Are you worried about making a fool of yourself in front of a Korean family?\u00a0 Have you\u00a0been invited\u00a0to eat a meal in a Korean household?\u00a0 If so, I have some tips to help you so that your visit goes smoothly.<\/p>\n
Before you arrive at the house make sure you have a small gift ready.\u00a0 The gift could be a bottle of wine or a box of oranges.\u00a0 Whatever it is, don’t arrive empty handed.\u00a0 Since you’re going to be treated to a meal, be considerate and show your appreciation by bringing a small gift.\u00a0 Also, before you enter the house the host will say “du-ro\u00a0 o-se-yo” (\ub4e4\uc5b4 \uc624\uc138\uc694<\/strong>) which means ‘come in.’\u00a0 When you hear that, that is your cue to say an-nyung-ha-se-yo (\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694<\/strong>) or hello.\u00a0<\/p>\n At this time you can also hand over your gift and say “byul kot ani-ji-man ba-du-se-yo” (\ubcc4 \uac83 \uc544\ub2c8\uc9c0\ub9cc \ubc1b\uc73c\uc138\uc694<\/strong>).\u00a0 This phrase translates as ‘this isn’t anything or this isn’t much, but please accept it anyway.’\u00a0 Then the host will probably say something to the effect of “sa-o-ji \u00a0a-na-do-de-nun-de” (\uc0ac\uc624\uc9c0 \uc54a\uc544\ub3c4 \ub418\ub294\ub370<\/strong>)\u00a0 this phrase translates as ‘you didn’t have to buy anything.’\u00a0 This is an important social interation that Koreans perform daily.\u00a0 By claiming that you didn’t bring anything worthy, you are being humble.\u00a0 In return, by claiming that you didn’t have to buy anything the host is being polite.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you’ve been invited to a traditional Korean family, the eldest person is the fist person to pick up their chopsticks and eat.\u00a0 Only after the eldest person has picked up their spoon or chopstick are you allowed to eat.\u00a0 If you’re not eating with a traditonal Korean family you may hear the phrase “mani du-se-yo” (\ub9ce\uc774\u00a0\ub4dc\uc138\uc694<\/strong>).\u00a0 This means ‘eat to your fill.’\u00a0 When you hear this, this is your cue to start eating.\u00a0\u00a0Although the host requests you to eat to your fill, be polite and make sure that you eat\u00a0so that other people can have their share of the food.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is also typical to hear a host say, “mani charin kot ob-ji-man mani du-se-yo” (\ub9ce\uc774\u00a0\ucc28\ub9b0 \uac83 \uc5c6\uc9c0\ub9cc\u00a0\ub9ce\uc774\u00a0\ub4dc\uc138\uc694<\/strong>).\u00a0 This phrase means ‘I haven’t prepared much but please eat to your fill anyway.’\u00a0 This phrase can seem particularly ironic, especially when there is so much food prepared.\u00a0 In this case the host is showing humility by understating the situation.\u00a0 If it does happen to be true that there isn’t much food prepared, don’t reply by agreeing or confirming the host’s comment.\u00a0 Rather deny or disagree with the host, even when it’s obvious that that’s not the case.<\/p>\n One thing about Korean communication that you should understand is that you shouldn’t always understand a phrase literally.\u00a0 Korean people tend to state things so as to sound humble and polite.\u00a0 Don’t abuse this politeness and be considerate.\u00a0 The host’s politeness is not a license for you to do whatever you wish.\u00a0 Remember that you should return the host’s politeness by being humble and polite as well. Ok everyone.\u00a0 That’s it for today.\u00a0 I know this post wasn’t really helpful but I hope you still learned a lot anyway.\u00a0 (Did everyone notice my humble comment there? Lol.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you worried about making a fool of yourself in front of a Korean family?\u00a0 Have you\u00a0been invited\u00a0to eat a meal in a Korean household?\u00a0 If so, I have some tips to help you so that your visit goes smoothly. Before you arrive at the house make sure you have a small gift ready.\u00a0 The…<\/p>\n