Korean for Dummies (35 page)

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Specifying which direction

When you’re giving or receiving direction through a language barrier,

pointing and body language will go a long way in getting you on your way.

However, you may want to remember a few of these words to help you along the way. An important word to know regarding direction is the word,
jjok,
(
jjok;
side), as in left side, right side, and such (see Table 12-1). You can also use
jjok
when talking about a “way,” such as
ijjok
(
ee-jjok;
this way) and
jeojjok
(
juh-jjok;
that way). You will hear a Korean person use
jjok
a lot when giving you directions. Table 12-1 gives you some more directional words you may need to know.

Table 12-1

Terms for Direction and Location

Korean Word

Pronunciation

Translation

apjjok

ahp-jjok

front side

bandaejjok

ban-dae-jjok

opposite side

bukjjok

dongjjok

dongjjok

east side

dwijjok

dwee-jjok

back side

gakkawoyo

ga-kka-wo-yo

near

jeogi

juh-gee

there

meoreoyo

muh-ruh-yo

far

namjjok

namjjok

south side

oenjjok

wenjjok

left side

oreunjjok

o-reun-jjok

right side

seojjok

suh-jjok

west side

yeogi

yuh-gee

here

Talkin’ the Talk

Pam is trying to get to the British Embassy. She asks Jerry for directions to the Embassy.

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Pam:

jerryssi, jega naeil yeongguk yeongsagwane gaya

doegeodeunyo. yeongsagwan kkaji eotteoke gajyo?

yeogiseo meongayo?

jerry-sshi. jae-ga nae-il young-gook young-sa-gwan ae

ga-ya dwae-guh-deun-yo. young-sa-gwan-kka-jee uh-

ttuh-kae ga-jee-yo? yuh-gee-suh mun-ga-yo?

Jerry. I have to go to the British Embassy tomorrow.

How do I get to the Embassy? Is it far from here?

Jerry:

ye. jom meoreoyo. geureochiman taeksireul tago

gamyeon jom bissado sigando jeoryakdoego

pyeollihaeyo.

ye. jom muh-ruh-yo. geu-ruh-chi-man taek-shi-reul ta-

go ga-myun jom bee-ssa-do shi-gan-do juh-ryak-

dwae-go pyul-lee-hae-yo.

Yes, it’s quite far. However, if you take a taxi,

although a little more expensive, you’ll save a lot of

time and it’ll be more comfortable.

Pam:

taeksi unjeonsadeuri yeongguk yeongsagwani eodi

inneunji alkkayo?

taek-shi oon-jun-sa-deu-ree young-gook young-sa-

gwa-nee uh-dee in-neun-jee al-kka-yo?

Do you think the taxi driver will know where the

British Embassy is?

Jerry:

ama alkkeoeyo. hajiman eodi intneunji moreun-

damyeon Seoul sicheonge deryeoda dallago haseyo.

yeongguk yeongsagwaneun Seoul sicheong baro

yeope iseoyo.

a-ma al-kkuh-ae-yo. ha-jee-man uh-dee in-neun-jee

mo-reun-da-myun suh-ool shi-chung-ae dae-ryuh-da

dal-la-go ha-sae-yo. young-gook young-sa-gwaneun

suh-ool shi-chung ba-ro yuh-pae ee-ssuh-yo.

They probably know. If they don’t, ask them to take

you to Seoul city hall. The British Embassy is right next

to the Seoul city hall.

Pam:

gomawoyo jeryssi. naeil yeongsagwane gatda

omyeon siksa gachi hallaeyo?

go-ma-wo-yo jerry-sshi. nae-il young-sa-gwan-ae ga-

tta-o-myun shik-sa ga-chi-hal-lae-yo?

Thank you, Jerry. When I come back from the Embassy

tomorrow, would you like to grab a bite to eat?

Jerry:

joayo. geureom naeil bwayo.

jo-a-yo. geu-rum nae-il bwa-yo.

Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.

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Words to Know

bissayo

bee-ssa-yo

Expensive

dogil

do-gil

Germany

miguk

mee-gook

U.S.

peurangseu

peurang-sseu

France

pyeollihaeyo

pyul-lee-hae-yo

Comfortable, convenient

sicheong

shi-chung

City hall

ssayo

ssa-yo

Cheap, not expensive

unjeonsasa

oon-juhn-sa

Driver

yeongguk

young-gook

England, UK

yeongsagwan

young-sa-gwan

Ambassy

Specifying distance

When asking someone how far somewhere is, they may answer you in meters or kilometers in Korea. Koreans do not use miles when they are talking about distance. So if you want to ask someone how far somewhere is, ask them
yeogiseo eolmana meoreoyo
(
yuh-gee-suh ul-ma-na muh-ruh-yo;
How far is it from here)? when asking them how near somewhere is, ask
yeogiseo
eolmana gakkawoyo
(
yuh-gee-suh ul-ma-na ga-kka-wo-yo;
How close it from here)? When talking about distance, Koreans will use Sino-Korean numbers for meters and kilometers. However, when telling time to specify the distance, remember that the hours are in native Korean numbers and minutes are in Sino-Korean numbers. Typical answers to these questions might be something like:
oreunjjogeuro baek miteo gaseyo
(
o-reun-jjok-eu-ro baek mee-tuh ga-saeyo;
Please go 100 meters to the right)

yeogiseo charo o killomiteo deo gayahaeyo
(
yuh-gee-suh cha-ro o kee-ro-me-tuh ga-ya-hae-yo;
From here you need to go 5 kilometers by car) 18_037188-ch12.qxp 6/24/08 11:13 PM Page 210

yeogiseo oenjjogeuro georeoseo obunjeongdo gaseyo
(
yuh-gee-suh wenjjo-geu-ro guh-ruh-suh o-boon-jung-do ga-ya-hae-yo;
From here you need to walk to your left for about five minutes)

Giving Directions

If you have to give directions to the hotel you’re staying at, or if you want to give directions to a nice little restaurant you’ve found off the beaten path, you have to learn how to give directions to that person. When giving someone directions, you need to know more words than just
yeogi
(
yuh-gee;
here) and
jeogi
(
juh-gee;
there).

Referring to locations on the street

Usually, when referring to locations on the street, you would use the term

“
ape
”(
a-pae
), which means “in front of.” You would use this term with various landmarks as well. For example, you could say, “
namdaemun apeseo mannayo
” (
nam-dae-moon a-pae-suh man-na-yo
), which is translated, “Let’s meet in front of Namdaemun.”
namdaemun
(
nam-dae-moon
), which literally translated means, “ the South Gate”, was one of the four entry points into the capital city of the old
joseon
(
jo-suhn
) dynasty. The city of Seoul has grown way past the four gates marking the boundaries of the old capital, but
namdaemun
stood as a landmark and a thriving commercial district surrounds the landmark until recently. On Feb 10th 2008,
namdaemoon
was burnt down by an arsonist. This day, a great national treasure of Korea was lost. It was a very sad day.

Providing actions with directions

When you ask a Korean person for directions, most of the time, he/she will get right next to you and point at the direction you need to go. What they’re trying to accomplish by standing right next to you is they’re trying to give you directions from your perspective. Hand motions and body gestures are very important as indicators of directions. For example, if you need to turn
oenjjok
(
wenjjok;
left) at the
sinhodeung
(
shin-ho-deung;
traffic light), he/she will make a wave in that direction after they point at the light. Pay particular attention to their hand signals (gestures) if you have trouble understanding their verbal directions. Learning to read body language is an important aspect in communication. When you’re giving directions to someone, try standing next to the person and give them directions from their perspective.

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Making directions flow

A good word to know in making directions flow is the word
daeume
(
da-eumae;
afterward or and then). So you can say

jeogi itneun shinhodeungeuro gan daeume oenjjogeuro gaseyo
(
juh-gee
in-neun shin-ho-deungeu-ro gan da-eu-mae wen-jjo-geu-ro ga-sae-yo;
after going to that traffic light over there, then go left).

geu hayansaek jip apeseo sesibane mannayo
(
geu ha-yan-saek jeep apae-suh sae-shi-ba-nae man-na-yo;
Let’s meet in front of that white house at 3:30).

Talkin’ the Talk

Patrick is trying to get Anita to try a new restaurant in town.

Patrick:

anitassi, aju masitneun sikdang hana chajanneunde

jeorang gachi gallaeyo?

aa-nee-ta-sshi, a-joo ma-shi-in-neun shik-dang ha-na

cha-jah-neundae juh-rang ga-chi gal-lae-yo?

Anita, I found a great restaurant. Would you like to

go with me?

Anita:

eodi inneundeyo?

uh-dee in-neun-dae-yo?

Where is it?

Patrick:

yeogiseo byeollo meolji anayo. beoseu jeongryujang

ape inneun sinhodeungeseo oenjjogeuro gamyeon

golmok baro yeope iseoyo.

yuh-gee-suh byul-lo mul-jee-a-na-yo. buh-sseu jung-

ryoo-jang a-pae in-neun shin-ho-deung-ae-suh wen-

jjo-geu-ro ga-myun gol-mog ba-ro yuh-pae

ee-ssuh-yo.

It’s not that far from here. If you go left at the traffic

light in front of the bus stop, it’s right next to the

alley.

Anita:

eotteon eumsik jeonmunjib ingayo?

uh-ttun eum-shik jun-moon-jeep in-ga-yo?

What kind of food do they specialize in?

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Patrick:

iteri eumsik jeonmunjibieyo. guksureul geujibeseo

jikjeop mandeulgeodeunnyo. neomu masiseoyo.

ee-tae-ree eum-shik jun-moon-jeep-ee-ae-yo. gook-

soo-reul geu-jeep-ae-suh jik-juhb mandeul-guh-

deun-yo. nuh-moo ma-shi-ssuh-yo.

They specialize in Italian food. They make the noodles

there themselves. It’s so tasty.

Anita:

geuraeyo? geureom gachigayo. waenji gidaega

doeneungeoryo?

geu-rae-yo? geu-rum ga-chi-ga-yo. waen-jee gee-dae-

ga dwae-neun-gul-ryo?

Really? Then let’s go together. I’m looking forward

to it.

Words to Know

ape

a-pae

Front

dwie

dwee-ae

Back

gidae

gee-dae

Expect

gil

gil

Road

golmok

gol-mok

Alley

guksu

gook-soo

Noodles

jeongryujang

jung-ryoo-jang

Bus stop

jeonmunjip

jun-moon-jeep

Specialty house

jikjeop

jik-juhp

Self

juyuso

joo-yoo-so

Gas station

sageori

sa-guh-ree

4-way intersection

sinhodeung

shin-ho-deung

Traffic light

sipjaro

ship-ja-ro

Cross road

yeope

yuh-pae

Side, next to

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Fun & Games

According to the diagrams below, write down the cardinal direction these building are located in Korean. Answers can be found in Appendix C.

N

School

Post Office

W

E

S

House

Bank

A. School ____________________________________

B. Post office ____________________________________

C. Bank ____________________________________

D. House ____________________________________

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In This Chapter

Checking out types of lodging

Reserving a room

Getting problems solved

Settling the bill

When you’re visiting Korea, the chances are that you’ll be staying at

least for a while at a
hotel
(
ho-tel;
hotel),
yeoinsuk
(
yuh-in-sook;
Korean motel), or even a
minbak
(
min-bak;
bed and breakfast). You need to know the different accommodation options and the basic expressions so that you don’t find yourself stuck with an unpleasant surprise.