Here’s some vocabulary that may come useful the next time you go to a Korean grocery store.
Vegetable: 야채
Carrot: 당근
Broccoli: 브로콜리
Onion: 양파
Lettuce: 상추
Cabbage: 배추
Squash/Zucchini: 호박
Tomato: 토마토
Mushroom: 버섯
Potato: 감자
Cucumber: 오이
Spinach: 시금치
Radish: 무
Bean Sprout: 콩나물
These phrases may come in handy:
_____________ 있으세요? (Do you have ______?)
_____________ 가/이 어디 있어요? (Where is the _______?)
_____________ 가/이 얼마예요? (How much is the _______?)
비싸다! (That’s expensive!)
싸다! (That’s cheap!)
Watching Korean movies with English subtitles is a great way to learn Korean. I’m going to list a couple of movies that are/were critically acclaimed by the South Korean public.
The tension and strife between North and South Korea is a popular theme for many Korean movies. Take the movie Shiri (시리). Shiri (시리) is a movie about North Korean spies infiltrating South Korea. You’ll have to see what happens, but it’s a action/thriller movie. It contains a lot of technical/science jargon and is perfect for advanced Korean students. Then there’s the movie JSA which stands for Joint Security Area (공동경비구역). JSA (공동경비구역) is a mystery thriller dealing with the South/North Korean border. Lastly, my favorite is Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (태국기 휘날리며). It’s based on a true story of two brothers torn apart by war, and finally tragically reuniting when they face each other in battle.
The next two movies are philosophical or what I call “thinking” movies. The messages in these movies are not always black and white and a lot is left to the viewer’s interpretation. For example the movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring (봄여름가을겨울그리고봄) by the director Kim Kiduk (김기덕) is about a man who wrestles with his past through the various seasons. There is a lot of metaphor in this movie, so if you’re looking for a light, funny, comedy, you’ll probably want to steer away from this one. The movie Old Boy (올드보이) by director Bak Chanuk (박찬욱) is also one of those deep thinking movies. If you feel uncomfortable with gore, blood and pure, raw emotion, this may not be the movie for you.
Interestingly enough, Hollywood has recreated some Korean classics. The movie My Sassy Girl starring Elisha Cuthbert, is based on the Korean version of My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀). Trust me, the Korean version is better. The Korean version has the right amount of humor and heartfelt emotions. It’s a great love story. The movie The Lake House starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves is based on the Korean movie II Mare (時越愛). It’s another love story as well.
Alright now, I’ll leave you all to watch and enjoy these movies!
It’s that time again! The awaited Korean Proverb of the Day! Today’s proverb is kkamagwinun komodo salun huida (까마귀는 검어도 살은 희다). Let’s break this proverb down to understand its core meaning. Kkamagwi (까마귀) is a black bird, while the word kom (검) means black. Sal (살) means flesh while hui (희)means white. Altogether this means, “a black bird may be black but it’s flesh is white.” So in other words, a black bird may have black feathers but its flesh may be white underneath its feathers.
If I were to use an English proverb equivalent to this proverb it would be, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” In order to understand this Korean proverb about black birds, you’ll have to understand some interesting aspects of the Korean culture.
First of all, a black bird is a type of crow. According to Korean superstition, it’s considered bad luck to hear a black bird cackling at the crack of dawn. In some cases a cackling bird can mean that someone close to you is dead or dying. One other thing to note is that the physical features of someone’s face is considered an accurate judgement of that person’s personality. When you send in a resume for a job in Korea, you will be required to hand in a picture of yourself. Employers will often use the physical features of a face to determine whether the person is fit for the job. I’m not saying that it’s the sole determinant of whether you’ll get the job, but it may be a major factor if you’re a borderline candidate for the job.
If you were to tie the cultural tidbits with the proverb you get the saying: “Just because someone gives off an unpleaseant face (hence the black bird) doesn’t mean the person is a bad person (the white flesh = purity).” This proverb can extend to other areas of life as well. For example I would say that you shouldn’t judge a culture just by what you read about it. There may be some underlining reason for how a society behaves, and before anyone makes a quick judgment, it’s wise to study the culture in depth first.
Ok, thank for your time today. Hope this proverb was helpful!
This is the second post on Korean proverbs in a recurring series of Korean proverbs. Hope no one is dying of joy! In Korean, we have what are four Chinese character based proverbs or words of wisdom called sa-ja-song-oh (사자성어). These four lettered proverbs can be downright strange when they’re translated literally. Let me show you what I mean with today’s proverb.
Today’s proverb is dong-ka-hong-sang (同價紅裳). First let’s examine the characters one by one to decipher their meaning. Dong (同) is the root word for ’same’ or ’similar’ in Korean. Ka (價) is the root word in indicate value or price. Hong (紅) is the root word for red, and sang (裳) is the root word for dress. Altogether this phrase translates as ’same priced red dress.’
So…what does this phrase really mean? Well, to understand it we need to know a little of Korean culture and history. In olden days, only the rich could afford to buy colorful dresses. Peasants usually wore white garments. When you connect this to the Korean proverb dong-ka-hong-sang (同價紅裳), it means that when there are two dresses that are priced the same, it’s going to be a given that one will choose the red dress.
In sum, this proverb is noting the human tendency to pick the better of two choices; provided that they are under the same conditions. The next time someone offers you a choice between two goods of relatively equal quality or price and one of the choices is better than the other, just say dong-ka-hong-sang (同價紅裳). You might get a confused look, but at least you’ll know what it means!
In honor of Thanksgiving Day, today’s post will focus on how to say ‘thank you’ in Korean. In addition to that we’ll go over some related phrases that may serve useful on this special day.
The first word everyone should know is kam-sa-hap-ni-da (감사합니다). Kam-sa-hap-ni-da (감사합니다) means ‘thank you’ in Korean. It’s also a formal way to say ‘thank you’. If you’re dining with people you know very well you would probably use the word ko-map-sup-ni-da (고맙습니다) instead. Ko-map-sup-ni-da (고맙습니다) is a less formal way to say thank you in Korean.
The word for ‘thank you’ is a general phrase that can be used in any situation. However if you want to convey your appreciation in a specific way, especially in regards to a delicious meal; I would use the phrase: ma-shi-ke mo-gos-sum-ni-da (맛있게 먹었습니다). Ma-shi-ke mo-gos-sum-ni-da (맛있게 먹었습니다) means ‘I ate well.’
If someone urges you to try for seconds and you’re full, you can politely decline with the phrase, aniyo be-bul-up-ni-da (아니요, 배가 부릅니다). This phrase literally means ‘no, my stomach is full.” You can also respond with ‘aniyo kwen-chan-sup-ni-da’ (아니요, 괜찮습니다). This means ‘no, it’s alright’ as in when you want to say ‘no, I’m fine I don’t want another helping.’
If you want to excuse yourself from the table you can use the phrase, shil-le-hap-ni-da (실례합니다). Shil-le-hap-ni-da (실례합니다) means ‘excuse me’ or ‘pardon me.’ Of course you could just apologize and say I’m sorry with je-song-hap-ni-da (죄송합니다). Je-song-hap-ni-da (죄송합니다) is a formal way to say I’m sorry. You can also say I’m sorry with mi-an-hap-ni-da (미안합니다). Mi-an-hap-ni-da (미안합니다) is still polite but less formal. However, if you use any of the apologies you would have to give a reason as to why you’re apologizing. It’s a little awkward if you just started to apologize and left the table immediately after that. If your Korean is not that great, just use the phrase for ‘excuse me. It’s understood that you need to leave the table without having to explain why.
Ok everyone, that’s it for today. Happy Thanksgiving!
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