{"id":11911,"date":"2024-05-07T21:48:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T20:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelearningadventure.com\/?p=11911"},"modified":"2025-05-02T15:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T14:53:10","slug":"how-to-prepare-for-a-school-trip-to-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-learning-adventure.10web.cloud\/en-us\/blog\/south-korea\/how-to-prepare-for-a-school-trip-to-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare for a School Trip to Korea: Korean Basic Phrases, Customs & Schooling\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are preparing for a school trip or educational tour to Korea, it can feel a little overwhelming \u2013 after all, you\u2019ll have a different culture, cuisine, language and educational system to navigate, and you may not know where to start. But there\u2019s no need to be worried! Within this post, I\u2019ll highlight some basic information that you should know, and teach you how to prepare for a school trip to Korea! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Basic Korean words & phrases for travel<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Especially in large cities, many Korean people that you are likely to encounter \u2013 such as fellow teachers, tour guides, activity directors or health professionals \u2013 will speak some English. There is also a translation app named Papago<\/a> which can help you easily communicate, and I highly recommend downloading it for your trip (it\u2019s much more accurate at translating Korean than Google Translate).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is always good to know some basic Korean phrases for travel to help you get by, and it will be greatly appreciated by locals if you\u2019re able to communicate with them in their native language. Below are a few words and phrases you will probably want to know during your trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\uc548\ub155\ud558\uc138\uc694 (ahn-yeong-ha-se-yo)<\/em> <\/strong><\/td>A polite and basic way to say \u2018hello\u2019. <\/td><\/tr>
\uc548\ub155\ud788 \uac00\uc138\uc694 (ahn-yeong-hi ka-se-yo)<\/em> \/ \uc548\ub155\ud788 \uacc4\uc138\uc694 (ahn-yeong-hi gye-se-yo)<\/em> <\/strong><\/td>Both mean \u2018goodbye\u2019 but in a different context. The \u2018ka\u2019 in ahnyeonghi kaseyo<\/em> means \u2018go\u2019 and the \u2018gye\u2019 in ahnyeonghi gyeseyo<\/em> means \u2018stay\u2019. So, when somebody leaves you, you can tell them \u2018ahnyeonghi kaseyo<\/em>\u2019, which basically translates to \u2018go well\u2019, while if you\u2019re the person leaving you can say \u2018ahnyeonghi gyeseyo<\/em>\u2019, meaning \u2018stay well\u2019.  <\/td><\/tr>
\ub9cc\ub098\uc11c \ubc18\uac11\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4 (mahn-na-seo ban-kab-sum-ni-da)<\/em> <\/strong><\/td>\u2018Nice to meet you.\u2019 While \u2018hello\u2019 will go a long way, if you greet somebody for the first time this way, they will be very impressed! This is a great phrase to make a good impression on somebody of an important rank such as a school principal, but it can be used for anybody you\u2019re meeting for the first time. <\/td><\/tr>
XXXX \uc8fc\uc138\uc694 (OOO ju-se-yo<\/em>)<\/strong> <\/td>\u2018Please give me XXXX\u2019. This is a polite way to ask for something and is often used for ordering food. You can say \u2018keo-pi juseyo<\/em>\u2019 to order coffee, or \u2018ticket juseyo<\/em>\u2019 for admission to an attraction. If you don\u2019t know how to say the name of what you want, you can point to it and say \u2018i-geo juseyo<\/em>\u2019, meaning \u2018Give me this please\u2019. <\/td><\/tr>
\uc800\uae30\uc694 (jeo-gi-yo<\/em>) <\/strong><\/td>\u2018Excuse me!\u2019 This is only used for calling for somebody\u2019s attention, such as a waiter in a restaurant or calling after somebody in the street to ask for directions. <\/td><\/tr>
\ud654\uc7a5\uc2e4 \uc5b4\ub514\uc608\uc694? (hwa-jang-shil o-di-ye-yo<\/em>?) <\/strong><\/td>\u2018Where is the bathroom?\u2019 \u2018Hwajangshil\u2019 <\/em>means bathroom, so even just saying this word, somebody will know what you are looking for. This is also a great word to memorise in hangul<\/em>, so that you can recognise the word on signs while out and about. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<\/span>Basics of the Korean alphabet<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Korean language consists of 24 letters \u2013 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The symbols of the alphabet (known as hangul<\/em>) are simple and easy to recognise, and can be learnt quite quickly. Each \u2018block\u2019 of hangul <\/em>can consist of three to four letters and are read from left to right, top to bottom. For example, the word bread<\/strong> is \ube75<\/strong> (bbang) <\/strong>which would be read as \u3143<\/strong> (bb)<\/strong>, \u314f<\/strong>(ah)<\/strong>, and \u3147<\/strong>(ng)<\/strong>. There are many great apps and websites that can help you learn the basics of the Korean alphabet in as little as a day \u2013 I recommend Duolingo or TTMIK (Talk to Me in Korean<\/a>) as fantastic resources for learning basic Korean, including hangul<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning the basics will make your school trip or educational tour to Korea run much more smoothly \u2013 Korean uses a lot of loan words from English, so you\u2019ll be surprised at how much you can already read and understand just by learning the alphabet! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Basic Korean numbers & counting<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Korean uses two number systems, which might seem very daunting to people experiencing the language for the first time. However, as a beginner, there\u2019s no need to worry about which system to use in each context. Choose whichever you find easiest \u2013 even if you use the wrong word, Korean people will understand what you are trying to say and will appreciate the effort. However, if you want a more in-depth look into using Korean numbers, I would again recommend Duolingo or TTMIK.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, there are Sino-Korean numbers, which are used the most often \u2013 these were developed a long time ago from the Chinese number system. These numbers are used for general counting, counting money, counting days and months of the year, and many other situations. The most important basic Korean numbers to know are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n