Korean for Dummies (30 page)

jamsiman gidaryeo jusipsiyo. jarie gyesinji hwagin-

hae deurigetseumnida.
jam-shi-man gee-da-ryuh joo-

ship-shi-yo. ja-ree-e gye-shin-jee

hwa-gin-hae-deu-ree-get-seum-ni-da.

One moment, please. I’ll check to see if he’s in.

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Brian: ye,

gamsahamnida.

ye, gam-sa-ham-ni-da.

Sure. Thank you.

Secretary:

ye, jigeum jarie gyesimnida. gim timjangnimkkeseo

got naosilgeomnida.

ye, jee-geum ja-ree-ae gyeshim-ni-da. gim timjang-

nim-kke-suh got na-o-shil-gum-ni-da.

Yes, he’s in his seat. He’ll be coming out to see you in

a moment.

Mr. Kim:

smith gwajangnim, waenirisimnikka?

Smith gwajang-nim, waen-ee-ree-shim-ni-kka?

Hey, Mr. Smith, what are you doing round these parts?

Brian:

hoegye gwallyeon jaryoe gwanhae mureobolge

iseoseoyo. hoeuiga kkeunnamyeon jamsi mannaseo

yegihal su itgetseumnikka?

hwae-gye gwallyeon-ja-ryo-ae gwanhae moo-ruh-bol-

gae ee-ssuh-suh-yo. hwae-ui-ga kkeunna-myun jam-

shi man-na-suh yae-gee-hal soo it-get-sseumni-kka?

I have few questions to ask you about the accounting

information. Could we possibly meet and talk after

the meeting?

Mr. Kim:

joseumnida. du sie jigwon hyugesireseo mannalkkayo?

josseum-ni-da. doo shi-ae jee-gwon hyoo-gae-shil-

ae-suh man-nal-kka-yo?

Okay, how about if we meet at two o’clock in the

employee lounge?

Brian:

ye, josseumnida. geureom sugohasipsiyo.

ye, josseum-ni-da. geu-rum soo-go-ha-ship-shi-yo.

Yeah, that sounds great. Have a nice day.

Words to Know

bokdo

bok-do

Hallway

chulgu

chul-gu

Exit

ellibeiteo

el-lee-bae-ee-tuh

Elevator

gyedan

gye-dan

Stairwell

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ipgu

eep-gu

Entrance

japangi

ja-pan-gi

Vending machine

jeongsugi

jeong-soo-gi

Water purifier

robi

ro-bee

Lobby

Attending Meetings

Meetings are an inevitable part of the job. If you’re doing business with Korean clients, they’ll most likely bring their own interpreters. But saying a little Korean at the beginning of a meeting will leave a good impression and it may just give you an advantage over the competition.

Making introductions

For more on personal introductions, refer to Chapter 3 particularly to the section on bowing and shaking hands. Here are two common introductions used in meetings:

yeoreobun, annyeonghashimnikka.
(
yuh-ruh-boon an-nyoung-ha-shim-nikka;
Hello, ladies and gentlemen.)

yeoreobun, mannaseo bangapseumnida.
(
yuh-ruh-boon man-na-suh bang-gaap-sseumni-da;
It’s a pleasure to meet you all.)

hoeuireul sijak hagetseumnida.
(
hwae-ui-reul shi-jak-ha-get-seum-ni-da;
Let’s start the meeting.)

Speaking up in a meeting

The following phrases should come in handy during the meeting:

jilmuni itseumnida.
(
jil-moo-nee it-sseum-ni-da;
I have a question.)
geonuisahangi itseumnida.
(
guhn-ui-sa-hang-ee it-seum-ni-da;
I have a suggestion.)

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siksa hue hoeuireul gyesok hagetseumnida.
(
shik-sa hoo-ae hwae-ui-reul
gye-sok ha-get-sseumni-da;
We’ll continue after the meal.)

jamsi swieotda dasi sijakhagetseumnida.
(
jam-shi swi-uht-da da-shi shi-jak-ha-get-seum-ni-da;
We’ll take a quick break before continuing.)

[some word] bungan hyusigi itgetseumnida.
( [some word] boon-gan
hyoo-shi-gee it-get-sseumni-da;
We will have a [some word] minute break.) Substitute [some word] with time.

pigonhasimnikka?
(
pee-gon-ha-shim-ni-kka;
Are you tired?)
jeongmal pigonhamnida.
(
jungmal pee-gon-ham-ni-da;
I’m exhausted.)
gwaenchansseumnida.
(
gwaenchan-sseumni-da;
I’m all right.)
jom swieotda halkkayo?
(
jom swi-uht-da hal-kka-yo;
Do you want to take a break?)
oneul hoeuireul iman machigetseumnida.
(
o-neul hwae-ui-reul ee-man
ma-chi-get-sseum-ni-da;
We’ll finish today’s meeting.)

Commenting about other people

This section is devoted to comments that Koreans make about other people, and possibly even you.

jom ginjanghangeot gatseumnida.
(
jom ginjang-han-guht gat-sseum-ni-da;
I/You/He/she looks a little nervous; formal polite). The sentence omits the subject, so you can use it depending on context.

mwonga jom misimjeokseumnida.
(mwon-ga jom mee-shim-juhk-sseumni-da
;
It sounds questionable
;
formal polite)

jeongmal joeungeot gatseumnida.
(
jungmal jo-eun-guht gat-sseum-ni-da;
It sounds great
;
formal polite)

iri jal jinhaengdoeneun geot gatseumnida.
(
ee-ree jal jinhaeng-dwae-neun-guht gat-sseum-ni-da;
It seems like everything is going well
;
formal polite) Making the Rounds: Business Dinners Many offices regularly go out to
hoesik
(
hwae-shik;
company dinners).
hoesik
are a regular part of Korean business culture, and although you can miss a few, it is best if you attend most them
;
they’re are a good chance to meet people in your office and talk to them.

Sometimes after dinner, everyone goes to another restaurant or a bar. Each relocation is called a
cha
(
cha;
round). The
il cha
(
il cha;
first round) may be dinner at a nice restaurant
;
the
i cha
(
ee cha;
second round ) may be a bar, 15_037188-ch10.qxp 6/24/08 11:12 PM Page 175

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followed by another bar, such a karaoke bar, and so on. It’s not unheard of for a few members of the office to stay out the entire night and go straight back to work the next day.

If you’re going out after your first day at the office, people will pour you many drinks so be aware.

Drinking politely

For the first shot of the night, it’s a good idea to drink, or at least to raise your glass when everyone else does.

You may hear people ask
hanjan badeusijyo?
(
han-jan ba-deu-shi-jyo;
Would you like a shot?), offer one another drinks, and pass the shot glass around.

This activity is called
janeul dollinda
(
jan-eul dol-lin-da;
passing the shot glass), and throughout the process, everyone shares a single glass. If you feel like it, you can take a shot and pour a shot for someone else (see the following section).

Pouring shots

In Korea, it’s considered to be bad form to pour yourself a shot.

If you want to drink, hold up your empty shot glass with your right hand
;
use your left hand to prop up your right arm; and sway your shot glass from side to side while looking at someone. That person will pick up the cue and pour you a shot. Likewise, if you notice someone motioning for a shot, make sure that you help him or her out.

Serving (and being served by) superiors

Another thing you may want to keep in mind is to pour shots for seniors by using both hands. You can hold the bottle with both hands or support your right arm with the left one. When a senior is pouring you a shot, make sure you hold your shot glass with both hands.

You may want to look around and observe a few people doing this before doing it yourself. If you’re drinking with peers, juniors, or friends, however, what you do usually doesn’t matter.

When you drink in front of a senior, make sure to turn your head to the side (so that you are not facing the senior who poured you a drink) and drink. It is considered rude and disrespectful if you face the senior and drink facing them.

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Declining drinks

If you don’t drink, say
sureul anmasimnida
(
soo-reul an-ma-shim-ni-da;
I don’t drink). If you don’t think you can possibly drink anymore or reached your limit, say
sureul deo mot masimnida
(
soo-reul duh-mot ma-shim-ni-da;
I can’t drink anymore). However, your co-workers, may not believe you and still keep pouring you the drink. This is the Korean drinking culture, so don’t be surprised if people are forcing you to drink.

Making Yourself at Home

If you are staying at a Korean friend’s house, they will go out of their way to make you feel welcome. Graciously accept their generosity, and in these instances, it is perfectly okay to use the informal polite form of Korean we have used in the previous chapters, rather than the formal polite form which was used at a business setting.

In this section, I will teach you basic phrases and words you need to make a good impression on your host, while staying at their house. I will cover the topics including various types of houses in Korea, using the bathroom, visiting Korean friend’s house, taking tours, and also good manners for eating and drinking at someone’s house.

The place where you live

Home can be an apartment, a condominium, or a single-family home. In

Korea, people call their dwellings
jip
(
jeep:
home, house), which may be in any of the categories listed in Table 10-3.

Table 10-3

Housing Categories

Korean Pronunciation

English

dandok jutaek

dan-dok joo-taek

Single-family house

yeollip jutaek

yeollip joo-taek

Row house

apateu

a-pa-teu

Apartment

wollum

won-room

One room

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Trash talking: Getting rid of refuse

The Korean government enforces strict policies

cans, and leftover food items. In Korea, sepa—

on trash. Every household is required to buy

rate bags are used for leftover food:
eumsing-

special
jongnyangje sseuregi bongtu
(jong-

mul sseuregibongtu
(eumsing-mool sseu-rae—

nyang-jae sseu-rae-gee bong-too; trash bags)

gee-bong-too; trash bag for leftovers).

from stores. As a result, most Koreans recycle

If you decide to double-wrap a trash bag, make

everything they can.

sure that the government-issued trash bag is

If you need to take out the trash at your own

clearly visible; otherwise, you’ll be breaking the

place, make sure to separate paper, plastic,

law.

To tell someone where you live, use this phrase:

jeoneun [some word] eseo sarayo.
(
juh-neun [some word] ae-suh sa-ra-yo;
I live in a ___). Substitute [some word] with the words for different hous-ings above.

If you want to refer to your house in conversation, say
uri jip
(
u-ri jip;
My house).

Literally,
uri jip
(
oo-ree-jeep
) or
jeohui jip
(
juh-hee jeep
) means our house, but in conversational Korean,
uri
(
oo-ree;
our) or
jeohui
(
juh-hee
) is used instead of
nae
(
nae;
my).

The smallest room

A few things may catch you off guard when you try to take a shower in Korea.

The first is that there are no shower curtains. You also won’t find any fabric floor mats in contact with the floor. The reason is that Korean bathrooms have a drainage system built into the floor, so that it isn’t a problem if a little water splashes around. Often, the floors in bathrooms get wet, and you need to buy yourself a pair of plastic slippers to wear in the bathroom.

The next thing that might take you off guard is that the bathtub might be full of random things. You might even wonder if Koreans ever use the bathtub.

The answer is that they usually don’t. Koreans may have showers in their bathtub (taking the shower head down from its holder) or bath children in there. However, for most Korean adults, rather than having a bath at home, they LOVE to go to the bath house instead. Now days, new apartments being built have showers but no bathtubs for this reason.

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The last thing I’d like to mention is important, especially if you don’t like taking showers with cold water. To have hot showers, you need to turn on the boiler system in the house manually. Make sure it’s turned on several minutes before you turn on the hot water. Otherwise, you might begin your morning in a start. To prevent this from happening, ask your host
jigeum tteugeoun mul
nawayo?
(
jee-geum tteu-guh-oon mool na-wa-yo;
Is the hot water running?).