Studying abroad in Korea is a really exciting venture, but the moment I set foot in Seoul I realized I was a little unprepared. I had no idea what to say to buy my airport bus ticket, I was confused on why the H&M employee asked me if I needed an envelope, and what were people saying when they were getting off a crowded bus? Naturally, I turned to my favorite app Naver Translate (#notspon) for a lot of stuff, but I also learned a lot from watching Korean variety shows while I was there. Yes, sometimes I just merely said what other people said, but at least knowing the written word and translation helped me fully conceptualize what I was saying in context.
Because my 3 Korean classes didn’t prepare me for my life in Seoul, you probably aren’t ready either. It’s been over 2 years since I’ve been back from my study abroad experience, but these are phrases I will never EVER forget because they saved me from public embarrassment and helped me blend in as a foreigner. Keep in mind, this article is assuming you already know how to read and write Hangul. If you don’t, I’d suggest bookmarking this page and coming back when you do!
Public Transportation
내릴게요. – I’m getting off.
This is pretty specific to transportation, so you’d use this on the bus or subway when you’re trying to exit a particularly crowded car. If no one’s in your way, you don’t have to say anything, but it’s really helpful to just say it slightly above an “indoor” voice level and don’t be afraid to say it a few times if the car is jam-packed. People do move and it’s not considered rude.
잠시만요. – Excuse me.
Another way of saying excuse me, but can be used in non-transportation instances. You can use this if you’re in a crowded store and need to get by, or if you’re stuck in a corner with a bunch of tourists in Myeongdong trying to escape.
Restaurants
주문할게요. – I would like to order.
Korean culture can seem a little discourteous if you’re used to Western practices. You can sit idly for a few minutes hoping to get someone’s attention until they give you that pity foreigner look and ask what you want to order. This line can fast track this process, but you need to kinda scream it out to the heavens. I like restaurants with bells for this reason since I always found it a bit awkward to yell out for someone to take my order.
포장으로 주문할게요. – I will order to-go/for takeout.
I ate a lot of take-out when I ate by myself or didn’t meet up with friends (which I guess is kind of the same thing). They’ll often ask you 포장할래요, 여기계세요? or some iterative of that to ask if you’re eating in or have it to go, but I liked keeping my Korean engagement to a minimum some days. It’s actually pretty exhausting to operate in a foreign language for most of the day.
신분증 보여 주시겠어요/주실 까요?/주실래요? – Can I see your ID?
Yes, you can still get carded overseas. They actually left me alone most of the time, but occasionally if I was with people who appeared younger, or somewhere like a pocha or hoff, I’d get carded. Depending on the person, they might vary on their degrees of formality when asking. 신분증 보여 주실 까요 probably has the most formality, whereas 신분증 보여 주실래요 is least formal, but they all hover around the same level.
와이파이가 있어요? 와이파이 피밀번호 뭐예요? – Do you have Wi-Fi? What is the Wi-Fi password?
Seriously, why did no one teach me what “password” was in my Korean classes? For the most part, if you know Korea, this is pretty simple. However, if you’re not up to snuff on Korean 101, this will at least let you get some internet to study 😉.
계산서 좀 주시겠습니까/주시겠어요? – Can I get the check, please?
Culturally, Korea is a country where staff usually leave you alone once you get your food. This does create a bit of awkwardness if you’re from the West and you look up wondering where your waiter went. Sometimes you might have a bell, sometimes you might just have to go to the counter, and sometimes you’ll pay ahead of time so you won’t even need to worry about it. Regardless, if you want to go and still need to pay, just yell this out (particularly loud if no staff is nearby…but I’d say keep that to 맛집s).
따로따로 할게요. – We will pay separately
Yes, us weird Westerners pay separately. When you’re operating on a savings account you loaded up months ago, sometimes it’s just necessary. Luckily, younger Koreans are catching onto the trend, so it’s not so bad to blurt this out when paying for your food. I don’t even think I got a weird look for saying it, but then again, the whole brown skin, brown hair, brown eye, 5’6″ thing was weird enough for most so I guess asking to pay for MY 김치찌개 wasn’t all that weird.
Shopping
봉투가 필요있어요? – Do you need a bag?
Before actually coming to Korea, I didn’t know how to say a general “bag,” only “backpack.” This word also means envelope, so I had to use quick deduction to realize the store staff person was asking me if I wanted a bag. This comes up a lot because Seoul is pretty conscious about excessive bag usage, and usually bags cost money. 필요없어요 was my favorite phrase as I pulled out my crumpled Daiso bag out from my backpack.
카드받으세요? 현금으로 지불해도 되요? Do you take card? Can I pay with cash?
Obviously a very useful set of phrases as a lot of places only take cash, or sometimes only take card. The former is really common among places to eat, especially the tiny restaurants. Always have cash ready!
수고하세요! – Have a good day/take care/work hard!
This will get you brownie points with any Korean person you encounter. As you’re leaving class or finish your transaction, pull this phrase out to surprise them! It’s not ever really taught in class in Korea or abroad, but it’s a common phrase that most people use. It’s kind of like “Have a good day!” and it really did get me in good graces with a lot of places I frequented often.
Miscellaneous
꺼져! – Get lost!
Okay so sometimes you’re gonna get creeps, and you need to know how to navigate those situations. In times when you don’t need to be polite, you might need to tell an old man to get lost because they’re being creepy in a dark place…or the club. I mostly used this at NB2. No shame.
As I continue to think of more phrases, I’ll update this page, but if you think of any phrases you want to be able to say, leave it in the comments and I’ll add it in!
Mindful Banter Travel 