麻豆社

Korean is the official language of both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), which have a total combined population of around 73 million (50 million in the South and 23 million in the North). Korean is also spoken in large ethnic Korean communities in China, Japan, the USA and Central Asia

Probably not a lot! The Oxford English Dictionary lists a handful of words that have come into English from Korean, but you鈥檇 be forgiven for not knowing more than one or two. Test yourself on the following:
听韮滉秾霃� [taekwondo], a Korean martial art
听頃滉竴 [hangul], name of the Korean writing system
听鞓弻 [ondol], Korean-style under-floor heating
听旯�旃� [kimchi], spicy fermented Korean leaf, Korean national dish

Korean contains a high concentration of words borrowed from English including basic vocabulary such as:
听韱犽韱�, [tomato], 氚旊倶雮�, [banana], 頂检晞雲� [piano], 旎错摠韯� [computer],頂勲Π韯� [printer],鞙犽ǜ [humour], etc.
However, English words (or English-like) words in Korean should be approached with caution since the meaning may be altogether different from English:
听旎嫕 [cunning], cheating on an exam
听氙疙寘 [meeting], a group blind date (somewhat similar to 鈥渟peed dating鈥�)
听鞓る皵鞚错姼 [over-eat], (pronounced obait菙), vomiting
听頌� [hip], your bottom
听氚旊皵毽� 毵� [burberry man], flasher (ie a man wearing a Burberry rain coat)

Korean also has a few words that are identical (or near at least similar) to English by pure chance. Such chance similarities lead early Christian missionaries visiting the Korean peninsula to conclude that the language must be related to English!
听霕� [ttong], excrement (similar to English 鈥榙ung鈥�)
听毵庫澊 [mani], lots (similar to English 鈥榤any鈥�)

Korean is generally considered to be one of the most difficult major languages for English speakers to become fluent in. The reasons for this include the different word order (in Korean sentences, the verb always comes last), the elaborate honorifics system, i.e. the use of different verb endings and vocabulary depending on your relationship with the person you are talking to and a mind-blowing array of case particles and verb endings

However, the good news is that picking up the basics is relatively easy, particularly in comparison with other Asian languages. Unlike Japanese or Chinese, the Korean writing system is alphabetic and can be learned relatively quickly. In addition, unlike Chinese or Vietnamese, Korean has no tones and few pronunciations that cause major problems for English speakers. Korean also does not have any of the gender, number agreements or articles that plague learners of European languages such as French

Get your mouth around the following tongue twister, remembering that in Korean soy sauce is kanjang, soybean paste is toenjang and factory is kongjang!
听臧勳灔 瓿奠灔 瓿奠灔鞛レ潃 鞛� 瓿奠灔鞛レ澊瓿� 霅滌灔 瓿奠灔 瓿奠灔鞛レ潃 臧� 瓿奠灔鞛レ澊雼�
[Kanjang kongjang kongjang-jang-菙n jang kongjang-jang-igo toenjang kongjang kongjang-jang-菙n kang kongjang-jang-ida]
The factory manager of the soy sauce factory is factory manager Chang and the factory manager of the soybean paste factory is factory-manager Kang

听霌滊澕韥橂澕臧� 鞎勳龚鞐� 毵堨嫓電� 瓴冹潃? 旖旐敿
[T怒rak鈥檡ulla-ga ach鈥檌me mashin怒n g菕s怒n? k鈥檕p鈥檌]
What does Dracula drink in the morning?
K鈥檕-p鈥檌 (nose-blood)
听旖旐敿 [k鈥檕-p鈥檌] sounds similar to the Korean pronunciation of
听旎ろ敿 [k鈥櫱抪鈥檌], coffee. As Korean has no f sound, f is usually rendered as p

Korean is considered by some linguists to belong to the Altaic language family. This would mean that Korean is related to Turkish, Mongolian and Manchu in Northeast China. However, in terms of grammar, Korean is closest to Japanese, although the genetic link between the two languages is unclear. In terms of vocabulary, Korean also shares a lot of words of Chinese origin. Korean will certainly help you learn Japanese and may give you a head start with Chinese vocab

Try to avoid words for you and sometimes for my as well.
Korean has at least five words that correspond to the English you. However, all of them have very restricted usages.
The word 听雼轨嫚 [tangshin], for example, which is sometimes perceived as being the closest word to you is typically only used between middle-aged married couples. Rather than using a word for you, use the person鈥檚 name, or even better, their title

Korean sometimes prefers the word our to the word my. To Koreans, saying my country, my house, my mother and my husband/wife can sound too self-centred. Instead, it sounds better to say our country, our house, our mother and, more bizarrely, our husband/wife

听欤疥碃鞛� 頃橂┐ 靷搓碃, 靷搓碃鞛� 頃橂┐ 欤诫姅雼�
[Chuk-koja ha-my菕n salgo, sal-goja ha-my菕n chuk-n菙nda]
The soldier who fights to death never dies, but the soldier who fights for existence never truly exists
Admiral Yi Sun-shin (1545- 1598)

听甏�鞖╈潃 氙鸽崟鞚措嫟. 甑办瀽鞐� 頃勳殧 攵堦皜瓴绊暅 氙鸽崟鞚措嫟
[Kwanyong-菙n mid菕k-ida. Kunja-e p鈥檌lyo pulgagy菕lhan mid菕k-ida]
Tolerance is a virtue. For noble men, it is an essential and indispensible virtue
Yi Kwang-Su (Writer, 1892-1950).

Until the invention of the Korean script Hangul in the 15th century, all Korean literary works were written in classical Chinese. The first literary text to be written in the new script was entitled
听鞖╇箘鞏挫矞臧� [Yongbi菕ch菕nga], Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. The songs were composed by a team of Confucian literati

Make sure to bow to elders and new acquaintances. Shaking hands is common between men 鈥� expect a long, lingering, limp handshake. Hugging and kissing are generally out of the question!

Korean has a complex 鈥渉辞苍辞谤颈蹿颈肠蝉鈥� system 鈥� different verb endings and even vocabulary depending on your relationship with the person you are talking to (particularly your relative ages).
So, although you may ask your best friend:
听氚� 毹轨棃鞏�? [pap m菕g菕ss菕?], have you eaten your meal?,
to your boss you will have to say:
听歆勳 鞛§垬靺柎鞖�? [cinci capswushy菕ss菕yo?], which has exactly the same meaning

In North Korea, the highest honorific forms are reserved especially for the 鈥淕reat Leader鈥� Kim Jong-il. Indeed, he has his own verb ending, 听鞓� [-op-], which can only be used for addressing him. Also, when talking in the presence of the North Korean leader, it is important that you use honorific forms only for addressing or referring to Kim 鈥� if you address or refer to anyone else, drop the honorifics!