Fifty Shades of Korean ‘Honey!’
그대: My Love. This is an elegant term used only in poems, songs, and other literature. That’s why you hear a lot of it in…
The Truth Untold - 전하지 못한 진심
When you would like to informally tell your friends about what you realized from your own experience, you can use -더라 ending: 스페인 사람들은 하몬을…
Where, in What Form, Shall We Meet Again? - 어디서 무엇이 되어 다시 만나랴
남자 친구 (The Boyfriend a.k.a. Encounter, 2018) is one of the most artistic K-dramas ever made. If you understand Korean, you can find many, many…
I Will Write Our Story Here -기를/-길 (Expression of a Wish)
시카고 타자기 (Chicago Typewriter, 2017) is one of those hidden masterpieces, oddly underrated for no obvious reason. With its backdrop switching between the glamorous present…
No Matter How Much - 아무리 …도
아무리 is a typical way to express frustration, or a concessive logic. It means “No matter how much … verb.” When you say 아무리, your…
¿Qué es la poesía?
The above mural that I encountered in Córdoba made me think for days. How do I answer this question: “What is poetry?” This nagging question…
It's Fortunate - 다행이다
Koreans say “다행이다” when things turn out to be better than expected in tough situations or in unfortunate accidents. It is conceptually equivalent to “It’s…
Conjugation: 오다
오-지마세요: Don’t come. (Command – Negative, polite) 오-셨어요: Came (Past tense – Positive, polite); “참 잘 오셨어요 = Informal/friendly way to say “Welcome!” (instead of…
How to Ask Out Someone, Korean Way
Do you want to ask someone out on a date, speaking in Korean? Your success would depend on many factors, of course. From a linguistic…
Metaphor - Korean Style
Conversations between two Koreans can become metaphorical, more often than in the West. Some Koreans just enjoy saying things indirectly, to the extent that they…
