Archive for March, 2010
Korean Tea Ceremony Posted by Ginny on Mar 31, 2010
The Korean tea ceremony is called 다례. The purpose of the ceremony is to create a relaxing atmosphere for conversing and enjoying tea. A normal tea ceremony includes a host and guests. The host heats the tea, and while the tea is heating, small talk is made. The Korean tea ceremony has been greatly influenced…
The Imperative Posted by Ginny on Mar 28, 2010
To form the polite imperative, just use the honorific polite form of the verb. 도우세요! = Please help! (돕다 = to help) To give the impression of urgency, place 어서 in front of the verb. 어서 가세요! = Please leave! (어서 = gives sense of urgency. 가다 = to go) Other adverbs can be placed…
Korean Numbers 1-100 Posted by Ginny on Mar 25, 2010
I know we’ve already gone over the numbers, but I made this chart of Korean numbers 1 – 100 so that you could compare the native Korean numbers along with the Sino Korean numbers. Just for good measure, I threw in zero as well. 🙂 If you’re new to learning Korean, check out our other…
Shopping Areas in Seoul Posted by Ginny on Mar 22, 2010
A lot of people know about areas like 남대문, 인사동, and 용산 (https://blogs.transparent.com/korean?s=nigh+market) within the Seoul area, but did you know that there are lots of other shopping venues within Seoul? For example, 명동 is a shopping district that is famous for its expensive retail shops. The Lotte Department Store (롯데백화점) is one of the…
Informal Korean Posted by Ginny on Mar 19, 2010
So far, we’ve explored ways to express ideas in formal Korean. Today we’ll learn a little about informal Korean. Just as a reminder, informal Korean should not be used with an elder or superior. In written communication, informal Korean is mostly used with friends through chatting and email, but remember no informal Korean with bosses…
Sentences Using “But/However” Posted by Ginny on Mar 16, 2010
There are several ways to say “but” and “however” in Korean. One way is to use 그렇지만 : 호동은 한국인입니다. 그렇지만 한국어를 못 합니다. Hodong is a Korean person. However/but he can’t speak Korean. 호동 = Hodong. 은 = topic marking particle. 한국 = Korea. 인 = person. 입니다 = is. 그렇지만 = but/however. 한국…
Traditional Korean Weddings Posted by Ginny on Mar 13, 2010
Not all Korean families choose to have a traditional wedding ceremony. However the families that do decide to have a traditional wedding ceremony have a special service called 폐백. The groom (신랑) and the bride (신부) perform a deep bow to the groom’s family. There will be some kind of rice wine, normally a variety…