➹ what are Koreans asking me?

There are some Korean elders who seem to have this fondness and amusing interest on foreigners. Foreigners who speak the slightest Korean are even more interesting so it seems. They would approach us tourists and start small chats regardless of how much we struggle with our sparse broken Korean. It's as challenging and confusing as it is absolutely endearing! And that's why it makes for a thoroughly memorable travel experience. We would usually leave bowing respectfully, immensely amused, and all too regretful that we cannot fully understand and answer their questions.

I asked a Korean friend about it and she speculated that here are the questions we probably often get:
1. Where are you from? (어느 나라에서 오셨습니까?)
2. Can you speak Korean? (한국어를 할 줄 아십니까?)
3. Have you ever been to Korea before? (전에 한국에 와본적이 있습니까?)
4. With whom do you visit Korea? (누구와 함께 한국에 방문하셨습니까?)
5. Where do you stay? (어디서 머무르십니까?)



And then here are the questions I ASSUME they are asking just because of some keywords I recognize. I can't quite make out the full sentences but they should more or less be asking these:
1. How do you like Korea?
2. How did you learn Korean?
3. Are you students?
4. What places are you visiting?

It should be easy enough to answer these questions. The only thing to watch out for is accidental or careless usage of Banmal. I made it a point to remember Talk to Me in Korean's note that mixed usage of Cheondaemal and Banmal is such a major no-no. From someone whose basic Hangul lessons came from Korean dramas and Kpop songs, this is severely challenging. Coming from a culture which makes no special distinction between formal and informal speech and amongst persons of different ages makes that even more complicated. This means making an effort to consistently say 죄송합니다 instead of 미안해, 감사합니다 instead of 고마워 ~ even if the latter option has been better imbibed from watching kdramas.

It's fun to speak with locals especially since they make it a point to show how much they appreciate your Hangul efforts. Even if you make mistakes, it's all cool as long as you show how sincere your attempts are. Anticipating what the usual questions would be might work for folks who want to build their confidence on this. Planning and preparation will certainly pay off. But even if we get lost in translation in the middle of things, I'm pretty sure a polite smile can resolve a lot of tension. Remember~ 미소는 만국 공통어입니다. Everyone smiles in the same language ^^.



* full credits on the images go to www.kumhongfancy.co.kr *