll almost always answer with
yeoboseyo
(
yuh-bo-sae-yo;
Who is this?) You should, too. If your pronunciation is good enough, you’re bound to surprise a few of your friends in the process.

You might occasionally hear people use the formal greeting
annyeonghasimnikka
(
an-nyoung-ha-shim-ni-kka;
Hello/How are you?) after
yeoboseyo
to begin a phone conversation, but it’s usually used in a telemarketer/sales representative kind of way.

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In this section, I assume that you’re not going to try and sell something or close a multimillion-dollar contract deal in Korean (Therefore, does not need the formal polite form of Korean.). Instead, I will show you how to get in touch with someone that you need to talk to, leave them a message or simply leave a callback number, send a fax, send a letter or a postcard from the post office, or how to find PC rooms to “surf the net.”

Finding a phone