Essential Korean Phrases for Travelers

You can have a good trip in Korea with almost no Korean — signage and transit are bilingual, and translation apps do the heavy lifting. But a dozen phrases, said at the right moment, change how the trip feels: staff warm up, small problems get solved faster, and you stop feeling like you’re miming everything.

This is the working set. Romanization here follows the standard system; the vowels that trip people up are 어 ≈ “uh”, 으 ≈ the e in “the”, and 에/애 ≈ “eh”. Learning to read Hangul itself is the natural next step and takes about an hour — but you don’t need it for any of this.

First, the one rule: keep it polite

Korean changes shape depending on who you’re talking to. As a traveler you only need the polite everyday level — the one that ends in -요 or -세요. It’s respectful without being stiff, it works with everyone from a taxi driver to a hotel clerk, and nobody will ever be annoyed that you used it.

The other half of “polite” is a single, endlessly useful word: 주세요 (ju-se-yo), “please give me.” Bolt it onto almost any noun and you have a complete, courteous request.

The five that do the most work

If you learn only five, learn these.

Eating out

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
여기요 / 저기요	yeo-gi-yo / jeo-gi-yo	Excuse me (to call staff over)
메뉴판 주세요	me-nyu-pan ju-se-yo	Menu, please
이거 뭐예요?	i-geo mwo-ye-yo	What is this?
안 매운 거 있어요?	an mae-un geo i-sseo-yo	Is there something not spicy?
물 좀 주세요	mul jom ju-se-yo	Some water, please
포장이요 / 포장해 주세요	po-jang-i-yo / po-jang-hae ju-se-yo	To go / takeout, please
계산할게요 / 계산이요	gye-san-hal-ge-yo / gye-san-i-yo	I’ll pay now / the check
맛있어요!	ma-si-sseo-yo	It’s delicious!
화장실 어디예요?	hwa-jang-sil eo-di-ye-yo	Where’s the bathroom?

At the table there are also two set phrases worth saying — 잘 먹겠습니다 before you eat and 잘 먹었습니다 after. More on that in Korean table manners.

Shopping and paying

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
이거 있어요?	i-geo i-sseo-yo	Do you have this?
얼마예요?	eol-ma-ye-yo	How much is it?
카드 돼요?	ka-deu dwae-yo	Do you take card?
봉투 주세요	bong-tu ju-se-yo	A bag, please
봉투 필요 없어요	bong-tu pi-ryo eop-seo-yo	I don’t need a bag
그냥 볼게요	geu-nyang bol-ge-yo	I’m just looking
좀 깎아 주세요	jom kka-kka ju-se-yo	A little off the price, please (traditional markets only)

Getting around

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
~ 어디예요?	~ eo-di-ye-yo	Where is ~? (역 어디예요? = where’s the station?)
여기 세워 주세요	yeo-gi se-wo ju-se-yo	Stop here, please (in a taxi)
~(으)로 가 주세요	~ (eu-)ro ga ju-se-yo	Please take me to ~
지하철역이 어디예요?	ji-ha-cheol-yeo-gi eo-di-ye-yo	Where’s the subway station?
이 버스 ~ 가요?	i beo-seu ~ ga-yo	Does this bus go to ~?
왼쪽 / 오른쪽 / 직진	oen-jjok / o-reun-jjok / jik-jin	Left / right / straight ahead

For a taxi, showing the destination on your phone in Korean is more reliable than saying it — pair it with 가 주세요.

When something goes wrong

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
한국어 잘 못해요	han-gu-geo jal mot-hae-yo	I don’t speak Korean well
영어 하세요?	yeong-eo ha-se-yo	Do you speak English?
천천히 말해 주세요	cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo	Please speak slowly
다시 한번 말해 주세요	da-si han-beon mal-hae ju-se-yo	Please say that once more
이해 못했어요	i-hae mot-hae-sseo-yo	I didn’t understand
도와주세요	do-wa-ju-se-yo	Please help me
아파요	a-pa-yo	I’m hurt / I feel sick
지갑을 잃어버렸어요	ji-ga-beul i-reo-beo-ryeo-sseo-yo	I lost my wallet
병원 / 경찰서 어디예요?	byeong-won / gyeong-chal-seo eo-di-ye-yo	Where’s the hospital / police station?

Korea’s emergency numbers are 119 (fire, ambulance) and 112 (police); both have English support.

Small courtesies that punch above their weight

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
네 / 아니요	ne / a-ni-yo	Yes / no
잠깐만요	jam-kkan-man-yo	Just a moment
괜찮아요	gwaen-cha-na-yo	It’s fine / I’m okay / no thanks (by context)
아니에요	a-ni-e-yo	It’s nothing (a reply to “thank you”)
수고하세요	su-go-ha-se-yo	“Thanks for your work” — nice on the way out of a shop or taxi

The short version

• Stay on the -요 / -세요 level with everyone. You can’t overshoot politeness as a visitor.
• [noun] + 주세요 is a whole toolkit: 물 주세요, 계산서 주세요, 이거 주세요.
• 여기요 to call staff, 얼마예요? to ask a price, 화장실 어디예요? roughly hourly.
• If you’re stuck: 천천히 말해 주세요 or 영어 하세요?, and 도와주세요 for real trouble.

Related reading

For the casual register you’ll see in texts and comments (and should not use with a stranger), see what ㅋㅋ means in Korean. To use these at a meal without missteps, Korean table manners; to use them at a corner store, the convenience-store food guide.