Learning to Teach

Korean

A quick reference to Korean language, research and cultural practices

Prepared by
Seong-Chul Shin

Korea Research Institute

The University of New South Wales
2011

Learning to Teach Korean: A quick reference to Korean language, research and cultural practices.
Seong-Chul Shin.
Produced as part of the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) Project with
the support of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Project managed by the Korea Research Institute, University of New South Wales.
Project directed by Gi-Hyun Shin.
Project coordinated by Sungbae Ko.
Published online (http://www.ceklser.org/) by
Korea Research Institute,
The University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
Phone: +61 2 9385 4466
Email: kri@unsw.edu.au
URL: http://www.kri.unsw.edu.au/
ISBN

Korea Research Institute and Seong-Chul Shin, 2011 (except where otherwise indicated). You may use,
copy and communicate this material for non-commercial educational purposes* provided you retain all
acknowledgements associated with the material.
*For the avoidance of doubt, such non-commercial educational purposes include the training of school and
university staff.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Chapter 1: Features and Structures of the Korean Language

1.

Brief Features of Korean

1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8

2.

Korean word structure

2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14

3.

Genetic affiliation and historical development

Dialectical variations
Writing systems
The sound system
Korean vocabulary
Agglutinative morphology
SOV syntax
Honorifics

3
3
3
3
4
5
5
6
6
7

Word classification
Nouns
Pronouns
Numerals
Verbs
Adjectives
Determiners
Adverbs
Particles
Derivational morphology
Inflectional morphology
Compounding
Abbreviation
Grammaticalization

7
7
10
11
12
12
13
14
16
17
26
31
43
44

Grammatical Structure of Korean

45

3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7

Sentence types
Embedded clauses
Case marking
Delimiter constructions
Numeral constructions
Modality and tense aspect
Passive and causative constructions

45
52
59
65
67
69
73

3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11

Complex predicate constructions

Negation
Adverbial constructions
Honorifics and politeness strategies

Chapter 2: Research on Korean Language Learning and Teaching

1. Misspellings in Korean: Types and Patterns
2. Types of Lexical Errors
3. Particle Substitution Errors: Nominative-by-Accusative
4. Locative Substitution Errors
5. Semantic Similarity and Lexical Errors
6. Perceptions on Acceptability of Lexical Items
7. Perceptions on Teachers Instructional Language
8. Motivation and Learning Style Preferences
9. Language Use and Maintenance
10. Other Research

Chapter 3: Teaching Korean Culture

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Insa (greeting) the Korean Way

Family Tree and Family Motto
Hanbok and Jeol
Korean Food
Other Cultural Activities

Appendices
Appendix 1: The Korean Sound Systems
Appendix 2: Korean Orthography
Appendix 3: Korean Vocabulary
Appendix 4: Loan Words
Appendix 5: Background the Land and the People
Appendix 6: Cultural Symbols of Korea
References and Further Readings

78
81
83
85

88
88
91
93
97
101
105
108
111
114
120

122
122
126
129
132
135

138
138
144
146
150
154
169
175

Acknowledgements

This reference book has been prepared as part of the NALSSP project led by the
University of New South Wales and managed by the Universitys Korea Research
Institute (formally The Korea-Australasia Research Centre) and funded by the DEEWR
under the NALSSPs Stategic Collaboration and Partnership Fund (Round One) for the
project entitled Towards the Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Korean
Language and Studies Education and Research. I would like to thank the staff and the
Project team of the Korea Research Institute for their support, and in particular Dr GiHyun Shin, the NALSSP Project Director, who kindly offered me the opportunity to
prepare these teacher support and training materials. Also, I wish to thank Yoona Kim for
her enthusiastic assistance and Brad Wilke for his invaluable last minute help in
proofreading the draft version.

1
Introduction

This reference book aims to help Korean language teachers in Australian and other
similar school systems gain a better understanding of the linguistic and cultural features
that are related to the teaching and learning of Korean as a second language. It presents
linguistic features and structures of Korean, some research findings in Korean L2
learning and cultural topics integrating linguistic and cultural activities. It also includes a
range of updated or addtional information about the Korean language, Korea and Korean
people in the appendices. The descriptions given in the book are in English, with specific
examples and terms given in Korean or both languages.
It has been argued that there is lack of teacher support and training materials in
Korean and yet there are a number of existing and newly-developed materials which may
be utilised but still need to be examined in terms of their reliability, relevance, suitability,
adaptability and perspectives. This work was commenced in the belief that the materials
should be easily accessible, prepared economically, integrative in the content and glocalised in the perspective and adoptable for teacher support and training. A range of
existing and latest materials have been investigated and examined to determine the
suitability of utilising them for this reference book, and parts of the descriptions are based
on selected reference books, research articles and various print or online materials.
This book consists of four parts: Chapter 1: Features and Structures of the Korean
Language; Chapter 2: Research on Korean Language Learning and Teaching; Chapter 3:
Teaching Korean Culture; and Appendices, which provide additional resources on
Korean language, and socio-cultural facts and information.
Chapter 1 presents basic features, word structures and grammatical structures of
Korean with examples in a summarised format. It is designed to be utilised by teachers as
as a quick reference to prepare lessons and as a resource to deepen their understanding
and knowledge of Korean linguistic structures. Some of the discriptions as well as the
linguistic terms, classifications and examples in this chapter are based mainly on The
Korean Language by Ho-Min Sohn (1999).
Chapter 2 presents research findings of some studies that deal with issues relating to
Korean L2 learning and teaching, along with pedagogical implications and suggestions. It
is intended to assist teachers to understand the linguistic items and methodogical issues
that facilitate or hinder students learning of Korean and that may need to take into
account in their teaching. The research topics include types of misspellings, types of
lexical errors, particle substitution errors, classroom instructional language, motivation
and learning styles, and language use and maintenance. The findings of these research
topics were extracted or summarised from my journal articles.
Chapter 3 presents cultural topics such as insa (greeting), family, hanbok, food and
folk games, integrating cultural activities and accompanying linguistic elements. This
chapter is to help teachers integrate cultural aspects into the process of language teaching
by explaining cultural elements and/or conducting cultural activities. Some examples
might need a little modifications depending on the nature of course and students but most
examples should be adoptable without much alterations. The descriptions of this chapter
were summarised, extracted or modified mainly from Ancillary Cultural Materials for

2
Teaching Korean as a Second Language co-authored by Hyun Chang, Seong-Chul Shin
and Sang-Oak Lee (1998).
Last but not least, the Appendices present some specific or general information on
such topics as Korean sound systems, orthography, vocabulary, Korea and its people, and
cultural symbols. This section is intended to provide additional information to
supplement the main chapters and to give teachers updated information about Korea
from broad perspectives. The factual and cultural information should be useful as a
general introduction to Korea. Where possible and necessary, teachers are encouraged to
update or add details for their own use.
This book may be regularly updated online (www.ceklser.org) and readily printable
for use in training or teaching contexts. It is hoped that this book offers a handy and
useful tool to teachers and trainee teachers of Korean for their teaching and deeper
insights into Korean language and how it works in L2 situations.

Seong-Chul Shin, PhD

School of Languages and Linguistics
University of New South Wales

3
Chapter 1: Features and Structures of the Korean Language
This chapter presents a summary of basic features, word structures and grammatical
structures of Korean along with examples. It is designed to be utilised by teachers as a
quick reference to prepare lessons and as a resource to deepen their understanding and
knowledge of Korean linguistic structures. Parts of the discriptions as well as the
linguistic terms, classifications and examples in this chapter are based mainly on Ho-Min
Sohn (1999) 1 . Some descriptions have been modified to suit the objectives of this
reference book.

1. Brief Features of Korean

This section summarises the key salient features of the Korean language.
1.1 Genetic affiliation and historical development
It has been claimed by many linguists that Korean and Japanese belong to the Altaic
language family. The two languages are grammatically quite similar to each other and are
widely regarded as each others closest sister language although they are not mutually
intelligible. The greatest milestone in the history of the Korean language is the invention
of the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) by in the fifteenth century. It made Korean
textual materials available, and as a result, the development of Korean has been captured
in a systematic manner throughout the past five hundreds years. (ibid, p. 11)
1.2 Dialectal variations
The Korean language consists of seven geographically-based dialects including the
central dialect ( and vicinity) which has been designated as the standard dialect in
South Korea. Despite geographical and socio-political dialectal differences, Korean is
relatively homogeneous, with excellent mutual intelligibility among speakers from
different areas. (ibid, p.12)
1.3 Writing systems
The Korean phonetic alphabet
(Hangeul ) was created by King Sejong
and his assistants (scholars in the Royal Academy) in 1443. Its creation was
based on an intensive analysis of the sound patterns of Korean and phonological theories
available at that time. Three basic vowel symbols depicted heaven (round dot), earth
(horizontal line) and man (vertical line) following cosmological philosophy.
symbols are combined into syllable blocks. In forming a syllable block, a consonant
symbol is placed first, then a vowel or diphthong symbol, and then a consonant symbol, if
needed, in left-to-right and top-to-bottom order. Korean texts are written either purely in
or by means of a mixed script of and Chinese characters that are used to
represent only Sino-Korean words and morphemes. (ibid, p.13)
1

Ho-Min Sohn (1999), The Korean Language. Cambridge University Press.

4
1) Simple consonant letters:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , .
2) Twin (ssang) consonant letters:
, , , , , .
3) Consonant clusters:
, , , , , , , , , , .
4) Vowels and diphthongs:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
(ibid, pp. 139-140)
5) Basic Vowels and Consonants (24 letters) = Consonants (14) + Vowels (10)
C
V

Letter
Name
Letter
Name

6) Twin consonants and diphthongs (16 letters) = Consonants (5) + Vowels (11)
C

Letter

Name
Form +
Letter

Name

Form +

+ + +

+ + ++

+ +

++ ++

+ +

7) Syllabic examples of Hangeul letters

1
2
3
4
5

Consonant-Initial

Medial vowel

Consonant-Final

Combination

()

( )

( )

1.4 The sound system

Korean has nineteen consonants, ten vowels and two semivowel phonemes. There is a
three-way contract (lax-aspirate-tense) in stop consonants, a two-way contrast (lax-tense)
in the alveo-dental fricatives, and no contrast (only aspirate) in the glottal fricative, as in
lax (plain): , , , , ; aspirate: , , , , ; and tense: , , , , .
The remaining four consonants are , , , .

Place of articulation
articulatory manner
stop
lax
aspirated
tensed
fricative aspirated
tensed
nasal
liquid
lateral
or flap

voiceless
or voiced
voiceless
voiceless
voiceless
voiceless
voiced
voiced

Consonants
Bi-labial
Alveodental

Palatal

Velar

Glottal

The Korean vowel system consists of five front vowels (three unround: , , ; two
round: , ) and five back vowels (three unround: , , ; two round: , ).

Place
lips
tongue
high
mid
low

unround

Vowels
front
round

unround

back
round

The Korean phonetic syllable structure is of the form (C) (G) V (C). Thus, for instance,
the single-syllable English word strike is borrowed in Korean as a five-syllable load word
...., with the insertion of the vowel [] to make it conform to the Korean
syllable structure. (ibid, p.14)
1.5 Korean vocabulary
Korean has borrowed a large number of Chinese words and characters. Such borrowed
Chinese words and characters have become integral parts of the Korean vocabularies. All
of these Chinese character-based words are called Sino-Korean or Chinese-character
words. The Korean vocabulary is composed of three components: native words and
affixes (approximately 35%), Sino-Korean words (approximately 60%), and loan words
(approximately 5%). (ibid., pp. 12-13)
1.6 Agglutinative morphology
Korean is called an agglutinative language, in that a long chain of particles or suffixes
with constant form and meaning may be attached to nominals (nouns, pronouns, numerals,
noun phrases, etc.) or predicate (verb or adjective) stems.

the golf (played) by females only

Example

Head noun
female

Form
Meaning/
Function

Delimiter
particle only

Genitive
particle

Noun
golf

(a respectable person) may have gone

Example
Form
Meaning/
Function

Plural
suffix

Head
VS
go

Sub.
hon.
suff.

Past
tense
suff.

Presump.
modal
suff.

Addressee
hon.
suff.

Indic.
mood
suff.

Decl.
suff.

(ibid.p. 15)

1.7 SOV syntax

Korean is an SOV language. Thus, in normal speech, the predicate (verb or adjective)
comes at the end of a sentence or a clause, but the subject and other major constituents
preceding the predicate can be scrambled rather freely for emphatic or figurative
purposes, as long as the predicate retains the final position. Also, contextually or
situationally understood elements (including subject and object) are left unexpressed
more frequently than not. (ibid., p. 15)
1.8 Honorifics
Korean is an honorific language in that sentences can hardly be uttered without the
speakers approximate knowledge of his social relationship with his addressee and
referent in terms of age category (adult, adolescent, or child), social status, kinship, in- or
out-groupness, and/or the speech act situation.
Category
Address-reference
terms
Nouns and verbs

Pronouns
Case particles
Verbal suffixes
Six speech levels

Example
[plain] vs. [hon.] professor Kim)
[plain] vs. [hon.] rice, meal
[plain] vs. [hon.] sleep
[plain] vs. [hon.] stay, exist.
[plain] vs. [humble] I
/ [neutral] vs. [hon.] (nominative)
Zero [plain] vs. () [hon.] (subject honorific)
Zero [plain] vs. () [hon.] (addressee honorific)
In declarative sentence, for example, :
deferntial level ()

7
polite level /,
blunt level /,
familiar level ,
intimate level /
plain level .
(ibid., p. 16)

2.

Word Structure of Korean

This section presents a summary of how Korean words are classified, how they are
formed and how they inflect for various functions.
2.1 Word classification
Categories
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Determiner
Adverb
Particle

Subcategories
Proper, counter, defective, verbal, adjectival, common
Main/auxiliary, transitive/intransitive
Copula, existential, sensory, descriptive
Demonstrative, qualifier, quantifier
Negative, attributive, modal, conjunctive, discoursal
Case, delimiter, conjunctive

2.2 Nouns
1) Proper nouns: names of persons, places, books, institutions, countries, continents,
and other objects of unique reference.
2) Numeral counters: a numeral + native, SK, and a few loan words, e.g.
Counters
Native

SK

Loan

Meaning
animals
houses
long slender
objects
pairs of shoes,
stockings, gloves
people
book volumes
items
buildings
flat objects, eg.
sheets of paper
dozen

Example
two dogs
ten houses
two pencils
three pairs of socks
, 6 ( ) six people
(9 ) 9 books
45 ( ) 45 items
13 ( ) Ward No 13
50 ( ) 50 sheets of
paper
10 dozens of pencils

8
gram

Note: person, bottle, case

are both common nouns and counters.

20 ( ) 20 grams
Common: .
There are many people
Counter: two persons

3) Defective nouns (bound nouns): Preceded by a demonstrative, a clause, or another

noun + a defective noun, e.g.
Defective
nouns
//

Meaning
whether, if,
assumed fact
fact, thing,
event
place
chance,
occasion
dependence,
style
necessity

toward

role, the
verge
during

place

etc

likelihood

nothing but

reason,
because of
reason,
possibility
size, extent,

Example
5 .
I do not know whether I will arrive there by 5.
.
It seems that it will rain.
?
Where [which place] shall we meet?
.
I should also have hair cut while I am going to
city.
.
Yongho has his own idea.
.
It is needless to say (more).
.
At the peep of dawn a noise was heard.
.
It is hard to play (the role) as an older brother.
.
I have been to Korea during the school holidays.
?
Where is a good place to travel?
, , .
On the weekend I read, exercised, and did some
shopping andso on..
.
It is likely or unlikely to be raining.
.
This machine is nothing but to ease ones life.
.
I was late for school because of a car accident.
.
Sumi cant forget the promise.
1 .

worth
as
much as,
much
the end
around the
time when
way,
method,
point
person
the verge,
coming near
alone, only

appearance,
impression
thinking,
plan
way, ability

person

time,
experience,
occasion
assumed
fact,
probability,
method

occasion,
time
direction
approximati
on
reason,
degree
intact, as it
is

I came back to Australia after one years absence.

.
I want to be treated/paid as I have worked.
12 .
I am going to Korea at the end of December.
.
Around sunset time, go out to the beach.
.
I have learned a lesson after reading the book.
.
This (person) is my Korean language teacher.
.
I was almost in big trouble.
.
This (person) is the only person I know of.
.
You should do what it appears to succeed.
.
I am thinking of travelling in the school holidays.
.
I can speak Korean.
.
That (person) is the very actor.
.
I have met the singer.
.
I did not know that John was Korean.
.
Yongsu can play the guitar. (lit knows how to
play)
.
The festival is held at this time of the year.
.
Please come this way.
.
Lets meet at about 5.
.
It is (too) expensive without a reason.
.
Sumi was sitting with her mouth closed.

10

.
John was pretending to study.

false show,
pretence

4) Verbal nouns: denote activity. An activity noun + a native verb such as do,
make and become, get > transitive or intransitive verbs, e.g.
Type

Native

SK

Loan

Transitive

(love-do)
loves
(countingdo) counts

Intransitive

(wrestling-do)
wrestles
(epileptic
fit-do) goes crazy

(study-do)
studies

(sightseeing-do)
sightsees
(perishingdo) perishes

(briefing-do) briefs
(taking
notes-do) takes
notes
(datingdo) dates

(workingdo) works

(work-do) (student)
works part-time

5) Adjectival nouns: indicate stativity. A stativity noun + a native adjective such as

be (in the state of) or () be (copula) > stative verbs, e.g.
Type

Native

SK

Stative

boredombe) is boring
(pity-be) is
pitiful
(warmth-be)
is warm
(fullness-be)
is full

(happinessbe) is happy
(necessitybe) is necessary
(much luckbe) is lucky
(diligencebe) is diligent

Loan
is
gentle
is
handsome
is
smart
is
technical

6) Common nouns: all the other types of nouns.

2.3 Pronouns
1) Personal, reflexive, and reciprocal pronouns
Subclass
First person
Second person

Style/Form
Plain
Humble
Plain
Familiar

Singular

Plural
()
()
()

11

(obsolete) (obsolete)

Deferential

Thing
D-
D-
Child
D-
D-
Adult-familiar D-
D-
Adult-blunt
D-
D-
Adult-polite
D-
D-
Plain
(-)
(-)
Neutral
(-)
(-)
Deferential
(-)
(-)
() each other, one another
each other, both sides
mutual(ity), reciprocal(ity)
Intimate
Blunt

Third person

Reflexive pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns

2) Interrogative-indefinite pronouns
Category
Interrogativeindefinite
Compounds

Example
who, someone, anyone, what, something,
where, somewhere, when, some time, how
much, some amount
// who, someone.

3) Demonstrative-pronouns
Category
Demonstrativepronouns

Example
after this, since that (time), like that
here, there (near you), over there.

2.4 Numerals
Points of attention
Native numerals
SK numbers
Loan words
In counting items:
a native or SK numerals + a counter

Example
, , , , . ...
1 (), 2 (), 3 () . 100 ().
rarely used for numeral over ten
or 10

12
Five native numerals, , , , , , , .
and : contracted to , , , ,
and , respectively, when followed
by a counter
In writing: Arabic numerals are
1999 , 12 , 50 .
commonly used
2.5 Verbs
1) Main and auxilary verbs
Category
Transitivity
Main verbs
Auxiliary verbs

Example
transitive
eat, know,
buy, etc.
finish up (e.g.
finish eating);
do (something) for
(someone) (e.g.
help someone), etc.

intransitive
run, play,
develop, etc.
come from (e.g.
be born);
become (e.g.
get to be untied);
appear, look (e.g.
look good), etc.

2) Verbs by syntactic behaviour

Category
locomotive
processive
inchoative
cognitive
emotive
causative
passive
common

Example
go, come
happen, enter
become, get, become
think, believe, know
like, feel sad
feed, cause to read
be eaten, be chased
sleep, play, etc.

2.6 Adjectives
Points of attention/Category
Adjective vs verb:
(i) Adj.: VS+ Zero non-past +
(ii) V: VS + or +
Copula
Existential

Example
Adj: be pretty, be good.
V: eats, sees
be, not be
exist, stay, have,

13
not exist, not stay, lack
be sad, be envious,
be hot
Descriptive
be red, be young,
be healthy.
Note: , , , , , : both verbs and adjectives.
Sensory

2.7 Determiners
Category

Example

Definite
Demonstratives this,
that
that over there
this person
that book
that car over there
Category
Qualifiers:
Pre-noun words
qualitatively
modifying the head
noun.

Category
Quantifiers:
Pre-noun words
quantitatively
modifying the head
noun

Indefinite
which, any, a certain

, which school, a certain

school
which day, one certain day
Example

new: new car

used: used clothes
current: current situation
what/some kind of: what/some kind of car
another: another book
right-hand side of: right-hand side
left-hand side of: left-hand side
all kinds of: all kinds of objects
different: different thought
what manner/sort of: what sort of event/reason
ordinary: ordinary time
what/some kind of: what kind of school
old: old story, etc.
Example
every: everyday
whole: the entire school
first: first-time meeting
beginning: early summer
each: each person
all, every: every student
how many, several: how many (units)

14
entire: the whole world
approximately: 30 approx. 30 minutes
many: many places
some ten odd: some ten people or so
All numerals that occur before a numeral counter: quantifiers.

2.8 Adverbs
1) Negative adverbs
Category
Negative adverbs

Example
() not: not going
not possibly, cannot, unable: cannot eat

2) Attributive adverbs
Category

Example

Time adverbs

still, yet
a while ago
for a while
by and by
immediately
always
already.

after a while
soon
just now
already
always
for the first time
forever.

Place adverbs

this way
that way
that way over there
towards that direction
where, somewhere
well
quickly
with all ones might
large
deeply
somehow
very
gradually
extremely
a little

near
everywhere
far way
here.

Manner adverbs

Degree adverbs

highly
surely
a lot
comfortably
fast
(not) particularly.
(not) so much
very
very
very

15
by far
the most
almost.

all the more

slightly
(not) ordinarily.

3) Modal adverbs - the speakers feeling, opinion or attitude

Category

Example

Modal adverbs

perhaps,
indeed,
please,
by any chance,
truly,
if,
of course.

although,
by all means,
in fact,
on no account,
fortunately,
in the world.

4) Conjunctive adverbs
Category

Example
that is
much more, much less
or
therefore
therefore
but
by the way

Conjunctive
adverbs

and
however
rather
moreover
rather
accordingly.

5) Discoursal adverbs
Category
Discoursal
adverbs

yes/no
response

Example
certainly (intimate)
yes (intimate)

(plain)
(intimate)
(familiar)
, (blunt)
interjection oh!
good heavens!
well
Address
hello

/ yes (polite)
() no (polite)
thats right
(polite).
(polite)
(deferential).

oh my!
damn it
oh my!.

16
2.9 Particles
1) Case particles
Function
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Goal
Locative-static
Locative-dynamic
Source
Ablative
Allative (directional)
Instrument
Capacity
Comitative
Connective
Comparative
Equative
Vocative

Particles
/,
/
of, s
, , , to
, , , to; , (tell, ask) to
, , , on, at, in
, , on, at, in
, , , from
starting from
/ towards
/() with
/ () as
/, , / with
(()) in addition to; /, , ,
/, / and; / or
than
as, like; like; as much as
/ (plain), ZERO/ (familiar/intimate), ()
(hyper-deferential)

2) Delimiters
Function
Topic-contrast
Inclusion
Limitation
Toleration
Concession
Inception
Bounds
Comprehensiveness
Addition
Exhaustion
Dissatisfaction
Alternative
Contrariness

Particles
/ as for
also, too, indeed
only, solely
/ only if it be, as only for, finally
/ even, for lack of anything better
beginning with
as far as, even, up to
each, every
even, as well
so far as, even
/ in spite of
/ rather, or something
far from, on the contrary

17
(not) except for, other than
() to (only in transitive sentences)
(e.g. Welcome, you all.)
(e.g. Of course I know.)
indeed, I confirm (sentence-final)

Exclusiveness
Goal focus
Plurality
Politeness
Confirmation

3) Conjunctive particles, e.g. () but and that(quotative).

2.10 Derivational morphology

1) Noun derivation
Below are presented frequently used prefixes and suffixes that derive a noun from
another noun and relevant examples of the derived nouns.
(1) Native Korean prefixes
Prefixes

Meaning

Example

naked, tiny, true

()-

female (animal)
true, real
big, peak
single
small, dead
extra
first

bare

raw
each, small

only
premature
pure, innocent
added

naked body; very small ant;

truly rich person
female animal; female dog;
true oil; true remark, truth
main street; sigh
widower; unmarried person
drizzle; dead leaf
superfluous flesh; snack
the eldest son; eldest
daughter-in-law
barefoot; boiled rice served without
any side dishes
raw meat; uncooked egg
each split piece of wood; odd
money, small change
only son; single path
puppy love; unripe red pepper
innocent bachelor : pure virgin
overshoes; outer door

18
(2) Sino-Korean prefixes
Prefixes
-

Meaning
entire
former
heavy
dark thick
temporary
excessive
old
light
mothers side
receiving
living
husbands family
new
multi-
great

Example
the whole world
former president/managing director
heavy industry
dark purple
temporary building
excessive spending
old age
light industry
maternal grandmother
the insured
living hell
mother-in-law
modern girl
multi-purpose
big family

(3) SK negative prefixes

Prefixes
-

Meaning
un, anti-, non-
non-, in-, un-, ir-
non-, in-, un-, ir-
no-, -less, ir-
non-, -less, no
not yet, un-, in-

Example
not open to the public
impossibility
immovable property
irresponsibility
senselessness
incompleteness

(4) Native Korean suffixes

Suffixes
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Meaning
(diminutive)
(intensifier)
practitioner
activity
person
(intensifier)
over-indulger
doer

Example
(dog-) puppy
(end-) the very end
fortune-teller
(mop-) mopping
cripple
colour
late riser
labourer

19
-
-
-
-
-
-

(vulgarizer)
all the way
group, family
thing, person
(derogatory)
mode
person, thing

adaptability
through the whole year
Mias family
(hair-) hairy person
(speech-) mode of expression
sleepyhead, (angle) corner

(5) Sino-Korean suffixes

Suffixes
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Meaning
person
chief
place
-ic
study
-ization
meeting
machine
exist, mouth
around
person
in
nature
style, method
age, generation
excess

Example
scientist
committee chair
athletics field
unscientific(ity)
linguistics
demilitarization
alumni association
airplane
fire exit
14 around the 14th
barber
in history
traditionalism
Korean style
80 1980s
30 over 30

(6) Nouns from verbs

Nominalizer suffixes

Meaning

act, thing

-(),

-er

act, thing

thing, person

Example
( eat-) animal food
( earn-) money making job
( pick up-) tweezers
( stop-) stopper
( fly-) wing
( see-) example
( subtract-) subtraction
( tear-) hare-lipped person
( cry-) cry-baby

20
-()/-

dance
( die-) corpse, death
( freeze-) ice
( tell -) name

fact, thing

(7) Nouns from adjectives

Nominalizer suffixes

Meaning

quality
(in colour terms)
quality

quality

-
-()

one, guy
fact, thing

-/-

Examples
(+) black
(+) yellow
( cold-+) coldness
( long-+) length
( big-+) stature, height
( big-) size
( strong-) strength
black guy
happiness

(8) Nouns from verbal clauses

Nominalizer suffixes

Meaning

act, thing

act, thing

Examples
( ear- hang-) earring
( sun- rise-) sunrise
( field- plough-) ploughing
( autumn- collect-)
harvest
( sun gaze-) sunflower
( hoodman catch-) tag

(9) Nouns from sound-symbolic adverbs

Sound-symbolic adv +
croaking-+
grunting-+
chirping-+
fatty-+

Example
frog
pig, greedy person
locust
fat person, etc.

21
2) Verb derivation
Below are some commonly used verbal prefixes and suffixes. Verbal prefixes modify
the meaning of the cooccuring verb roots, thus having adverbial meaning (Sohn H-M,
p 224).
(1) Common verbal prefixes
Prefixes

Meaning

Example

()-

reckelessly
randomly, hard
crookedly
outwardly
late

eat greedily
overrun
go awry
put out
ripe/grow late

twisted
aslant

scorn
go astray

insufficiently

additionally

stealthily

be half-cooked
or ripe
hang (sth) on
top
spy on

push in
mesh
stack
throw out
belatedly
fall in love
contort
stand a bit
sidewise
be half-alive
grow extra
eavesdrop

(2) Verbs from verbs

Suffixes

Example

Intensifier -
Causative and passive suffixes , -, -, -
Intensifier -
Intensifier -
Intensifier -

close
attack
show, be seen entrust
be eaten
be wound
dissuade
recite gently
repeat
smash

(3) Verbs from nouns

Suffixes
-

Meaning/function
get characterized by

Example
(shade-) get shaded
(bottom-) suffer from a
losss
(breath-) die

22
(belly-) conceive
(comb-) comb (hair
(shoes-) wear shoes
(belt-) tie a belt

Zero verbalizer

(4) Verbs from adjectives

Suffixes
Causative suffixes
-, -, -, -(), etc.

Example
heighten,
make narrow,
lower

(5) Verbs from adverbs

Suffixes

Meaning/function

get characterized by

-
-

be doing
keep doing

do repeatedly

Example
get mottled
become stained
nod, whisper
keep muttering
keep twinking
mutter repeatedly
creak repeatedly

(6) Casuative verbs from intransitive and transitive verbs (with a causative suffix, e.g.
-,-, -, -, -, -(), -, - and ).
Stem

Example (Stem + Causatuve suffix + )

-
-
-
-
-
-()

come out; eat

hold; be wide
play; cry
laugh
do
push; sleep
put on: be big

-
-
-

be late
rise
not exist

take out; feed

give as security; widen
have ~ play; cause ~ cry
make ~ laugh
cause ~ to do
postpone; make ~ sleep
make ~ put on; enlarge,
raise
delay, loosen
raise
eliminate

Suffixes

23
(7) Passive verbs from transitive verbs (with a passive suffix , -, - and ).
Suffixes
-
-
-
-

Stem
bind; pile
lift; step on
chase; tear out
push; hear

Example (Stem + Passive suffix + )

be bound; be piled
be lifted; be stepped on
be chased; be torn out
be pushed; be heard

3) Adjective derivation
Adjectives are derived mostly from other adjectives, nouns and verbs, by attaching
suffixes.
(1) Adjectives from adjectives (by suffixation)
Suffixes
-/-
-()
-/-
-
-()/
-()
-()/
-()

Meaning

Examples (Adjective + Suffix +)

give the impression / be black,

(in colour or shape)
/ be yellow
rather, sort of
be rather heavy,
be rather wide
give the feeling of be a bit satisfying (sweet-),
be heavy
rather, sort of
be rather long
be rather high
-ish, slightly
be reddish
be blackish
-ish, slightly
be rather thin
be reddish

(2) Adjectives from nouns

Suffixes

Meaning

be characterised by

be full

be characterised by

give the impression of

Examples (Noun + Suffix +)

be hilly
be fertile
be touching
be strenuous
be free
be fragrant
be humourous

24

be suggestive of,
seeming
be like, worthy of

- ()

be in the state of

be rash
be adorable
be talkative
be affectionate
be manly
be cute
be offended

(3) Adjectives from verbs

Suffixes

Meaning

Examples (Noun + Suffix +)

-//

able, in the state of

in the state of

be missing (-)
be surprising (-)
be funny (-)
be sick (-)
be trustworthy (-)
be tired (-)

(4) Adjectives from adjectives (by prefixation)

Prefixes
-

Meaning

obligquely,
about
early, all

/-

deep, vivid

very
peevishly

Examples (Prefix + Adjective +)

be similar,
be rather tasty
be substantial, sturdy,
be upright
be deep black,
be vivid yellow
be very high, be very strong
be mean and nasty, be perverse

4) Adverb derivation
Adverbs are derieved mostly from other adverbs, nouns, verbs, adjectives or
determiners by means of suffixies.
(1) Adverbs from adverbs
Suffixes
Adverbializer -/
Intensifier -

Examples (Adverb + Suffix)

earlier; fully
straightaway

25
to be good
at last

Intensifier (after the adverbializer )

- finally
(2) Adverbs from nouns
Suffixes
Adverbializer -/
(after a monosyllabic adjectival
noun root)
Adverbializer
(after a reduplicated noun)
- to the utmost
- all the way

Examples (noun + Suffix)

totally, utterly (SK - totality)
by chance (SK - luck)
day by day ( days)
one by one (- unit)
with all ones might
withall devotion
all summer
finally

(3) Adverbs from native or SK adjectival nouns

Suffixes
Adverbializer -/-

Example (Adjectival noun + Suffix)

surely
quickly
cleanly

(4) Adverbs from adjectives

Suffixes
Adverbializer -/-

Adverbializer -

Example (Adjectival noun + Suffix)

like, together (- same)
newly
far away
with fun
white
hurriedly

(5) Adverbs from determiners

Suffixes

Meaning/Function

direction

only

extent

Examples (Adjectival noun + Suffix)

this way
that way over there
to that extent only, that much
to this extent only, this much
to this extent

26
to that extent
5) Determiner variation
With the relativizer suffix / some verbs and adjectives are fossilized into
determiners.
Verbs/Adjectives

Meaning
be correct
outside-be-
be well furnished,
have all sorts
gather
what-be-
why-be-

Example (Verb or Adjective + Suffix)

right-hand side
left (<++ )
all kinds of
all
what kind of (<+)
what kind of (<++)

2.11 Inflectional morphology

1) Morphlogical structure
The sequential morphological structure of non-terminal suffixes and enders may be
summarised as follows. Optional non-terminal elements occur strictly in the order
given, following the verb stem (Sohn H-M, p 233).
(Predicate stem) + Inflectional suffixes

Non-terminal suffixes

Subject honorific

Enders

Tense/aspect Modal

e.g.
() +

(a respectable person) must have been tired

a. Sentence Enders
b. Embedded-clause enders
i. Nominal enders
ii. Complement enders
iii. Conjuctive enders
iv. Relative enders
+

27
2) Non-terminal suffixes
The forms of non-terminal inflectional suffixes are as follows.
Category
Subject honorific
Tense/aspect

Function
past/present perfect
past past/past perfect
intention or conjecture
prospective

Modal

Suffixes
-()
-/
-/
-
-()

3) Sentence enders
(1) Categories: Sentence (main clause) enders consist of three suffix categories addressee honorific, mood and sentence (S)-type. The following diagram
summarises the elements of sentence enders. (ibid, p 234)
Sentence enders

Addressee
honorific

Mood

a. Indicative
b. Retrospective
c. Requestive
(d. Suppositive)

S-Type

a. Declarative
b. Interrogative
c. Propositive
d. Imperative

(2) Sentence enders by speech levels and four major sentence types
Speech levels

Declarative

Interrogative

Imperative

Propositive

Plain
Intimate
Familiar
Blunt
Polite
Deferential
Neutral

-()
-/
-
-()
-/
-()
-()

-?/ -?
-/?
-/?
-()?
-/?
-()?
-()?

-/
-/
-
-()
-/
-()
-()

-
-/
-
-()
-/
-()
-

28
(3) Mood in sentence enders
a) Indicative mood suffix: an act or state as an objective fact;
b) Retrpsoective mood suffix: an act or state as the speakers past observation or
experience;
c) Requestive mood suffix: the speakers request or proposition;
d) Suppositive mood suffix: the speakers supposition or make a casual
suggestion, or to seek agreement (like an English tag question).
Mood suffix
Mood
Indicative
Retrospective
Requestive
Suppositive
suffix
suffix
suffix
suffix
suffix
S-type
Decl.
Interr.
Decl.
Interr.
Prop.
Imp.
All 4
Plain
-/- -, -
-
-, -
(-)
Intimate
-
Familar
-
-
-
-
-
Blunt
-
Polite
-
-
-
Defer.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Decl: Declarative; Interr: Interrogative; Prop: Propositive; Imp: Imperative.
Sentence enders with mood suffix
Mood suff.
Indicative

Retrospective

S-type/style
Plain

Declarative
-,

Interrogative
-, -

Declarative

Interrogative
-, -

Intimate
Familiar
Blunt
Polite
Deferential

-/
-
-
/
-/

-/
-
-
-/
-/

-
-/

-
-
-/

Mood suff.

Requestive

Suppositive

S-type/style

Propositive

Imperative

Dec/Interr/Prop/Imp.

Plain
Intimate
Familiar
Blunt
Polite
Deferential

-
-/
-()

-
-
-()

-
-
-

29
(2) Other minor sentence enders
Sentene enders

Function

Example

-()
-()
-()
-()()
-()
-/
-(), -(), ()().

apperceptive
apperceptive
suppositive
intentive
admonitive
exclamatory
Promissive/
assurance

()
()
()
()

, ,
().

4) Embedded-clause enders
(1) Types of embedded clauses
Four embedded clauses types: norminal, complement, conjunctive, and relative
clauses take clause ender suffixes, i.e. nominalizers, complementizers, conjunctors and
relativizers (or adnominalizers), respectively. (ibid, p 238).
Embedded clause
types
Nominal enders
Nominalizers

Complement
enders

Suffix

Example

-/(do/be)
ing
-(before a nonnegative
predicate)
- (before a
negative
predicate) to
- (before the
desiderative
adjective want
-)

going,
having gone
begins
to go
is unable
to go

Complementizers infinitive suffix

/
adverbializer
so that
adverbializer
so that, to
the point where

is in the
process of dying
caused
(someone) to go
arranged
(someone) to go

wanted
to go

30
Conjunctive
enders
Relative enders

Conjunctors

(See below).

Relativizers

(See below).

(2) Conjunctive enders

Some conjunctors allow the past / perfect suffix / and co-occure with the modal
suffix while others dont.
Conjunctors

Meaning/function

-
-/
-
-
-
-()
- ()
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

but, although
and then, so
provided that, if
(in a way) so that
and (also)
and then, after (doing)
as a result of...
while doing, what with doing
given that, and, but
and then, while
and then (shift of location),
even though
although, but
so that, to the point where,
until
whether, or
in order to, for the purpose of
intending
if, when
while at the same time
while .. yet
but, though
since, as, so
when, as, because

-
--()
-()
-()
-()
-()
-()
-()
-()

+ the past /
perfect suffix
/?
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
no
no
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
no

+ modal
suffix
?
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
no
yes
yes
yes
no
no
no
no

yes
no
no
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
yes

no
no
no
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
yes

31
(3) Relative enders
Tense/aspect
or mood
Non-past
Past
Prospective
Past prospective
Retrospective
Past retrospective

Relativizers
-()/
-/
- ()
-/
-
-/

Verb Example
(eat, go)
,
,
,
,
,
,

Adjective Example
(good, big)
,
,
,
,
,

5) Irregular predicates
There are seven types of predicates that change their final sound before an inflectional
suffix that begin with a certain sound. (ibid, p 241)
Type
-irregular
-irregular

-irregular
-irregular
-irregular
-irregular
-irregular

Change
Stem-final becomes before a
vowel.
Stem-final is deleted before
, , and .
Final becomes before a
suffix beginning with ,
Final sound becomes before
a vowel.
Final is deleted before a vowel.
Final is deleted before another
vowel.
Final is deleted before a nasal
consonant and a vowel

Example
;

;
;

;

;

;

;

;

2.12 Compounding
1) Compound nouns
Compounding is the most common process of creating new words, and compound
nouns are the most numerous and varied among the types of comounds.

32
(1) Native compounds
Type 1: N+N

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

Subcompounding

seasame oil
migratory bird
drizzle
nasal mucus
seal
tears
full moon

Co-compounding

(true-oil)
(season-bird)
(dew-rain)
(nose-water)
(water-dog)
(eye-water)
(half a lunar monthmoon)
(inside-outside)
(front-rear)
(rice field-dry field)
(brother-sister)
(night-day)
(hand-foot)
(up-down)

inside and outside

front and rear
farm
brother and sister
day and night
hand and foot
upper and lower

Type 2: Adv+

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

Adverb + Noun

(mottles-cow)
(curly-hair)
(concave-eye)
(cuckooing-bird)
(hoot-bird)
(gentle-wind)
(snapping-button)
(well-unable)
(this much-that much)

brindled cow
curly hair
sunken-in eye
cuckoo
owl
gentle breeze
snap button
mistake
no small quantities

Adverb + Adverb

Type 3: N+Pred+Nom

Noun + Predicate +
Nominaliser

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(milk-eat-er)
(neck-hang-thing)
(meal-earn-Nom)
(example-see-Nom)
(sleeve-hit-Nom)

baby
necklace
job
model
pickpocket

(tagger-catch-Nom)

hide and seek

(day-sleep-Nom)

nap

33

Type 4:
NomPred+Nom

(eye-laugh-Nom)
(lobster-sleep-Nom)

smile
sleeping curled up

Example

Original Meaning

(mix-Nom-rice)

(be caught-Nom-stone)
(be divided-Nom-road)

Type 5: Pred+N

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

Predicate (V) +
Noun

(+)

(break-iron)
(quilt-clothes)
(fold-knife)
(straight-ice)

clamp
quilted clothes
pocketknife
icicle

(late-sleeping)
(late-unhusked rice)

late rising
late-ripening rice

Nominalised
predicate + Noun

Predicate (Adj) +
Noun

Type 6:
Det+N

Determiner +
Noun

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(that-world)
(this-world)
(that-front)
(some-short space of time)
(left-hand)
(new-month)

the world of the dead

this world
former days
before one know
left hand
next month

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(cold water)
(badly-shaped-person)
(pushing window)
(invited son-in-law)

cold water
stupid person
sliding door
son-in-law living with
one

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(push-close-thing)
(high-low-ness)
(see-look about-Nom)

sliding door
relative height
looking after

Type 7:
Rel+N
Relative clause
+ Noun

Type 8:
Pred+Pred+Nom
Predicate +
Predicate +

Compounded
Meaning
cooked rice mixed
with vegetables
obstacle
forked road

34
Nominalizer

(raise-see-thing)
(surround-roll-Nom)

long-distance glasses
rolled stationary

(2) Sino-Korean compounds

About sixty percent of all Korean vocabulary items are SK, so there are numerous SK
compounds consisting of two or more roots. Most SK words are nouns, while only a
small number are adverbs.
Type (1):
Semantic fusion
Metaphorical
association

Type (2):
Subcompounding
N+N

V+N
Adj+N
V+Ad or Ad+V

Type (3):
Co-compounding
Opposite meaning

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(inside-outside)
(other-world)
(mountain-water)
(three-thousand-mile
river-mountain)

husband and wife

death
scenery
Korea

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(spring-dream)
(book-table)
(thing-price)
(study-house)
(enter-mouth)
(much-luck)
(miscellaneous-paper)
(specially-write)
(instead-write)
(expand-large)
(deduct-small)

spring dreams
desk
price
school
entrance
good luck
magazine
writing specially
writing for a person
enlargement
reduction

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(heaven-earth)
(left-right)
(day-night)
(brother-sister)
(father-mother)
(life-die)
(male-female-oldyoung)

unverse
right and left
day and night
brothers and sisters
parents
life and death
people of all ages

35

Similar meaning

Meaningless in the
2nd syllable

Type (4):
Argument-Pred
Subject-predicate

Object-predicate

Oblique-predicate

Adjunt-predicate

(east-west-southnorth)
(house-house)
(law-regulation)
(luck-luck)
(bathe-bathe)
(rot-fail)
(attach-add)
(chair-son)
(hat-son)
(box-son)

four directions

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(sun-set)
(head-ache)
(exist-name)
(violate-law)
(vacate-seat)
(clap-hand)
(stay in Australia)
(come out-war)
(body-experience)
(slow-go)
(reduce-small)
(ahead-occupy)

sunset
headache
being famous
violation of law
absence
hand clapping
residence in Australia
going to the war
personal/real experience
going slow
reduction
prior occupation

universe
laws and regulations
happiness
bath
rotting, spoiling
imposition
chair
hat
box

(3) Loan-word based compounds

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

(ice-tea)
(open-game)
(back-mirror)
(ball-pen)
(salary-man)
(vinyl-Jpn bag)

iced tea
match before the main event
rearview mirror
ball-point-pen
salaried man
vinyl bag

36
(4) Hybrid compounds
Type:
SK + Native (NT)

Example

Origianal Meaning

(Korea-langauge)

(east-side)
(medicine-rice)

NT N + SK N

(rice-table)
(foot-illness)
(water-dumpling)

Loan/SK/NT N
compounding

(dark-dollar)

(jeep-vechicle)
(intestines-typhus)
(egg-fry)
(first-summer)
(every-month)
(old-friend)
(hang-table)
(attach-chest)
(thick-soy)
(raise-window)
(push-window)
(book-insert-thing)
(shoe-polishperson)
(husbands homeliving)

SK N + NT N

NT/SK Det + SK/NT

N
NT V + SK N
NT Rel + SK N

SK N + NT V + Nom

Compounded
Meaning
the Korean
language
eastern direction
flavoured
glutinous rice
dining table
foot trouble
water-boiled
dumpling
black market
dollars
jeep
intestine-typhus
fried egg
early summer
every month
old friend
chair
built-in cupboard
soybean paste
push-up window
sliding window
bookshelf
Shoeshine boy
living with ones
husbands family

2) Compound pronouns
Type

Example

Third-person
pronouns

//

Functional/original
meaning

(D this/that/that over
there - thing)
(D-child)
//
// (D-adult person) familar
(D-adult person) blunt
//
(D-adult person) polite
//

Compounded
Meaning
D thing
D child
D person
D person
D person

37
SK secondperson,
reflexive,
reciprocal
pronouns

(self-body)
(self-body)
(self-body)
(mutually-mutually)
(that-this)

Native-SK
pronoun
Native pronouns

(that-woman)

(this-time)
(that-place)

(which-place)

you, himself
(hon.)
self, oneself
ones self
each other
both, each other
she
now
that place over
there
where

4) Compound numerals
(1) 1 to 10: Native or SK numerals
(2) Multiples of 10 (20 to 90): Native numerals
(3) 100, 100, 10,000, 100 million, and 1 trillion: SK numerals
Example

Native

SK

11

(10-1)

(50-5)

(10-1)

(5-10-5)

(3-100-6-10-1)
(3-1000-10,000)

55
361
30 million

SK-native

(5-10-5)

(3-100-60-1)

(4) Approximate numerals

Type
Native

SK

Example

()
()

Arabic numerals/Meaning
1 or 2
2 or 3
3 or 4
4 or 5
5 or 6
1 or 2
2 or 3
3 or 4
4 or 5

38
5) Compound verbs
(1) Native cmppounds
Type 1

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded meaning

N+ Intrans.

(fear-come out)
(road-enter)
(line-go)
(flesh-grow-fat)
(excitement-occur)
(breath-fall)

be scared
get used to
crack, split
gain weight
get excited
breathe ones last breath

Type 2

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded meaning

N+Trans.

(mind-eat)
(rice-do)
(love-do)
(inside-burn)
(hand-see)
(power-wear)

intend, plan
cook rice
love
worry onself
fix
owe, be indebted to

Type 3:
V+Complem. +V
Infinitive
/-

Transferentive
-/-

Conjunctive

Type 3
Juxtaposition

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded meaning

(see-give)

(<)

(beg-eat)
(know-hear)
(not exist-become)
(do-let out)
(lower-see)
(gaze-see)
(put in-see)
(raise-see)
(bite-hang)
(dig-enter)
(organise-enter)

give a favour to, look

after
live as a beggar
understand
disappear
finish up
look down
gaze at
look in
look up
hang on tenaciously
look into
plot

Example

Original Meaning
(starve-hungry)
(pierce-bind)
(enter-go out-enter)

Compounded meaning
go hungry
sew
frequent

39

Type 4
Adv.+V

(jump-play)
(tie-suspend)
(see-look about)
(ascend-descend)

Example

Original Meaning

(across-block)
(that much-put down)
(more-do)
(correctly-hold)
(in whispers-do)
(well-do)

skip about
bind up, hang
look after
go up and down
Compounded meaning
obstruct, interrupt
stop doing
add
straighten up
whisper
do habitually

(2) SK-native and loan-native compounds

Type 1:
SK-Native V.
Intransitive

Transitive

Type 2:
Loan- Native V.

Example

Original Meaning

(liver-burn)
(vitality-blocked)

(ruin-do)
(studying-do)
(punishment-give)
(soul-take out)

Example

Original Meaning

(demonstration-do)

(lead-do)
(copy-become)

Compounded meaning
be anxious
suffocate, feel
choked
go to ruin
study
punish
give a good scolding
Compounded meaning
demonstrate
(against)
lead
get copied

40
6) Compound adjectives
(1) Native compounds
Type 1: N+Adj.
Free N+ Adj

Bound N+Adj.

Type 2

Example

(price-cheap)
(eye-far)
(belly-bulgy)
(belly-different)
(fault-lack)
(conceit-exist)
(sufficiency-be)
(full-be)
(warmth-be)
(niceness-be)

Example

Adj/Adv+Adj.

Type 3

Example

Adj+Emphasizer
+Adj.
(-: and, very)

Original Meaning

Compounded meaning
be cheap
be blind
be full, satisfied
be of a different mother
be on friendly terms
be overbearing
be enough
be full
be warm
be nice, virtuous

Original Meaning
(black-blue)
(solid-strong)
(sticky-be)
(bad-be)
(slippery)

Compounded meaning
be blue-black
be firm and strong
be sticky
be inferior
be slippery

Original Meaning

Compounded meaning

(bitter and bitter)

(young and
young)
(gentle and
gentle)

be very bitter
be very young
be very gentle and
good

(2) SK-native and loan-native compounds

The majority of the SK-native type is SK adjectival nouns + the native verb be
(in the state of). Also, the loan-native type consists of a loan noun + a native
adjective (mostly ).
Type
SK-native

Example

Original Meaning
(happiness-be)
(scientific-be)
(good-be)

Compounded Meaning
be happy
be scientific
be good

41

Loan-native

(good luck-be)
(modern-be)
(smart-be)
(tough-be)
(technical-be)

be lucky
be modern
be smart
be tough
be technical

7) Compound determiners
Type

Example

Original Meaning

(which-kind-be-RL)
(that-kind-be-RL)
(what-be-RL)
(a few-a few)
(collect-RL)
(entire-kinds)
(specialty-specialty)
(big-and-big)
(far-and-far)
(long-and-long)

Example

Original Meaning

NAT demonstratives
NAT qualifiers /
quantifiers

SK determiners
Emphasizer affix
- and, very,
extremely

Compounded Meaning
what / some kind of
that kind of
what kind of
several
all
all kinds of
various kinds of
very big
very far
very long

8) Compound adverbs
(1) Native compounds
Type 1
N+N

Type 2
Reduplicated N
+ Adverbializer
suffix (AD)

Example

(today-day)
(night-day)
(here-there)
(order-order)
Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning
nowadays
day and night
here and there
one by one
Compounded Meaning

(space-space-AD)
at times
(day-day-AD)
day by day
(month-month-AD) every month

42
Type 3

Example

Compound
predicate
(mostly Adj) +
AD

Original Meaning
(this-way-AD thatway-AD)
(this-way-whether
that-way-whether)
(this-way-AD)
(that-way-but)
(that-way-and)
(mistake-lack-AD)

Compounded Meaning
somehow or other
at any rate
in this way
but
and
surely

Type 4

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

Determiner +
bound N

(that-idea)
(that-as)
(this-way)
(one-floor)
(all-state)
(this-time)

as it is
like that
this way
all the more
entirely, totally
nowadays, these days

Type 5

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

Reduplicated
onomatopoeic or
other adverbial
forms

(fully x 2)
(without fail x 2)
(evenly x 2)
(long x 2)
(extremely x 2)
(rare x 2)

fully
for sure
evenly
for a long time
very, extremely
occasionally

Type 6

Example

Original Meaning

Adv+Adv

(well-unable)
(a little-more)
(this-way that-way)
(straightaway-well)
(straightaway-directly)

Type 7
Other
sporadic
combinations

Example

( )

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning
in a long way
a little more
here and there
readily
at once
Compounded Meaning

(line-straightaway)
(that-way do-until)

all the time

to such an extent

(here-look)

hello, say

43
Type 8

Example

Original form

Partial
reduplication
(CV or CVC)

Compounded Meaning

cruching, crisping
pouring hard
rolling
floating gently

(2) SK compounds
Type

Example

Original Meaning

Compounded Meaning

SK adverbs

(gradually-)
(order-)
(immediate-time)
(ten thousands-one)
(much-less)
(only-only)

gradually
by and by
immedidately, at once
by any chance, if
more or less
merely, however

9) Compound particles
Type

Example

Original Meaning

Comp. Meaning

Nominal
element (N) +
case, delimiter
and/or
conjunctive
particles

+ N
N+
N+
N+
N+
N+

(at-from)
(at-from-even-also)
(with-only-of)
(only-NM)
(with-only-as for)
(direction-from-only-of)

from, at N
even at N
only with N
only N (subject)
only with N
only from N

2.13 Abbreviation
The majority of abbreviations are observed in SK compounds, especially in non-human
proper nouns. The preferred pattern is to reduce a four-syllable form to a two-syllable one,
taking the first and third syllables.
Type 1
4 syllables

Full form

Abbreviation

Meaning
Bank of Korea
labour union
England and America
Yonsei University

44
Type 2
4+ syllables

Full form

Type 3

Abbreviation

()

Full form

Irregularities
(semantic or
other reasons)

Type 4

Full form

SK abbreviations

Type 5
Loan words

Full form

Abbreviation

Abbreviation

Abbreviation

Meaning
vendining machine
labour and management
college entrance exam
the Bar Association
Meaning
electronic calculation
Japanese style (dish)
illicit sale
Republic of Korea
Meaning
newspaper
creative work
artificial silk
70 years of age
Meaning
apartment
air-conditioner
helicopter (SK plane)
kilometre
Coca-Cola
overly sensitive
ball-point pen
demonstration
supermarket
T-shirts

2.14 Grammaticalization
Many new words and expressions have developed from other words or larger
constructions through a long period of evolution. New sentence enders among these
grammticalization phenomena are particularly relevant to teaching contexts. Below are
examples of new sentence enders that have been created by contracting various complex
constructions (Type 1). Other enders have been developed from conjunctive, nominal, or
other constructions by way of main clause deletion (Type 2).

45
Type 1

Contextual meaning

Original form

-()
-()
-
-
-
-

I intend to
I warn you that
you see!
I assure you that .
it seems that
it appears that

-() intends to do
-() will/may
- Isnt it the case that?
- it will be the case that
- is the same as
- see whether

Type 2
-
-
-

3.

Contextual meaning
I wish/suppose that
I told you that
I heard that

Original form
- (PRS fact/thing AC)
- (DC QT say-because)
- (DC QT say-while)

Grammatical Structure of Korean

This section presents a summary of the syntactic and semantic characteristics of

contemporary standard Korean.
3.1 Sentence types
1) Declarative, interrogative, propositive, and imperative
A simpe sentence or the main clause of a complex sentence belongs to one of four
basic sentence types: declarative (making a statement), interrogative (asking a
question), propositive (making a proposal), and imperative (making a command) (ibid,
p 269).
Type 1
Declarative

Type 2
Interrogative

Speech level
plain
intimate
familiar
blunt
polite
deferential
neutral
Speech level
plain
intimate
familiar

Example: It is raining.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Example: Is its raining?
? / ()?
?
? /?

46
blunt
polite
deferential
neutral
Type 3
Propositive

Type 4
Propositive

Speech level
plain
intimate
familiar
blunt
polite
deferential
neutral
Speech level
plain
intimate
familiar
blunt
polite
deferential
neutral

?
?
?
()?
Example: Lets come here again
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Example: Come here again
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

2) Verb sentences
There are several types of intransitive and transitive verb sentences in Korean. The
simplest form of verb sentences is an intransitive type consisting of a subject and a
verb (optionally + modifier(s) or adjuncts). The most productive form of transitive
verb sentences consists of a subject and an object in the nominative and accusative
cases, respectively.
Type: Intransitive
(1) S in the nominative case
and V (+modifiers/adjuncts)

Example
.
My dad went to Japan by boat last year.
.
Inho is resting at home due to a cold.

47
(2) Two nominative cases:
S and C (complement) both in
the nominative case, with
become, suffer from
(lit. enter), appear, etc.

.
Sam became an English language teacher in
Korea.

.
Mom caught a cold.
(3) V denoting recioprocity and .
a nominal with //
Nami fought with her older sister.
and, with.
.
Sumi and the man kissed. or
The man kissed Sumi.
(4) Passive sentences: a
.
patient subject in the
The thief was caught by a policeman
nominative case and an agent
nominal in the locative case
.
+/ by.
Mia was robbed of her wallet by a thief
(5) Nominative
.
+dative/locative with
That picture appeals to my taste.
enter, appeal,
appear, happen, occur,
.
My friend has fallen ill.
hang, be caught,
suffer from, become
.
fond of, greet,
I thank my parents.
thank,
cling to, depend
on,etc.

Type: transitive
(1) S in the nominative case
and O in the accusative
case
(2) Receiving verbs
receive,
undergo, etc. with
() /() by,
from
(3) Passive verbs with
/ by
(4) Ditransitive verbs,
eg. /
give,

Example
.
My older brother met my friend at the theatre.
.
I was humiliated by the shop owner over there.

.
Nami got her foot stepped on by a male student.
.
My mom gave pocket money to me.

48
teach,
direct,
show; Ditransitive
causative verbs
show, dress
(someone),
feed (someone).
(5) Double accusative cases

.
Inho taught Hangeul to Sumi.
.
Nami showed a picture of herself to Inho.

.
My older brother caught the dog by its tail.
.
My younger brother studies medicine.

3) Adjective sentences
Adjective sentences may be grouped into two: objective adjectives (the copula,
descriptive adjectives and locational adjectives) and sensory adjectives (subjective or
psycho-emotive adjectives).
Type 1: Copula sentences

Example

1) The copula be

.
That child is a genius.
2) The negative copula .
be not (< But I am not a genius.
not+) marked with
the case in negative
sentences
3) The copula with a .
nominal complement, e.g. My younger sister is deligent.
+, be diligent,
+ be worrisome .
As for me, the test worries me.
4) (or ) be in the .
state of behaving like a My grandma is also healthy.
copula
() .
The weather is not good.
.
It seems that it will rain.

49
Type 2: Descriptive adjectives
(the largest subclass)
be beautiful,
be young,
be clever, smart
be wise,
be cold,
be happy, etc.

Example
.
The house over there is very beautiful.
.
My younger brother is very smart.
.
The water is too cold

Type 3: Locational adjectives

Example

Existence, location and possession adjectives

marked by the particles // at, to
(an animate) or at, to (an inanimate): eg.
be, stay, have,
be, stay (hon),
be not, not stay, do not have,
be much, many, have a lot,
be little, few, do not have a lot.

.
I have a good idea.
(lit. There is a good idea with
me.)

Necessity adjectives eg.

be necessary, need

/ .
Mia needs money.

Type 4:Seonsory adjectives

Transitive sensory: eg.
be envious, envy,
be hateful, hate,
be disagreeable, dislike
Intransitive sensory: eg.
be bored,
be thankful

Both intransitive and transitive: eg.

be scared, fear,
be sad, feel sad,
be thankful, thank.
Both sensory (human subject) and

.
Minsu has many books.
(lit. There are many books with
Minsu.)

Example
.
I envy you.
(Subject: only the first person in
declaratives)
.
I am a little bored.
() .
Thank you (all). / I am thankful (to you
all).
.
I am scared.
.
I fear that dog.
.
(descriptive: non-

50
descriptive (non-human subject): eg.
be cold,
be good, like,
be interesting,
be pretty ,
be scary,
be lonely

Special transitive sensory:

be desirable, wish, only
with the nominalizer siffix -

human)
The weather is cold.
. (sensory: human)
I am cold.
. (descriptive)
This picture is good.
. (sensory)
I like this picture.
.
I wish to go to Korea during holidays.

4) Topic-stacking sentences
In Korean simple sentences there are a wide variety of sentences where multiplesubject (or multi-nominative) and multiple-object (or multi-accusative) appear.
Type
(1) Sentential topic or
subject (ST or SS)

(2) Anaphoric
(3) Possessive
(4) Class-member
(5) Static location
(6) Stage-setting
(7) Quantification
(8) Possession and static
location

Example
.
Mia has one big eye.
( ST or SS of the following sentence; ST or
SS of the remaining sentence)
.
(As for) Mia, (she) herself went.
.
Australia has nice scenery.
.
(As for) flowers, roses are most beautiful.
.
Sydney has many Koreans.
.
The weather, it may rain.
120 .
Inho weighes 120 kg.
.
The top of the roof of our house has a hole.

51
5) Subjectless sentences
In Korean the subject referring to the speaker in declarative sentences and to the
hearer in interrogative sentences are frequently omitted (but imaginable), although real
subjectless sentences are rare.
Type 1: Speaker and Hearer
You in interrogative sentences
I in declarative sentences

Type 2:
Expressive speech acts
Apology

Thanking
Greeting
Congratulation

seem
appear

?
Where are (you) going?
.
(I) am going to the hospital.
Example

. Excuse (me).
. (I) am sorry.
. (I) am very sorry.
. Thank (you).
. (I) appreciate (it).
? How are (you)?
Congratulations!

Type 3:
Lacking a corresponding subject
be same,
be,

Example

Example
[ ]
It seems that the teacher has come.
[ ] .
My friend will return to Korea.
[ ] .
My mom appears to be happy.
[ ] .
It appears that Teacher Kim is tired.

6) Word order
Korean is an SOV language but due to the well-developed case-marking system, word
order among the major constituents in a sentence is relatively free as long as the
predicate-final constraint is maintained. However, among noun phrases that carry
various cases, there seems to be a preferred or neutral word order as shown below.
(ibid, p 293).

52
Order of cases
Time
Place /
Subject /,
Comitative /,
Instrument ()
Source; Ablative , , ,
()
Goal/dative; directional , , , ;
()
Object; complement /, /

Example

3.2 Embedded clauses

In complex sentences containing two or more predicates embedded clauses appear. There
are five basic types of embedded clauses in Korean: a. conjunctive clause; b. relative
clause; c. complement clause; d. nominalised clause and e. quotative clause.
1) Conjunctive constructions
In conjunctive constructions, a sentence may contain two or more clauses that are
conjoned either co-ordinately or subordinately.

(1) Coordination
Type 1: Simultaneity /
sequentiality
- not only but
also, as well as
- and, and also, as well
-() and, and then
-() and, and on the
other hand
-()while

Example

I dont have time as as well as money so
.
I live in Australia and Yongsu lives in South Korea.
() .
We had meals and then drank insam tea.
.
The Korean singer is dancing and singing.
.
We talked while eating.

53
Type 2: Contrastiveness
- but, yet,
nevertheless
- or, or else, what(when-, how, etc.) ever
- rather, instead of
doing
-()() or, or else,
what- (how-, etc.) ever
-() but, however

Example
.
It is cloudy but it is not raining.
.
It will probably be cold or windy today.
.
I would (rather) go, instead of waiting for Sumi.
.
Please give anything whether it is rice or noodle.
.
The price is a little expensive but its a good quality.

(2) Subordination
Type 1: Cause-effect

Example

-()/() so, and

then, as, so that
- while doing, as
a result of
-()/
because, due to
-() since, as, after

.
I had a headache so I couldnt go to school today.
.
I went to bed late last night because of my homework.
.
Because the money is mine, I reported it to police.
12 .
As it is 12 oclock, I feel hungry.
.
Since it is crowded in the bus, lets take a taxi.

-() as, since,

because, when
Type 2: Conditional
-/ only if
- when, if
- if, when,
provided that
- if keep doing
or being
-()() if, when

Example
.
Only if the weather is fine, we can go on a picnic.
, .
If I may say in advance, I cant approve the proposal.
.
If you have anything to say, please do so.;
.
If you keep drinking the water, you will suffer from
stomach trouble.
.
If I have money, I will travel.

54
Type 3: Concessive

Example

- even if (only with

past tense)
-/ even
though, although
- even though,
while
- even though,
granted that
- although, even
though, yet
-() even
if
-() even
though, regardless of
-() even
though
-() even if

, .
Even if I learn driving, its useless as I dont have a car.
.
Even if it rains tomorrow, we are going to the beach.
.
Although the test date is near, I cant concentrate.
.
Even though it is difficult to do the work, dont give up.
8 .
Although you may go out, you should return by 8pm.
.
Even if I die, I will not have an operation.
.
Even though the weather is not good, I will leave.
.
Even though you may fall into debt, dont go hungry.
.
Even if it may not be tasty, please have some.
?
Even if it may be expensive, how expensive will it be?

-() even if,

granted that
Type 4: Intentive

Example

-() to, in order to,

intending to
-()() to, in order to,
with the intention to
- wanting to,
intending to
Type 5: Resultative
-() so that
- so that, to that
extent that

.
I am going to library to find a book.
.
I often watch Korean videos to learn Korean.
.
Sumi does her best to receive good marks.
Example
.
Please speak slowly for me so that I can understand.
.
Please be careful, so that no accident occurs.
.
Yongsu loved her to death.

Type 6: Background
-as, in a way

Example
.

55
such that it is possible
-() like, as, as if
-() the more
the more

As you know, I have lots of interest in Korea.

.
He lies as he eats.
.
The warmer it is, the more people come to the beach.
Example

Type 7: Temporal sequence

.
I will call you as soon as I arrive in Incheon.
5 .
Misu didnt turn up even after 5.
.
I got well after I took the tablet.
.
On my way to school, I met Yonsu.

- () as soon as
-/ even after
-() after, and then
-() while doing, do
and then

2) Relative clause constructions

A relative or adnominal clause is a clause modifying a head nominal by using the
relativizer suffix ().
Predicate
Verb

see
Adj.

be big

Indicative

Retrospective

Prospective

non-past
past

-
-()

-
-/

-()
-/

non-past
past

-()
-

-
-/

-()
-/

Four subtypes of relative clauses: (1) relative clauses proper; (2) fact-S type clauses;
(3) headless relative clauses; and (4) coreferent-opaque clauses (constructions with a
head noun denoting one of the five senses).
Type

Example

Relative clauses proper

the woman whom I met

the theatre you went to
the well-water by which one becomes
young

Fact-S type clauses:

eg, the fact (that),

the fact that I met a woman

56
the news (that),
the evidence
(that), and defective
nouns, eg. fact,
thing, as if, how
to, assumed fact
Headless relative
clauses: thing, fact,
assumed fact

Coreferent-opaque
clauses: the five senses

the promise that my teacher would come
.
Suji knows how to play the piano
.
I saw Jinsu going.
?
Did you see the teacher when he came out of his
office?
.
I suddenly smelled the smell of (somebody) broiling
meat.
.
I suddenly heard the sound of a baby crying.

3) Complement clause constructions

A complement clause modifies or complements the verb or adjective of the matrix
clause in which it is embedded. There is a set of suffixes (complementizers) that relate
a complement clause to the main predicate (auxiliary verbs), as shown below.
Complementizer (1)
-/ to, in the state of
being
get to be, become
do for
show signs of
being
be in the state of
continue to
do all the way
thoroughly
do for later

Example
(V or Adj.) + Complemntizer -/ + Aux.
.
Hearing the news, I was saddened.
.
I helped my younger sister out with her homework.
.
Sumi is scared of a dog.
.
A number of paintings are hung on the wall.
.
Inho walks to school.
.
The police found that item.
.
I made a plan to travel to Korea.

57
continue to
finish up, end up
with, do completely
appear, seem
try, experience
be extremely
(do) a lot
get it done

Complementizer (2)
-/, only if,
only to the extent that
have to, must
have to, get to be

Complementizer (3)
- with confidence
that, with assurance that
think, assume
think,
assume
Complementizer (4)
- () (emphatic) so
that
cause, arrange,
make
cause, make
turn out, get to be,
it is arranged (so that)

2 .
I have been studying Korean for 2 years.
.
My younger brother finished up all the cookies.
.
Teacher Kim looks young.
.
Lets (givr it a try and) listen to the person.
.
Yongho is very lazy so I cant trust him.
.
That child over there keeps on crying.
.
Please keep this book on my desk.
Example
(V or Adj.) + Complemntizer -/ + Aux.
.
I should hand in this homework by tomorrow.
.
If you want to go to Korea, you should get a visa.
Example
(V or Adj.) + Complemntizer - + Aux.
.
Inho assumes that he himself is the best.
.
I thought that my friend would help me.
Example
(V or Adj.) + Complemntizer -() + Aux.
.
The teacher made Yongsu wait in his office.
.
Inho made Sumi come to the party.
.
My older brother managed to work for the company.

58
Complementizers (5)
Example
- , with, and, in the state of
(V or Adj.) + Complemntizer - + Aux.
doing
be ~ing
.
My friend is waiting now.
end up doing
.
So sad, I simply cried.
just finish doing
.
As I have had lunch, I feel sleepy.
do and then realise
.
Lets eat first (and see).
want, wish, desire
.
I want to sing Korean songs.
go around ~ing
.
He goes around always wearing blue jeans.
Complementizers
(6)
- ()
habitually
- wanting
to, ready to,
willing to
- in a
way that tends to
do, nearly
- so that, to
the extent that
-()()
intending to,
ready to
-()
assuming that

-() likely
to, worth doing

-() if

Aux.

habitually do
intend,
wish
almost
do, behave
cause,
arrange, make
intend
to

Example
.
I occasionally play soccer on Sundays.
.
Everyone wants to know the result of the
exam.
.
I slept almost all day yesterday.

.
Please be careful not to break the glass.
.
I am going to go to Korea during this
vacation.
assume .
I waited assuming he would come.

.
assume
I assumed that he was a politican.
be likely .
to, worth doing The radish Kimchi looks delicious.
be
.
likely to, worth Yonsu is reliable.
doing
wish,
.
desire, hope
I wish I could become an adult quickly.
wish,
.

59
desire

I wish to graduate from the school early.

4) Nominalised constructions
A nominalised clause functions syntactically as a nominal, by using nominalizer
suffixes.
Nominalised suffix

Example

- the act of, the fact

that' (non-factivity)
- (obligatorily before
being wishful')
- (before not,
cannot) or stop,
dont do'

() .
.
. / .
.

5) Quotative constructions
Type 1
Direct quotation
-/
Type 2:
Indirect quotation
Declarative

Example
.

Particle

Imperative

-
- (only after
the copula )
- (after a
verb stem)
-() (after
an adjective
stem)
-()

Propositive

Interrogative

Example
.
.

.
.

3.3 Case marking

Grammatical cases indicate the grammatical relation that a noun in a nominal expression
has in relation with its predicate, another noun, a clause or a discourse. Cases may be

60
divided into two groups: (a) those that mainly indicate syntactic functions of nominals
(eg. nominative, accusative and genitive) and (b) those that mainly express semantic
functions of nominals (eg. dative, goal, locative, source, directional, instrument and
function). (ibid, p 327)
1) Syntactic cases: nominative, accusative and genitive
Nominative -/, -:
introduce new information or indicate exclusiveness (-/)
Function
Example
As the subject
.
Mia is coming over there.
As the object of a transitive adjective
?
Do you like Mia?
As the complment of the copula:
.
be or not be
I am not a thief.
As the complement of the verb:
.
become
Minho became a school captain.
As the sentential subject
.
Milan has big eyes.
As an exclusive topic
.
It is I who envies Mia.
Accusative /
Function
As the direct object of a transitive
verb
As the direct object of a passivetransitive verb
Purpose of an action by a
movement verb
Duration or distance by an action
Object of a cognate verb
Objects in multiple object
constructions
Clausal object constructions
As an alternative for a static
locative particle // in
emphasis for exclusiveness

Example
.
Inho sent flowers to Nami.
.
Nami got her foot stepped on by Inho.
.
We are going to the movie on Saturday night.
.
My younger brother slept ten hours yesterday.
.
I danced (a dance) with James.
.
My uncle bought two Hyundai cars.
.
The prisoners refused to eat.
.
I gave the money to mum.
.

61
My mum and dad went to church.
.
My teacher made Minsu her son-in-law.

As an alternative for a capacity

particle () before certain
transitive verbs
Genetive
Function
Possession
Relationship
Authorship
Classification
Pertinence
Origin
Location
Reference
Argument

Example
Sumis leather shoes
your dad
Hwang Sunwons book Shower
two books
a season for festival
beef from Australia
the population of Sydney
a song of love
unification of South and North
Korea

2) Dative, locative, goal and source

Dative /// to
Occuring with ditransitive verbs:
give, show,
teach,
order, report,
inform, etc.

Example
.
Sumi gave money to her grandma.

Stative locative /// at, in, on

Occuring with existential, static and passive
verbs: be much, exist,
live, remain, get caught,
be stepped, etc.

Example
.
(lit) Many books are at Minsu.
Minsu has many books.

Dynamic locative /// at, in, on

Occuring with acvtivity verbs:
play, sleep, study,
eat, etc.

Example
.
Yongho played at school.

62
Goal /// to
Occuring with movement verbs: eg.
go, come, go to
and from, climb and nondative transitive verbs: eg.
send, put, paint,
write, gather,
sit.

Example
.
Minho went to the teacher.
.
Sumi sent a present to Korea.

Source // from
Occuring with movement verbs: eg.
go, come, receive

Example
.
Yonho came from school.

3) Directionl, instrumental and function

Directional () towards, to, for
Example

.
Minsu left for Korea.
.
I decided not to go to Korea.

Instrumental () with, of, by, in (Emphatic: ())

Example

. (instrument)
My dad caught fish with hands.
. (means)
My family went to Jeju Island by boat.
. (material)
Sumis family built a house with wood.
. (cause)
My uncle died of car accident.

63
Functional () as, for, in the capacity of, in terms of (Emphatic: ())
.
Minho is going to Korea as an exchange student.

Example

4) Ablative
Type

Example

from

.
School holidays start from tomorrow.
Directional/instrumental .
+ : ()
The airplane has just arriveed from Incheon.
from the direction of,
starting from, starting
.
with
Korean history begins with Tangun.
Source or dynamic
locative + :
starting from a
place of
Honorific source or
dynamic locative +
: from
a respectable person

.
I walked here from home today.

.
Our family motto has been passed on from my grandpa.

5) Comitative and connective

Type : Comitative
Formal: / with
Informal: , () with
Sense of reciprocity with
reciprocal verbs: eg.
marry, resemble,
meet, fight,
be same, be
different

Example
.
Sumi went to the Gold Coast with Jinho.
/ .
I went to city with Minho yesterday.
// .
Yonho married Sumi yesterday.
.
I met with Minhos parents this morning.

64
Type: Connective
/, , (),
and
() and

() or

Example
// .
Today Sumi and I came first.

.
Sumis mum made lots of delicious Korean food such as
Kimbap and Bulgogi for us.
.
Either my older brother or I will go.

6) Comparative
Type
Demonstrative +
()/ (more/ess) than
D+ rather than
D+ as much as, equal
to
D+ like, the same as
D+ like, the same as
among,
among or at, in +
most or most,
first

Example
/ .
Sumi is more/less pretty than Mia.
.
He is a politican rather than a scholar.
.
Yongsu plays basketball as well as Inho.

.
Mia is the tallest among the students in the class.

7) Vocative
Address terms in Korean are used to draw the attention of the addressee in a discourse
context and reflect the relationship between the speaker and addressee in terms of
social status.
Type
Honorific title suffix -
Plain address term: /
(the addressee: an adult; the
speaker: an adult equal or
inferior or a child)
/ (with plural nominals)
/ (in idiomatic expressions)

Example
Sir!, Madam! (lit. esteemed teacher)
, ?
Tongmin! Where are you going?
, !
Hi, Yong-su.
! Guys!
! You fool!

65
Intimate address terms: /zero
(the addressee: adolescent
persons (generally male) or
inferior adult relatives; the
speaker: another adolescent or
an adult
Hyper-deferential address terms:
()/
(the addressee: figures not living
in face-to-face situation, eg.
God, ones deceased lover (in a
literary style) or a group of
people in writing)

, .
Tongmin! You go first.
, .
Yongho! Lets work together.
! Lord! ! Oh, God!
! Oh, my beloved
, !
Koreans! Wake up!

3.4 Delimiter constructions

Delimiter particles delimit the meaning of the coocurring element with little syntactic
function. Delimiters can be classified into two types: constituent delimiters (occurring in
nound phrases and with adverbs and complement clauses) and sentential delimiters
(occurring at the end of a sentence and/or after any major constituent). (ibid, p 345).
Most of the important delimiter particles are given in 2.9 under Korean Word Structure,
and constituent delimiters may be grouped into three sets of delimiters in order of
occurrence (10 ++ Lets select only up to number 10.), as shown
below.
1) Constituent delimiters
Type 1:
Exhaustion: -
even, also, so far as,
on top of
Comprehensiveness:
- each, every
Bounds: - till, up
to, even, as far as
Inception: -
starting from
Type 2:
Limitation: -
only, solely
Addition: -

Example
.
That family lost even their son
(in addition to other losses).
.
I write my diary everyday.
?
Unitl when will you wait?
.
Dont be late for the class from tomorrow.
Example
.
Minsu doesnt study and only sleeps.
.

66
even, as well
That child cant write even his name.
Exclusiveness: - 10 .
(not) except for,
There is no time except for 10 minutes, so please hurry up.
other than
Example

Type 3:

Topic-contrast: - .
/ as for, (when unstressed: topic) Misu has big eyes.
(when stressed: contrast) Misu (in contrast with other persons)
regarding
has big eyes.

Inclusion: -
also, too, indeed

.
(unstressed : topic)
( whether stressed or not: contrast)
As for Misu, her eyes are big (in constrast with other body
parts.)
.
I am also a student.

.
Yongsu not only studies well, but also plays sports well.
Toleration:
- .
()
I heard the news only yesterday.
only if it be, as
only for, finally
Alternative:
- .
()
I am going to drink coffee or red tea.
or the like, or so,
or
something, ?
about
Shall we go mountain-climbing or something on the
weekend?
Concession:
.
-()
It is good to save even small amount of money.
even, even if, as
a last recourse
, .
We are all hungry so lets eat anything (whatever it is).
2) Sentential delimiters
Sentential or discoursal delimiters affect the whole sentence in terms of the speakers
perception or modality in a discourse situation. (ibid, p348)

67
Type

Example

Welcome, you all.

. Let us all try eating.
. Everybody, lets leave quickly.
Politeness:
, , .
But, I am unable to go.
Apperceptive confirmation:
.
I realise, how about?
How about leaving now?
Concessive hesitancy: () ().
but
(I am sorry but) I am not going.
Plurality: plural particle -
(not suffix )

3.5 Numeral constructions

1) Time expressions
Type
Temporal counters: oclock,
minutes, second, duration of
time
Hours: Native numbers +

Example
1 ( ) 1 oclock
10 ( ) 10 minutes
20 ( ) 20 seconds
30 ( 30 minutes
2 ( ) 2 oclock

In military affairs, Sino-Korean numerals

Minutes and seconds: , (Only SinoKorean numerals)
Duration of time: (at the end of time
expressions)

14 ( ) 14 oclock
10 20 ( ) 10
minutes and 20 seconds
2 two hours

Obligatorily after and optionally after

and
a.m. and p.m.: , (before the
time expressions)

10 (or 10 ) 10 minutes

In military affairs, hours are extended to

the concept of 24 oclock,
Half:

22 ( ) 22 oclock

(Used for thirty minutes but not for thirty

seconds.)
Days of the month, months, years:
Sino-Korean numerals + day,

2 (x)

10 ( ) 10 a.m.

2 2:30; half an hour

1 ( ) one day
3 ( ) the 3rd month

68
month or year
(Note: 6 , 10 )
Sequence of the days of month, months,
years: the year + the month + the day
Duration of time (days and years): SK+
(); SK + ()
Duration of months: SK + + ()
(Note: item referring to the number
of months.)
Native system days of the month

Duration of days and years in native

terms:
Native numeral + month, moon or
year, sun

2020 ( ) (year) 2020

6 ( Not ) the 6th month
10 ( Not ) the 10th
month
2020 4 2 2 April 2020
20 () 20 days, 2 () two
years
3 () 3 months

1 day, , two days ,

three
1st day, 2nd day .
1 month, , two month,
1 year, 2 years, etc.

2) Ordinals, frequency, and number

Ordinals: Native
numerals + native
ordinalizer ,

SK ordinals: the SK
ordinalizer + SK
numerals
Possessive construction
usually without the
genitive particle
Frequency:
Native or SK numerals
+ times

, , , first, second, third

(Note: The first numeral one is replaced by
first)
, , first time, second time,
third time
(Note: The defective noun turn, time may be placed
after the numeral)
5 ( ), 10 ( ) fifth, tenth
(Note: If is used, SK numerals are permitted to occur
with )
10 tenth

, the second person

() , the tenth man
1 ( ) lesson one
, , one time, two times, twenty
times
20 () , 100 () ... twenty times, 100 times
(Note: With SK numerals, occurs only for multiples of

69

Numerical order:
SK counter +
number (generally for
animates); or SK +
number (generally for
inanimates)
House numbers:
number-land

ten (from 20) and above)

5 () No 5
26 () Room No 26.

12 #12

3) Classifier constructions
Type
Noun + Numeral + Counter

Numeral + Counter + Genitive +

Noun

Example
two books;
three students;
five elderly people;
ten dogs.
, two books;
three students;
five elderly people;
ten dogs

3.6 Modality and tense-aspect

1) Sentence enders (addressee honorific, mood and clause-type)
Speech type
Mood
Plain level:
eat, go, be
good/like,
be big

Declarative
Indicative Retrospective
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Speech type
Declarative
Mood
Indicative
Retrospective
Intimate
.
level
.
.
.

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
? ? ? ?
? ? ? ?
? ? ? ?
? ?
? ?

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
?
?
?
?

70
Speech type
Mood
Familiar level

Declarative
Indicative Retrospective
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
?, ? ?
?, ? ?
?, ? ?
?, ?
?

Speech type
Mood
Blunt level

Declarative
Indicative
Retrospective
, . .
.
.

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
?, ? ?
?
?

Speech type
Mood
Polite level

Declarative
Indicative
Retrospective
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?

Speech type
Mood
Deferential level

Speech Type
Plain
Intimate
Familiar
Blunt
Polite
Deferential

Declarative
Indicative
Retrospective
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Interrogative
Indicative
Retrospective
? ?
?
?
? ?
?
?

Propositive

Imperative

. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .

Speech type/enders
Plain
Intimate

Apperceptive
. .
. .
. .

. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
Declarative
Promissive-assurance
. .
. .
-

71

Faimiliar
Blunt
Polite
Deferential

. .
. .
. .
-

. .
. .
-

2) Modal elements: - and -()/

(termed as the definite future suffix or the deductive-reasoning suffix): the
speakers/hearers intention or volition, and the speakers/hearers presumption or
conjecture. -()/(termed as the prosopetive suffix or the presumptive suffix):
probabability or predictability. (ibid, pp 360-61)
Example

Intention or Presumption: -

Speakers/hearers intention or .
volition
I dont intend to go.
?
Do you intend to go?
.
I presume that it (has) snowed.

Speakers/hearers
presumption
or conjecture

?
Do you think you know; Do you understand?
Probability / predicatability
-()/
Probability
Precdicatability

Example
.
I think Sumi will come.
.
The person you will meet is Teacher Kim.

3) Tense and aspect

Type
Generic present

Example
.
I go to my school by bus.
.
My young sister is pretty.

72
Present progressive
Present Progressive
(aspect)
Present Perfect
Simple past
Simple past and past
perfect
Past Perfect
Past Progressive
(aspect)
Future

.
Yongsu is coming over there.
.
Sumi is coming (at the moment).
.
Now summer has come.
.
Mia left for Korea yesterday.
.
When I called, Mia had already left for Korea.
.
At that time Sumi had just come.
.
I was going home (at that time).
.
My family will leave for Gold Coast tomorrow.
Tense Forms in Specific Types

Type

Forms/Tense

Example

Resultative
verbs (RV):
take
after,
wear,
get old,
etc.
Transferentive
constructions:
-() while
doing, and
then
Future perfect

RV + -/:
Present.
RV +-/+-/:
Past

.
My older sister takes after my mum.
.
I had worn my friends dress on that day.

VS+():
Imperfect event
VS+/ ():
Perfect event

.
Yongsuo came be on his way to church.
.
Yongho went to chuch and came back.

Future time word

and VS+-/
VS+-/ +--:
Past event situation
no longer true at
present

!
You are a dead person tomorrow!
.
Sumi had left for Korea (but she may be
here now).

Double-past

Embedded tense
Type
Relative tense-aspect: the
embedded event time

Example
.
My younger brother did not have breakfast and went

73
denoted by the main caluse to school.
tense
Absolute tense-aspect: the .
utterance time in
Yongsu slept and I studied.
coordinate clauses
.
I liked the computer but didnt buy it.
Tense in Embedded Clauses
Type
Embedded clauses
allowing non-past tense
only:
-/ (infinitive)
- so that
- to the point where
- as soon as
-/ as, since, etc.
Embedded clauses
allowing either past or
non-past tense:
-() while
-() and then
-(), -
(nominalizers)
- fact
- as if
-/ pretence
- (quoative), etc.

Example
.
I borrowed money and bought the book.
.
My younger brother went out as soon as the rain
stopped.

.
Mia felt tired even though she had slept a lot.
.
I knew that Yongsu didnt do his homework.
.
Yongsu said that he had been sick.

3.7 Passive and Causative Constructions

Passives and causatives in Korean are expressed by derivational suffixes such as -, -,
-, -. (ibid, p 367)
1) Passive Sentences
Change of Structure:
(1) the object to the subject
(2) the active verb to the matching passive verb
(3) the subject to the agent with a locative goal/particle.
Locative goal/particles functioning as agentive: by (human, deferential);

74
by (animate, formal); by (animate, informal); by (animal, inanimate)
Passive suffixes: -, -, -, -
Passive verbs
Active
(transitive)
-dig

Passive
(intransitive)
- be dug

- put

- be put

- eat

- be eaten

- read

- be read

- pull

- be pulled

- sell

- be sold

- chase

- be chased

- cut

- be cut

Example
.
A hole is dug in the ground.
.
A bag is placed on the table.
.
A frog was swallowed by the snake.
.
The Bible is widely read.
TV .
I bought it because I was enticed by TV ads.
.
That house was best sold.
.
He is hunted by the police.
.
The bridge was cut by the flood.

Verbs not allowing a passive suffix

Type
do verbs: study, promise, etc.
Dative or benefactive verbs: give, receive, help, etc.
Cognitive verbs: know, do not know, etc.
Symmetrical verbs: meet, take after, fight, etc.
verbs: teach, hit, throw, touch,
feel (one exception: run over vs be run over), etc.
Passivization in Possessive constrctions
Only with adversative
Example
passive verbs
be stepped on, (Active)
.
be caught,
Yongsu stepped on the tail of a snake.
be bitten,
be pinched,
(Passive)
be kicked,
.
be cut, etc.
The tail of a snake was stepped on by Yongho.

75

Use of the phrasal agentive form

Agentive form
Example
The idiomatic phrase
()/- by,
owing to, in accordance with

.
That building was sold to the school by the
owner.

Idiomatized passive constructions

Idiomatic passives

Example

weather- be cleared,

cold be caught,
- () .
food (not) be eaten,
etc.
Lexical passive verbs
Type
Pure lexical passive
verbs: / hit
vs be hit, etc.

Compound passive
verbs: verbal noun +
, undergo,
receive, suffer,
hear,
receive,
become, etc.

.
The weather has cleared up.
(lit. The weather was cleared.)
.
Yongsu has caught a cold
(lit. Yongsu was hooked by a cold.)

Example
(Active) .
Yongsu hit Minho.
(Passive) .
Minho got hit by Yongsu.
insult vs be insulted
.
Sumi was insulted by her friends.
respect vs be respected,
.
That politician is respected by people.
scold vs be scolded
.
Inho was scolded by his teacher.
scold vs be scolded,
.
Sumi was scolded by her dad.
use vs be used,

76
.
This method is used by scientists.

Phrasal passive verbs

Type
VS + / get to
be, become (change of
state):
be given,
be
postponed
be pressed,
be entrusted
be passed
over, etc.
The agentive: -
()

Example
give vs be given
( ) .
This task was given to us (by our teacher).
postpone vs be postponed,
.
The meeting was postponed to tomorrow.
press vs be pressed,
( ) .
The bell was pressed (by a visitor).
entrust vs be entrusted
( ) .
A lot of money is entrusted to bank (by customers).
pass over to vs be passed over
( ) .
The incident was passed over to the court (by parents).

2) Causative sentences
Causative constructions: (i) A causes something to B.; (ii) A causes (makes, lets,
enables, permits, gets, or has) B (to) do something; made by (a) introducing a new
subject(agent) to a basic sentence, (b) changing the subjectof the basic sentences into a
direct (in an intransitive basic sentence) and or indirect object (in a basic transitive
sentence) and (c) replacing the basic sentence predicate with a causative verb or verb
phrase. (ibid, pp. 373-374).

77
Type (1): Short-form
Suffixation: attaching
causative suffixes:
-, -, -,
-(), -(), -,
-

Example
Basic stems
Causative stems
Adjectives
high
heighten
wide
widen
narrow
narrow (sth)
low
lower
. The road is wide
.Workers are widening the road.
Intranstive verbs
melt
melt (sth)
lie down
lay
know
inform
remain
leave (sth)
wake up
wake (sb up)
get hot
make hot
. Mia laughed.
. I made Mia laugh.
Transitive verbs
see
show
wear
cause to wear, dress
walk
walk
go over
pass (sth) over
ride
cause to put on
.
Junhee put on new clothes.

Lexical causative
verbs

Fossilized

.
My mum dressed new clothes to Junhee.
do
cause to do, order
go
send
grow
raise, grow (sth)
move
move (sth)
.
Vegetables are growing well in our garden.

.
My dad grows vegetables in the garden.
lexical ()expand dangle (sth)

78
causative verbs:
-()
(intensified
causativizer)

() tilt
tilt (sth) forecefully
. (Please) lengthen the string.
. (Please) hang down the string.

Type (2): Long-form

-
cause (to do/beat)

Example
Indirect causation
permit/arrange (sb) to see
make (sth) narrow
.
The owner let us to see the inside of their house.
.
Workers made the road narrow.
With a negative element: not permitting
do not let/make (sb) sleep
do not let/make (sb) eat
.
My friends did not let me sleep.
.
My mum did not let me eat icecream.

3.8 Compex predicate constructions

Three general types of complex predicates: (i) relative (a relative clause predicate + a
head noun + a main clause predicate); (ii) serial (denoting sequential actions or states as a
single coextensive or extended event) and (iii) auxiliary (both consisting of a complement
clause predicate + a complementizer (e.g. /, -, -) + a main clause predicate).
Type (1): Relative
The speakers (in statements) and
the hearers (in questions)
modality
(feeling,
thinking,
conjecture, etc):
-// seem, appear
-()/ will probably
- seem, appear
-() appear,
- () look as if, etc.
Exclusive activity or stativity:

Example
.
It seems that it has rained.
.
It will probably rain.
.
It seems to be raining.
.
It appears to be raining.
.
It looks as if it will rain.
/.

79
-() be/do only
-() do nothing
but
Possibility / impossibility:
-() () /
can/cannot

Type (2): Serial

I do nothing but my duty.

() .
Yongsu is unable to run because of a leg
injury.

Example

Two predicates: Predicate + the

infinite suffixal complementizer - .
/ + Predicate.
Yongsu (picked up) and ate the rice cake with
his fingers.
roast and eat
.
peel and eat
Sumi did not take her bag with her.
take (sth) with
look into
catch up with
kill onself with
buy and give
take (a suspect) to
slaughter and eat
pick up and eat, etc.

.
We looked into the cave.
.
The bear caught and ate the fish.
.
My mum bought a ne cloth for me.

(Note: -/ < -/)

Three predicates: Predicate +
/ + Predicate + / + .
Predicate.
The rain water is penetrating into the bedroom.
/
penetrate !
into
Jump down quickly!
/ crawl into
jump down
Predicate + the conjunctive
complementizer + Predicate:
inquire into
carry by the mouth
kneel down
idle away, etc.
Predicate + the transferentive
/ complementizer +

.
Yongsu tends to delve into subjects.
.
The cat carried a fish by its mouth.
.
I looked up at the sky for a while.

80
Predicate:
look up
look down
() look out
look back, etc.
Type (3): Auxiliary (a) Sensory
Sensory construction for a third
persons internal feeling:
Sensory adjectives + -/
show signs of being (>
transitive verb).

.
When I entered the room, Inho was looking
out of the window.
Example
Intransitive
Transitive verbs
adjectives

. I am happy.
? Are you also happy?
./?
Sumi is happy./ Is Sum happy?
Transitive adjectives Transitive verbs

.
I envy Sumi.

.
Minsu envies Sumi.
Desiderative construction for a / .
third persons wants and wish: I want to eat Korean food.
Object (Accusative particle) +
VS + be wishful, .
be desirable, wish.
Sumin wants to eat icecream.
Type (3)
Example
Auxiliary (b) Benefactive
Action verb + the infinitive .
suffix / + benefactive Sumi helped Yongho (for him).
auxiliary verbs , ,
.
()- (do) for (someone)
I read a letter to my grandma (for her).

81

.
I asked Sumi to show me the picture (for me).
Type (3)
Auxiliary (c) Aspectual
Progressive and resultative aspects:
- , -/
Habitative aspect: -

Example

.
He is sitting on the desk.
.
I used to buy medicine from this chemist.
Persistentive aspect: -/ , - .
/ gradually, persistently, That work is under way smoothly.
away/hither
Terminative aspect: -/ .
do completely, get through
I forgot the appointment to meet with a
friend.
Sustentive aspect: -/ get .
it done just in case, -/ It is good to know this kind of thing.
do for later, get it over with now
Experiential (or attemptive) aspect: .
-/ try to, have the Think about this problem carefully.
experience that
Type (3) Auxiliary (d) Permission

Example

Permission and concession:

./.
VS + the conjunctive suffix
It is okay to go home now.
/ (even though) +
be good or do, be okay
Prohibition:
()
VS +() (if) or (/) (if) .
+ not do, be not okay
You should not take photos there.

3.9 Negation
1) Sentential negation
Type

Example

Short-form:
.
Negative adverbs () not and Sumi didnt go school today.
not possibly, cannot, unable in
.
declaratives and interrogatives
Yongsu couldt go to school today.

82
Long-form: VS+
and VS+ .

.
Sumi didnt eat meals today.

.
Yongsu couldt eat meals today.
Long-form VS+ stop doing, (<).
dont do in imperatives and
As for you, dont go to school today.
propositives.
.
Lets not go to school today.
Idiomatic expressions:
.
be inferior,
As for maths, Sumi is inferior to Inho.
be unsatisfactory, etc.

.
What he does is unsatisfactory.

except for, not but

.
Its not Inho but Minsu who went.

except for

.
Nobody came but Sumi.
?
Did you do your homework?

as a sentential adverb: No

. No.
Negative constructions with negative .
polarity items: (i) adverbials at Minji is not pretty at all.
all,

after
all,

particularly, rarely, in .
all, entirely, etc.; (ii) pronominal Nobody came.
compounds anyone,
anything, etc.; and (iii) .
Nobody came except the teacher.
delimiters except for, etc.
2) Constituent negation
Type

Example

Inherently negative predicates:

not exist, not
know, etc.
Idiomatized negative words:
be pitiful,
be all right,

. (opposite: )
I do not know about Korean history.
.
I regret to hear that Yongsu had a big accident.

83
be sick,
be useless,
be less than, bad,
be wrong, etc.

.
That phone is now useless.

.
By his behaviour, he is no good.
Negation by Sino-Korean immoral, informal
negative prefixes:
illegal, impossible
-, -, -, -, -, -, unsuitable, insufficient
(im-, in-, dis-, un-, non-, ir-, incompetent, unlawful, etc.
etc), etc.

3) Double negation and rhetorical negation

Type
Double negation:
Usually a short-form negative ()
first + long-form negative (- )
second.
Short-form or long-form + the
negative copula be not

Example

.
It is not the case that Yongsu didnt go to
school.

/
.
It is not that Yonsu didnt go to school.
Rhetoric negation:
!
A negative construction interpreted as I am pretty sure Sumi will come.
positive, and a positive one as negative
in rhetoric questions, etc.
?!
Do you think Inho has come? I dont think
so.
Rhetoric confimatory expression
?
(-) doesnt it/didnt it? / It rained, didnt it?
isnt it/wasnt it? (equivalent to tag
questions in English)

3.10 Adverbial constructions

1) Attributive adverbials: time, place, manner and degree
Type: Time
Points of time
Duration
Relative time
Repetition/Frequency

Example
today, now, when?
always, long, forever
already, early, yet, still
sometimes, everyday, often

84
Type: Place

Example
here, every place, where?
this way, that way
far away, near

Location
Direction
Distance
Type: Manner

Example

Lexical (i):
Non-onomatopoeic
Lexical (ii):
Onomatopoeic
Clausal (i):
the adverbializer -
Clausal (ii):
the adverbial suffix
Clausal (iii): the
infinitive / and
the
conjunctive
suffix -

well, quickly, quickly, fast, on

purpose, carelessly, much, deeply
with snaps, bang-bang,
colourfully
as if rats were dead, without
freedoom, as if it is going to snow
.be red ripe, live nicely,
kindly help, decorate
beautifully
looks small, looks tall/big, etc.
come holding a flag, go
by (riding) a car, etc.

Type: Degree

Example

most, almost, extremely,

overly, very, very, quite, really,
considerably, entirely, most, truly,
excessively, awfully, greatly, , very, by far,
etc.
Negative polarity
absolutely, at all, / so much,
particularly, ordinarily, in no small
degree, etc.
Clasual:
the to the extent that one gets sick,
projective suffix till the dawn breaks, etc.
so that, to the
extent that
Lexical

2) Modal adverbials the speakers feeling, opnion or attitude

Type
Assertive

Exclusive

Example
please, indeed, truly, indeed, of
course, at any cost, indeed, on earth,
after all, etc.
surely, only, only, only, merely,

85
etc.
Descriptive unluckily, rather, just, please,
why, fortunately, fortunately, why, etc.
Hypothetical maybe, by any chance, well, as if,
if, on no account, even if, etc.
3) Discoursal adverbials Address terms and interjections
Address terms personal names and/or honorific titles, professional titles and kinship
terms are closely interrelated to different speech styles.
Speech style

Example

Deferential

! Sumi!, Idiot!, Child!, etc.

Hello, Old brother!, Older sister!, etc.
Hello!, Department Chief Kim!, etc.
() Dr Kim!, () Teacher Kim!,
Grandpa!
Sir!, Dept Chief!, Grandma!, etc.

Type

Example

Plain
Intimate
Blunt
Polite

Interjections ()! Oh!, Oh my gosh!, ! Oh My!, Why!, !

Ouch!, ! Heavens!, ! Good grief! (used by females),
Good Heavens!, etc.
! Oh! My stomach aches!
! ! Oh my heavens! I left my homework at
home!

3.11 Honorifics and Politeness Strategies

1) Lexico-honorifics
Type (1):
Personal Pron.
1st Person
2nd Person

Example
: to a senior or an adult equal
: to a child or a younger adult
: to an older person of over sixty years of age
: to an adult stranger; not to a social superior
: to an adult inferior (and between husband and wife)
: to an adult with intimate relationships (eg. lovers, spouse)

86

3rd Person

: a superior to a much youner adult or adolescent inferior

: to a child or equivalent; to a close friend of the same ages.
Demonstrative : D esteemed person
D : D person
D : D person
D : D child

Type (2): Address-reference terms

All kinds of professional titles including department chief, nurse, taxi or bus driver
Diversified kinship terms
General terms eg. sir, , madam, senior, madam, etc.
Type (3a): Honorific words
Meaning
wife
house
son
(females) older brother
words
meal
name
age
stay
eat
sleep
die

Example (Noun, Predicate)

Plain
, ,

Type (3b): Honorific words

Meaning
give
accompany
see
inform
ask

Example (Predicate)
Plain

Type (3c): Honorific words

Function
Nominative (subject)
Source
Dative/locative/goal

Honorific
, ,

Humble

Example (Particle)

Neutral
/
/
/

Honorific

87

Type (4): Subject- and

addressee-honorific suffixes
Subject honorification

Addressee honorification

Example
-(): VS+ -()/-(), etc.
./ .
The teacher is going.
-(): -(), -(), etc.
./ ?
This picture is good./ Do you like this picture?

2) Syntactic honorifics
AH (Speech) level

Address form

Subject you

Predicate suffix

Deferential

-()
Def./Polite
(SN)-

-()
Pol./Blunt
SN-
SN-
-()/na
Blunt
/
-()
Pol./Blunt
FN-
FN-/
-()/na
Familiar/Intimate
na
GN-/GN()

Intimate
na
GN-, ()
GN-,
Intimate/Plain
na
GN- ()

, () ?
When are you going to leave, teacher?
(AH: Addressee Honorific; SN: surname; FN: full name; GN: given name)
3) Strategic politeness expressions Decreasing degrees of politeness
Degrees of politeness
Decreasing
polite speech

Impolite speech

Example
?
Excuse me, but would you kindly open the door for me?
?
?
.
.
.
.
.
!

88
Chapter 2: Research on Korean Language Learning and Teaching
This chapter presents a summary of some research results that relate to the teaching and
learning of Korean. The descriptions in this chapter have been extracted or summarised
from scholarly journal articles. Some details have been modified to provide up-to-date
information or suit the purpose of this reference book. Respective sources are provided
under each section.
1. Misspellings in Korean: Types and Patterns 2
1) Data and Subjects
Written examination papers administered at three universities (one Korean and two
Australian); a free composition type of data and a reformulation type of data (Corder
1981); completed by 82 (49.1%) 2nd and 85 (50.9%) 3rd Year English-L1 students of
Korean; a total of 635 valid spelling errors out of 167 examination papers.
2) Descriptive Statistical Results
(1) The single most frequent error type: the substitution of by (6.0%), followed
by the substitution of by (5.5%). Table 1 below shows the overall frequencies
of 40 spelling error types.
(2) Three groups of the most frequent error types where one type of error occurred
more than 60 times ranging 10%: (a) confusion of and (11.2%); (b) confusion
of and (10.2%); and (c) confusion of and (9.6%), as shown in the Table
below.
Table: Three most frequent types of misspellings (groups)
Error Type Group
for and for
for and for
for and for
Total

No of Errors

Percentage

71
65
61
197

11.2%
10.2%
9.6%
31.0%

(3) 12 other groups of considerably frequent error types occurring 10 or more times
each, including: (a) t-th-tt substitution; (b) l-related; and (c) p-ph-pp substitution.
(4) 15 frequent error types: slightly more consonant error types (8 types) than vowel
error types (7 types); in terms of percentage value: slightly more vowel
2

Source: Shin S-C (2007), Types and Patterns of English L1 Students Misspellings in Korean,
Journal of Korean Language Education, 18-3: 99-122. International Association of Korean Language
Education. ISSN: 1225-6137.

89
misspellings (24.3%) than consonant misspellings (22.1%); and in all 40 types:
more misspellings of consonants (35.3%) than those of vowels (31.3%).
3) Description of Error Types
Category

Type

Palatal stops
(11.2%)

>
>

Mid-back vowels
(10.2%)

Mid- and lowfront vowels

(9.6%)
Category
Alveolar stops
(5.4%)

>
>
>
>

Type
>
>
>
>

Labial stops
(4.3%)

>
>
>
>
>

Example
*() morning; * () book
* () family car, * () (sb)
slept
* () number; * () health
*() not really/particularly; * () Japan
*() cigarette; * () tomorrow
* () shop; * () homework
Example
* () follow;
* () occasion, the time
* () usually; * () Saturday
* () absolutely'; * () clean
* () during, duration;
* () circle
* () be clever and
*() if one smokes,
* () because (sb) is tired
*() because (sth) is complex,
* () disease/sickness
* () (sb/sth) is bad.,
* () They say its bad, dont they?
* () was sick

4) Patterns of Error Types

(1) Mismatch in three-series consonants: Misspellings of the three-series consonants.
Pairs of the lenis, aspirated and tensed consonant sounds are mismatched,
particularly between (a) and ; (b) and ; (c) and ; (d) and ; (e)
and ; and (f) and .
(2) Mismatch in vowel sounds: Six groups of vowel misspellings: (a) and ; (b)
and ; (c) and ; (d) and ; (e) and , and (f) and .
(3) Misuse of nasals and lateral: Nasal-related and 6.0% lateral-related misspellings:
(a) ng and n; (b) when using l between vowels (e.g. for name);
between (c) m and n (e.g. for cigarette); (d) when using between

90
vowels (e.g. for middle-aged woman) and (e) by adding
to the end of a neighbouring syllable (e.g. for travel).
(4) Omission and addition of : The grapheme was omitted or added,
particularly when it came after, before or between nasals (e.g. for
luckily) or when it came at a syllabic initial ( for digestion).
(5) Miscellaneous errors: Small in number and sporadic: a wrong graphic association
or a wrong pronunciation.
5) Explanations
(1) Three-series Consonants: The three-series consonant spellings involve
differentiating the sound value of lenis [-tense, -aspirate], aspirated [+tense,
+aspirate], and tensed [+tense, -aspirate] consonants, and the failure to do so is
largely attributable to the confusion between their sound features.
(2) Vowels: A very high frequency of errors observed in two pairs of vowel spellings:
and , and and are primarily attributable to the phonetic closeness
between them (H-M Sohn 1986: 498) and the mismatch in sound features between
English and Korean approximate sounds, but the habitual tendency of both Korean
L1 and L2 speakers to follow easiness in pronunciation is also related to the
frequent erratic productions in written form.
(3) General aspects: Romanization, which is introduced at an early stage in some
textbooks, the visual aspects (i.e. visual similarities) as opposed to oral aspects,
conjugations of irregular verbs, mora (i.e. the length of a syllable) and sound shift
phenomena such as resyllabification are closely related to the results of the study.
6) Teaching Implications
KFL learners have trouble with identifying the exact match between the target sound in
Korean and the perceived sound in their mind. It is often daunting for the KFL learners to
distinctly perceive and produce a sound/spelling on the basis of the degree of aspiration,
the tenseness or the sound qualities when the sound of the concerned Korean vowel or
consonant does not exactly match with any of the English vowels or consonants. An
effective way of teaching and learning may be drawn from the fact that orthography or
spelling is not just a matter of spelling or pronunciation but also a matter of meaning. As
a word consists of sound, meaning and symbol, it is necessary to apply these three
concepts to spellings. Learners need to be given not only orthographic symbols and
phonological explanations about sound features but also a semantic reinforcement which
highlights the difference in meaning made by spellings in question. Learners need to be
aware whether a syllable they transcribe has a meaning (sensical) or not (non-sensical).

91
2. Types of Lexical Errors 3
1) Data and Subjects
141 written examination papers administered at three Australian universities; free
composition and reformulation data; 305 lexical errors; produced by 71 second- and
third-year English-L1 students.
2) Results
(1) The most frequent four error types were errors of wrong word choice, semantic
similarity, overgeneralisation and literal translation in the order of frequency.
Table 1. Frequency of Error Types
Wrong word choice
Semantic similarity
Overgeneralization
Literal translation
Formal similarity
Omission or incompletion
Word coinage
Idiomatic collocation
Sino-Korean numeral collocation
Redundancy
Code-shifting

85 (N)
45
39
33
23
18
15
15
14
10
8

26 (%)
14
12
10
7
6
5
5
4
3
2

(2) Students of Korean were having more difficulties in selecting words appropriate for
particular contexts or situations and in differentiating lexical items with similar
meaning.
(3) They also tend to over generalize the lexical item that they have learnt and to
literally translate the reformulated item or the item stored in their L1.
(4) The overwhelmingly dominant errors came from nouns and verbs. Nouns (53%)
were the most common form of error, followed by verbs (33%).

Source: Shin S-C (2002), Australian Students Lexical Errors in Korean: Type, Frequency and Cause,
Journal of Korean Language Education, 13-1: 307-338. International Association of Korean Language
Education. . ISSN 1225-6137.

92
Table 2. Errors by Word Class (N/%)
Word Class
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Idioms
Total

Total
162 (53)
101 (33)
22 (7)
15 (5)
5 (2)
305 (100)

3) Description of Error Types

Type

Example

Wrong word choice

* () public transport; * () (trading)

company; * ( ) marriage partner;
() to be social
* () recreational leave; * (() )
Korean home; * ( ) round-the-world-trip;
* () to be good; * () to be few
( /) next year; (/) this year;
( ) airfare; () rent;
( ) to wish to have.
* () pressure; * () foreign
language; * () activity (event); * ()
human resources (organization); * () to play (sports);
* () to make noise.
*() () raw fish; * () tourism
study; * (); * () to put something
in

Confusion by
semantic similarity
Overgenerlization

Literal translation

Formal similarity

4) Explanations
(1) Many errors are attributable to wrong word selection in essence. In some cases, the
wrong word choice may be due to failure to differentiate between subtle semantic
differences. Many of these errors are believed to be due to the wrong selection of a
dictionary definition.
(2) Some errors seem to be related to a lack of knowledge about the conceptual
differences between the competing words. It is probably due to the similarity in
phonology or orthography, but it also may be due to the semantic association of two
words.
(3) Students overgeneralize their knowledge on the basis of their earlier learning,
especially in the construction of time phrases, and counters or suffixes that are used
with noun phrases.
(4) Other common lexical errors occur by literally converting L1 items, and such errors
are due to a strong interference from English. This type of errors have been made

93
by sticking to the literal meaning of the English version or to the way the words or
phrases are expressed in English.
(5) Some other errors are attributable to confusion by formal similarities. They are
related to occasional or habitual confusion due to the similarities in the formal and
phonological aspects. In particular, words ending with nasal sounds seem to carry
phonological confusion factors.
(6) More than half of the total errors involved nouns, followed by verbs and adjectives;
students lexical developments are still in the early stages, where nouns and verbs
are more frequently used to form a basic sentence, or that students attempted to or
were asked to attempt to make sentences requiring abstract nouns for concepts that
are beyond their L2 proficiency.
(7) A large number of the errors produced are intralingual, which is an encouraging
sign in students lexical developments, in that as learning proceeds, intralingual
errors are generally more produced than interlingual transfer.
5) Teaching Implications
The findings would be useful for the design of remedial programs and the development of
teaching materials including a learner dictionary. For instructors, there is a need to
devise pedagogically effective learning and teaching strategies that prevent fossilization
of certain errors in students lexical developments. For students, it is desirable to
understand and be able to use vocabulary with multiple meanings, for example, by
reading L2 language materials as much as they can, rather than relying solely on a
dictionary.
3. Particle Substitution Errors: Nominative (/)-by-Accusative (/)4
1) Aims: to explore the sentential constructions that trigger nominative-by-accusative
substitutions and attempt to provide some possible linguistic and pedagogical
explanations for the cause.
2) Triggering Grammatical Elements
(1) The cause of the nominative particle substitution is associated with existential verbs
e.g. exist, stay, have, do not exist, do not stay, do not have, be
much, many, have a lot or be little, few, do not have a lot.
a)

4 () .
I have another class at 4.

b) () .
4

Source: Shin S-C (2006), Substitution Errors by English L1-KFL Learners: Nominative-byAccusative, International Review of Korean Studies, 3-1: 59-90. Korea-Australasia Research Centre.
ISSN 1449-7395.

94
.

I have many things to do.

(2) The misinterpretation of the case of the noun referred to by descriptive adjectives
causes the nominative particle substitutions.
a)

() .
Kimchi is too spicy.

b) () .
Vocabulary and grammar are very difficult.
(3) The substitution of the nominative particle by the accusative particle is caused by
the misinterpretation of the noun preceding intransitive verbs.
a)

() .
(lit.) A single room came up (for lease) near my school.

b)

() .
Often the train arrives late at the station.

(4) Transitive sensory (or psychoemotive) adjectival verbs such as be

disagreeable, dislike cause confusion in the choice of a particle for the object.
a)

() .
I dislike university life.

b)

() () .
I disliked spicy food, but now I like it.

(5) Sentences containing inchoative verbs such as become, get, become

affect the occurrence of the substitution errors in the nominative particle.
a) () .
I would like to become a newspaper journalist or foreign correspondent.
b) () .
Now (my) swimming has got better.
(6) Adjectival verbs that denote necessity are responsible for another type of
substitution error in the nominative particle.
() .
(He/she) needs a student visa and a passport.

95
(7)

KFL learners often wrongly interpret the subject in the embedded clause as

the object of do you know or the interrogative where.

() ?
Do you know where the best Korean restaurant is?
3) Explanations
(1) English L1-KFL learners tend to wrongly perceive the existential and possessive
verbs as transitive verbs which take an object, thereby attaching the accusative
particle to the subject in replacement of the nominative particle. This seems to be
associated with at least two grammatical reasons, both of which are related to
interference from English.
(2) One of the most significant causes of the nominative substitution is related to the
use of adjectives which refer to necessity such as need, be necessary /
needed. One cause is interference from English translation. A necessity is
expressed often by the transitive verb need in English, but in Korean it is
expressed by its adjectival verb be necessary / needed.
(3) A descriptive sentence requires a pattern such as S + / Descriptive Verb, but
some learners interpret the subject nominal not as the subject of the descriptive verb
but as the object, thus using the accusative particle instead of the nominative
particle.
(4) Some sensory words are intransitive, while some other sensory adjectives are
always used as transitive. These transitive sensory words appear to need the
accusative particle for the object, but in transitive constructions the object is in the
nominative case with those sensory adjectives. This is where many English L1KFL learners are confused and produce substitution errors.
(5) In negative sentences the nominal complement takes the nominative case, thus
forming the negative predicate / . Unlike in positive sentences where
the nominal complement is unmarked, this provides learners with a source for the
erroneous substitution of the nominative particle. There are at least two reasons for
this. One is that some KFL learners wrongly perceive the nominal complement as
the object of be not, and the other is that students mistakenly assume that
the nominal which occurs after the subject nominal is the object of the sentence.
(6) Inchoative verbs such as become, get, become and processive verbs
such as happen, occur and enter, suffer from. The complement nouns
of these verbs are in the nominative case and what is more important is that
inchoative sentences consisting of the inchoative verb and processive
sentences occur with two nominative cases. In inchoative sentences both a subject
noun and a complement noun are in the nominative case, and in processive
sentences also, both a subject (an experiencer) and a complement (a theme) are in
the nominative case.
(7) In passive sentences where a passive verb occurs with a patient/goal subject in the
nominative case and the patient/goal subject is targeted by the agent nominal

96
which is marked by or meaning by in English. In this context, some
learners tend to wrongly perceive the patient/goal as the target i.e. object of the
agent or the agents action rather than as the subject of the sentence.
(8) There are a large number of common intransitive verbs and many locomotive verbs,
which are all widely used in KFL learning contexts. Learners need to be aware that
the experiencer who does or shows such actions should not be seen as an object
involved in the state or action but as the subject of the sentence.
(9) Relative clauses with the defective noun are often termed headless relative
clauses as they behave as if they do not have a head. The problem in such
constructions is in the embedded subject that should be in a nominative case, and
some learners often perceive the nominal as the direct object of the main verb,
placing it in the accusative case. Another type of relative clause relates to the factS type, particularly those in the interrogative clause. Some learners perceive the
subject in an embedded interrogative relative clause as the object of the main clause.
(10)In Korean, there are many types of simple sentences where more than one
nominative case appears. They have the constituent structure where the NP plays a
role, not as a subject of a predicate verb or adjective, but as a sentential subject
taking the remaining whole sentence as its predicate, and the following nominativemarked nominal is again the sentential subject of the remaining sentence. The
nominative-marked nominals cannot be in the accusative case.
(11)Use of defective nouns also provides the source of nominative-accusative
substitutions. There are a large number of defective nouns, and these defective
nouns are used with the nominative particle, typically in such constructions as
existential, inchoative, and negative adjectival VS + - .
(12)The quotation as the subject should be in the nominative case but some learners
tend to perceive it as the object of the complement nominal, partly because of
confusion associated with the psycholinguistic process, since it is not a single word
but a full sentence consisting of usually three or more words, and partly because of
insufficient knowledge about such sentence types as copular, adjective and
intransitive sentences.
4) Teaching Strategies
It may be necessary to organise a remedial class and carry out remedial
exercises/activities using the linguistic information, with a particular focus on
nominative-accusative particles. The instructor may use erroneous constructions
produced by a single student or a group of students in class or commonly produced by
various groups at different levels.
The first step for remedial teaching is to demonstrate the errors on a board or screen, with
the selected key erroneous parts which show the particle substituted by the accusative
particle in bold. It is desirable to re-write both the erroneous noun phrase wrongly
marked by the accusative particle and its predicate part since the accusative-marked
phrase alone does not reveal the error but it becomes clear only when it is contextualised
with the predicate. The second step is to demonstrate the correct form and/or methods of
construction along with some explanation. It would be effective to demonstrate the

97
correct form along with the accusative-marked phrase accompanying an appropriate
dynamic (or action) verb for comparison.
Explain why the nominative case, instead of the accusative case, is required in the
adjective/descriptive constructions. The possible explanations might be that: 1) An
adjective construction is different from a transitive construction in that the former does
not normally require an object, thus the accusative particle, as its constituent, while the
latter does; 2) if a nominal is used as the subject of the sentence, use the subject particle
/ instead of the object particle /; 3) unless the intention is to contrast the
subject with a seen or unseen counterpart or stress it, use the nominative particle
/ instead of the topic particle /; 4) if the predicate that refers to the nominal is
an adjective/descriptive (or intransitive) verb, use the nominative particle for the nominal
instead of the accusative particle; 5) the accusative particle is normally attached to the
object nominal, which is the object of the dynamic or action verb, and thus it is not used
in a normal adjective construction which does not require an object; 6) with the
existential adjectival verb /, which is interpreted as not only there is
(existence/location) but also have (possession) that requires an object in English, use
the formula As for X+TOP, Y+NOM exists (issta) to indicate existence, location and
possession, unless intended to contrast or stress, in which case the nominative particle is
replaced by the topic particle; and 7) in transitive constructions that use transitive sensory
adjectival verbs such as like, envy, the object is not in the accusative
case but in the nominative case. Where possible and appropriate, intentionally highlight
the subject nominal being located immediately before the predicate by giving a Koreanoriented English pattern As for X+TOP, Y+NOM Predicate.
4. Locative Substitution Errors 5
1) Subjects and Data
167 written examination papers administered at the three universities; Level 2 and Level
3 students who had studied for a minimum of 150-200 hours to 300-400 hours in a
formal setting; L1 speakers of English; 138 locative errors (locative-static - and
locative-dynamic -).
2) Results
(1) Nearly all the locative-dynamic particle (-) errors were caused by substitution
(97%), while substitutions of the locative-static particle (-) were relatively low
(63.9%).

Source: Shin S-C (2008). Locative Substitution Errors by English L1-KFL Learners. The Language
and Culture, 4-1: 23-43. The Korean Language and Culture Education Society. ISSN 1738-3641.

98
(2) A relatively larger proportion of the errors with the particle was due to omission
(26.4%). Many L1 speakers of Korean omit the goal particle when they refer to
a destination, usually in a casual context and/or casual speech.

Error Patterns
Substitution
Omission
Addition

Table 1: Locative Error Patterns

Locative-static Locative-dynamic
(out of 72)
(out of 66)
46 (63.9)
64 (97.0)
19 (26.4)
2 ( 3.0)
7 (9.7)
0

(3) The largest portion of locative substitution types and the gravity of substitutions
occur between locative particles. Substitutions of the locative-dynamic particle
were made overwhelmingly with the locative-static particle (93.8%) and more than
two thirds (70%) of the locative-static particle substitutions were made with the
locative-dynamic particle.
Table 2: Locative Substitutions
Locative Particles (=N)
Locative Substitution
Number (Percentage)
60 (93.8)
Locative-dynamic (64) Locative-static
32 (70.0)
Locative-static (46)
Locative-dynamic

3) Description of Errors
(1) Substitution of Locative-dynamic
If there is any substitution error in the locative-dynamic case, then there is more
than a 90% chance it will be substituted by the locative-static particle.
a) (>) .
Now I am studying Korean at university.
b) (>) .
You should not eat in the classroom.
c) (>) .
(I) work at the library.
d) (>) .
Sometimes (I) sleep in the classroom.

99
(2) Substitution of Locative-static -
The most common factors which account for the locative - substitutions come
from the misinterpretation of some frequently used existential and descriptive verbs
such as and into dynamic verbs.
a) (>) .
There is a triangle inside the square.
b) (>) .
There are many dangerous animals in the country.
c) (>)
Because traffic is complex and air is bad in Seoul
Confusion with the use of the time indicator - at, in, on is another cause for the
substitution.
d) 3 (>3 ) .
Lets meet at the entrance of university at 3 tomorrow afternoon.
e) (>) .
It snows (lit. snows come) a lot in winter.
Some other substitution errors were caused probably due to confusion with the goal
particle - that usually accompany locomotive, processive and locational verbs.
f)

() (>) .
(My) car was broken, so I couldnt go to (my) class.

g) (>) .
Its been six months since I entered the company.
h) (>) ( .)
I was putting sugar in coffee in the kitchen.
4) Explanations
(1) The statistical information is relevant to the design of teaching materials, in
particular the sequencing and presentation of the locative and its related particles in
KFL textbooks. The analysis of three textbooks used in the source institutions
reveals a remarkable inconsistency or imbalance in the sequence and frequency of
the locative particles presented in the main text of each textbook.
(2) The locative-static particle is introduced and presented more vigorously than
the locative-dynamic particle in the first part of the introductory curriculum,
and the locative-dynamic particle is presented later than its counterpart and more
consistently in the later period of time. The goal particle is presented earlier

100
than the locative-dynamic but more actively in the similar period of time in the later
stage. The time indicator is very intensively introduced in the first part of
lessons then not presented for a while and then revisited most actively and
consistently later. The source particle is most sparsely introduced and taught.
(3) The particle , whether it is the locative-static particle, the goal particle or the
time indicator, is far more frequently presented or used than the particle in the
teaching materials and classroom. This may make KFL learners much more
familiar with the particle. Learners would internalise the concept of the locativestatic particle more confidently than its counterpart form since it was introduced
and taught earlier, and thus is more familiar to them. This could hinder the learning
of the locative-dynamic particle which is normally introduced later. When the
locative-dynamic particle is introduced, the two other particles (goal and time
indicator) are also actively presented or consistently revisited. This may cause the
learners to confuse the locative-dynamic particle with other particles or make them
pay less attention to the locative-dynamic particle.
(4) The sequence, ordering and frequency of the particles in KFL course books are
largely inconsistent, imbalanced and distant from a psychological logic that can
facilitate the process of language acquisition by reflecting a certain natural
sequence of the learners approximate systems (Nemser 1974).
5) Teaching Implications
(1) The locative-dynamic particle is used to indicate the location normally in
constructions that contain a dynamic or action verb. From a learners point of view,
the nature of the dynamicity of the verb may become clearer when it accompanies
an object word in SOV type of sentences but not all SOV sentences mention the
object. The nature of a verb and the nature of sentence construction (e.g. presence
or absence of an object) could add to confusion on the part of the KFL learners in
perceiving the dynamicity of a verb in a sentence.
(2) There is a relative lack of input or training regarding the proper use of the locativedynamic particle. KFL learners have more time and training in learning the
locative-static particle than the locative-dynamic particle, which means they
become more familiar with the use of the static particle and, as a consequence,
learners tend to keep using the static particle instead of the dynamic one.
(3) In most cases, KFL course books provide insufficient explanations about the usage
in a very confusing sequence and simplistic manner. It is important to present
learning materials in a pedagogically effective and psychologically natural way so
that the materials can facilitate rather than hinder students learning.
(4) From a psycholinguistic perspective, the function of -, which is used as locativestatic, dative and goal particles, is wider than that of -, which is used as
locative-dynamic and source (from) particles. If learners tend to rely on the more
familiar form, it is almost certain that the wider appearance of the identical form
will play a role in the choice of the locative-static particle in place of the locativedynamic particle. Also, the locative-static particle is shorter than the locativedynamic particle, and this might lead less confident learners to choose the shorter

101
one. Learners tend to choose a simple and familiar form rather than any form
randomly in a confusing situation.
(5) The substitution of the locative-dynamic particle is essentially due to overapplication of the locative-static particle -, and it is affected largely by the
misinterpretation of adjectival verbs as dynamic ones or insufficient knowledge of
the typical occurrence of the locative-static or goal particle with some specific
types of verb such as (a) locomotive verbs; (b) existential verbs; and (c) static verbs.
(6) The frequent locative substitution errors can occur when there is a lack of extra
input or training in the sentence constructions that carry more restrictions beyond
the general application of the locative particles. This means that after the general
usage of the locative particles is introduced, it is necessary to review the usage to
revise it for learners by providing additional teaching and learning input for verbs
and sentence constructions which carry ambiguity or extra restrictions.
5. Semantic Similarity and Lexical Errors 6
1) Aims: to present findings of an analysis of lexical errors caused by semantic
similarity and discusses pedagogical implications for teaching of vocabulary in
Korean.
2) Errors of Semantic Similarity: Categorical Examples
(1) Synonymic words
Some lexical errors can be caused by occasional or consistent confusion due to
semantic similarity. These errors are related to a lack of knowledge of the
conceptual differences between the competing words, rather than the resulting from
random choice or complete ignorance of the meanings.
a)

(>) () .
You shouldnt marry without a car, house and job (<work).

b) (>) 5 () ( 5 )
. Usually employees (<labourers) work until 5 in the afternoon.
c)

(>) .
There is not much busy thing (<activity).

Source: Shin S-C (2007), Lexical Errors Caused by Semantic Similarity in Korean, Teaching Korean
as a Foreign Language, 32: 141-170. KLI Institute of Language Research and Education. ISSN 15988201.

102
Competing concepts:
work, job, workplace, getting a job, position
or place and as a secondary or functional meaning a matter, thing, or
experience; labourer, labourer (more formal and broader than
), employed person, complany employee,
employee, and sundry labourer; a holiday, leave of
absence, school vacation and a public holiday , etc.
(2) Words of Similar Meaning and Sound
Some lexical errors contain competing pairs of words with similarity in meaning
and pronunciation.
a)

(>) .
Its not good to criticise unfavourably (<critically review).

b) (>) (>)
. There are so many museums and palaces that are well known to
the world (<the society).
c)

(>) ().
Australia follows the European tradition (<legend).

Competing concepts:
criticism, comment, review, criticism, judgement and
criticism, denunciation; the world, society, the public and the
world, the earth, international; legend, tradition and tradition,
convention, etc.
(3) Words of Semantic Association
This is the case where the learners have chosen words semantically associated with
the correct forms, words that are not completely out of context, but still do not fit
completely in the context.
a)

() (<) .
You must pay tax (<tariff) on things that are over the permissible quantity.

b) (>) () .
You should not smoke a cigarette in the classroom (<class).
c)

(>) ().

103
My mind (<opinion) has changed.
Competing concepts:
tariff and tax; class (class work) and classroom;
opinion and thought, idea; reward and
compensation, etc.
(4) Words of Derivational Association: Time words
Some errors are caused by confusion between words sharing a semantic origin,
particularly between time-related nouns: between oclock and period of
time, between and season, and between month of the year and
period of month.
a)

1 (>1 ) .
It takes 1 hour (<oclock) and a half to [go to] the university.

b) 3 (>3 ) .
Lets meet at university at 3 oclock (<hour) this afternoon.
c)

(>) .
I think there is no free time (<season).

d) 6 (6 ) .
It has been 6 months (<6th month/June) since (I) joined the company.
(5) Specific Words: Korean and Family
Some specific words cause confusion to KFL learners in relation with their usage
and semantic distinction. The examples include ordninary words such as Korean
and family.
a)

(>) .
In a Korean language (<Korea) class

b) (> )
A Korean home/household (<Korea(n) family members house)
c)

(>) .
I would like to make a nice home (<family members).

(6) Words of Concord Relationship

104
Other errors include some word groups in concord relation.
a) (>)
Because it is not easy to meet a marriage partner (<pair/mate)
b) (>) .
There were many Japanese tourists (<tourism workers).
(7) Examples of Competing Verbs
Below is a list of some typical examples of semantically competing verbs that often
provide a source of verb errors.
to go and see vs. to see
to rise, go up vs. to increase
to increase vs. to get bigger/larger
to be small in height vs. to be small in number
use vs. make good use of
order vs. do someone a favour
to be old (animate) vs. to be old (inanimate)
refuse, reject, decline vs. refuse, reject
undergo a change vs. be changed, replaced, alternated
to drink vs. to swallow
3) Explanations
(1) Words of similar meaning: A lot of words used by learners share certain semantic
components with the correct words or associate semantically with them. For
pedagogical purposes it is useful and necessary to identify those competing words
that appear not only in learners compositions but also in other sources within the
range of their expected learning, and to clarify their semantic boundary and usage.
(2) Words of similar meaning and form: What makes learners more confused is the
case where not only the meaning of competing words but also their forms are
similar. These words share both semantic and orthographic components, and thus
appear to cause greater confusion in psycholinguistic aspects. A large portion of
these pairs of words come from the same or associated semantic origin in essence
but are cases where their semantic domain has been diversified, shifted or expanded
to more specific and detailed aspects. These types of words puzzle not only
KFL/KSL learners but also Korean L1 speakers in distinguishing one from another.
Competing pairs of words that share both semantic and graphic components
become more complicated as lexical items become more elaborated or specialized
according to the specific context or referent.
(3) Words of similar form: Some confusionis attributable to the formal similarity of the
competing words, and in such cases, learners erroneously apply the incorrect word
that has little or no semantic relations but only shares certain formal components
with the correct one. This case is different from that of homonyms in that the

105
written forms and pronunciation of a competing pair of words are not the same but
similar. It may overlap with aspects of orthographic errors but it is largely different
from spelling errors in that the production of errors in this case is not due to an
orthographic or phonological shift but due mainly to the mismatch between the
learners intention and the outcome of the intention, and this is related to the
understanding about the definitional or semantic differences between competing
words that are similar in form.
4) Teaching Implications
(1) Lexical errors caused by semantic similarity demonstrate the importance of
identification and clarification of such words of similarity. Such a grouping or
comparison should be considered in conjunction with a future development of
teaching materials and should work as an effective strategy for remedial teaching
and reinforcement.
(2) When learners are not confident about the definitional concepts or semantic
restrictions, they tend to rely on their memories or dictionaries to select what is
available or what looks and sounds suitable. KFL/KSL learners problem with
concepts reinforces the necessity of a learner dictionary which is not only
linguistically well phrased but also pedagogically friendly and relevant.
(3) Where applicable, a co-occurrence strategy which presents competing words with
matching lexical items should be able to give learners a succinct but clearer idea
about the usage of potentially problematic words.
(4) It is suggested to undertake some types of practical exercises for remedial class
with a particular focus on the usage of lexical items with semantic and formal
similarities. Some possible exercises include slot-filling drills, correction of errors,
substitution drills, choice between lexical items; matching to make sentences Intensive repetition of target items and making conceptual features salient to
learners are still important in foreign language pedagogy. However, it is important
that where possible teachers should move away from excessive drilling and
individual working through of exercises and find ways in which structure-based
drill exercises can be incorporated with communicative activities.
6. Perceptions on Acceptability of Lexical Items 7
1) Aims: to examine the acceptability of the use of some Korean competing lexical
items in contextualized sentences and to investigate how Korean L1 and L2 speakers
judge the use of the items for each specific context: i) means of public transport:
use vs make (good) use of; ii) dream: undergo a
change vs change/be changed; and iii) boarding house: come vs
come back.
7

Source: Shin S-C (2006). Acceptability of Some Korean Lexical Items Judged by Korean L1 and L2
Speakers. Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language, 31: 153-171. KLI Institute of Language
Research and Education. ISSN 1598-8201.

106

2) Subjects: Korean L1 (25) and L2 (16) speakers residing in Sydney. The L1 speakers
were born, grew up and educated in Korea up to at least high school and in some
case tertiary studies. Their age ranged from 16-25 (72%), 26-35 (16%) and to 36-45
(4%). The L2 speakers were born in Australia or came to Australia at an early age
and did all or most of their schooling in the Australian educational system. They all
belonged to the age group 16-25, and their average length of Korean learning
experiences through educational systems such as ethnic schools and high school
programs prior to the investigation was approximately 3.5 years. Their main
language was English.
3) Data collection: A survey questionnaire consisted of six sentences containing the
lexical items in question, and the subjects were asked to indicate how acceptable they
think each lexical item is in the sentences, by choosing one of the responses given in
four-point scale (two positive and two negative responses).
4) Results
(1) The two groups shared the same distribution pattern of percentages in all items
except one in overall positive and negative responses. But there are some
differences between the two groups in the evaluation of extremely or a little
awkward lexical items. L2 speakers seem to evaluate the use of those items less
severely than L1 speakers.
(2) means of public transport
a) .
You must use means of public transport.
b) .
You must make good use of means of public transport.
The significant majority of L1 (76%) and L2 (68.7%) speakers gave negative
responses to the match of means of public transport and
use, and only 24% and 31.3%, respectively, judged it acceptable. Instead, they
clearly (96% and 87.5%, respectively) indicated that the phrase matches the verb
make (good) use of. L2 speakers judged the use of slightly less
severely than L1 speakers.
(3) dream
a) .
I think that my dream has gradually undergone a change.
b) .

107
I think that my dream has gradually changed.
The majority of L1 (84%) and L2 (68.7%) speakers assessed that the match
between dream and undergo a change was extremely or a little
awkward. The absolute majority (92% and 87.5%, respectively) of the two groups,
instead, gave positive judgments to the match between and change/be
changed. Among L2 speakers, as many as 31.3% judged acceptable in the
context, so they evaluated the match of and less severely than L1
speakers.
(4) boarding house
a) .
As soon as I come to my boarding house, I am greeted by the lady owner.
b) .
As soon as I return to my boarding house, I am greeted by the lady owner.
The considerable majority of L1 speakers (64%) judged that the match between
boarding house and was acceptable in that particular context, while
the slight majority of L2 speakers (56.2%) assessed it as inappropriate or awkward.
Both groups, however, largely agreed to the use of come back as
acceptable. Interestingly, the majority of L1 speakers judged the use of both
(64%) and (64%) equally acceptable in the context, while L2 speakers
gave a clearly positive judgment (87.5%) to the use of but two closely
dividing negative (56.2%) and positive (43.8%) opinions for the use of .
5) Summary
(1) Both L1 and L2 Korean speakers perceived that means of public
transport should be used with make (good) use of rather than
use, with the L1 group being more decisive and strict in such a judgment.
(2) The two groups again agreed that dream works with change/be
changed instead of undergo a change, but the L2 group was also lenient
with .
(3) The L1 group judged that works well with both come and
come back, while the L2 group was not certain about the match with but
perceived that it works much better with . Overall, the L1 speakers
judged much more uniformly than the L2 speakers on the use of the lexical items,
and L2 speakers were less decisive and more lenient.

6) Explanations

108
L1 speakers generally have more concrete knowledge about the usage and referent
range of an L1 lexical item than L2 speakers. Quite often L2 speakers misjudge the
semantic boundary or struggle themselves to match the conceptual range of an L2
item with that of their L1. Another reason might relate to L1 interference. L2
speakers judgment on the use of an L2 item could be made on the basis of their
knowledge of the use of its equivalent in L1, thus overly or narrowly conceptualized.
7) Teaching Implications
(1) L2 speakers evaluate awkward or inappropriate lexical items that received
relatively higher negative responses less severely than L1 speakers. In other words,
L1 speakers judged lexical errors to be more serious than L2 speakers, and L2
speakers were more lenient than L1 speakers.
(2) The findings reinforce the need to provide L2 learners with adequate input about
the semantic restrictions of competing lexical items.
(3) The concepts of those and other competing words and their associated semantic
components, as well as their acceptable (or unacceptable) match with each other
require a clear explanation in KFL instruction and materials.
(4) Similarly, KFL learners need to be aware of the various expressions of the concept
of change, their subtle differences and associated matches. In addition to
and , there are a number of (change)-verbs such as
(plan, course, etc.), (physical feature, e.g. shape),
(ones mind), (form, biological feature, e.g. cell), (times,
generation, phases) and (situation, condition, weather, season, etc.).
(5) In KFL contexts, there are a number of paired lexical items that need to be defined
more accurately, appropriately and inclusively in terms of their referent range,
lexical domains and semantic restrictions. Teachers should pay more attention to
those competing items, and perhaps utmost attention to erroneous/extremely
awkward expressions that interfere with communication.
7. Perceptions on Teachers Instructional Language 8
1) Aims: to investigate perceptions of both teachers and students on such issues as the
roles of the L1 and L2 in the language classroom; the instructional language in class
activities, the instructional language in non-language courses; the appropriate point
of time and frequency of the use of the L1, and its educational value and effect.
2) Subjects: 27 teachers working in two Korean institutions (teachers of Korean: 89%)
and 39 students studying Korean in a Sydney college.

Source: Shin, S-C. (2009). "Language Instructors' Use of Learners' L1 and L2 in Classroom:
Perceptions by Students and Teachers of Korean". Journal of Korean Language Education, Vol. 24.
31p (165-195). Seoul National University Korean Language Education Research Institute. ISSN: 12278823.

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3) Data collection: survey questionnaire consisting of two sections: 1) the use of the L1
by the teacher in a second or foreign language class; 2) classroom roles of language
instructors.
4) Results
(1) The teachers had a conservative or negative opinion on the use of the learners L1
in class, while the student-respondents were positive or less negative and more
flexible towards the use of the L1. Key findings are summarised below.
(2) The teacher-respondents understood that the learners L1 can be used occasionally
when needed in beginner courses but as the course level gets higher the frequency
should be less and eventually there should be completely no use or minimal use of
the learners L1. However, the students perceived the extent of the use of the
learners L1 much higher than the teacher group in each proficiency level.
(3) The teacher-respondents generally stated that the learners L1 should not be used at
all or should be used only occasionally when necessary in class-related functional
situations, e.g. when giving learning instructions or explaining grammatical and
cultural elements and when giving the meaning of vocabulary or expressions. But
again the student group expected the L1 to be used more often or one step higher in
the frequency scale than that desired by the teacher group.
(4) The teachers agreed that the use of the learners L1 was not desirable during
speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. They were particularly negative
about L1 use during speaking and listening activities. In contrast, the students
indicated that the learners L1 can be used occasionally to very frequently during
each of the four macro-skills activities.
(5) In content-based non-language classes, the largest proportion of teacherrespondents had a positive opinion of the use of the learners L1, but, more than
one third of the respondents said it was not desirable. As expected, this is compared
with the response from the majority of the students who were positive about the
learners L1 indicating that the learners L1 should be used frequently or all the
time during the non-language classes.
(6) The teacher group thought that the use of the learners L2 is important in L2
courses regardless of whether they are language skill-based or content-based. In
addition, the teachers believed that the use of the learners L1 and switching
between the L1 and L2 have negative effects on the learners learning process. In
the meantime, the student group agreed with the teachers about the positive effect
of the use of the L2 on the learners learning, but unlike teachers they were positive
about the use of L1 in non-language classes and also the code-switching between
L1 and L2 as being helpful for class management and understanding.
(7) The majority of teachers agreed that their speed of utterance, pronunciation, use of
appropriate vocabulary and the complexity of sentences and topics are all important
ecological factors which would have an effect on the learners understanding. The
teachers pronunciation and vocabulary in particular were considered to have more
effect on learners understanding. The students, however, perceived the speed of
utterance, pronunciation and the complexity of sentences as bigger factors in the
learners comprehension ability.

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(8) The teacher group thought that the use of an elaborated L2 would be more useful
than a simplified L2 for the learners language acquisition although they did not
have a clear cut common view regarding the form of classroom language. On the
other hand, the student group preferred and regarded simplified conversational L2
more important than elaborated L2.
(9) Both teachers and students had common views on the role of teacher as classroom
instructor. However, the difference between them is that the teacher group were
sticking to the stereotypical principal roles that are generally expected in formal
educational settings, whereas the student group was strongly expecting roles as
stimulator and adviser from the teacher as well.
5) Teaching Implications
(1) The issue here is whether it is more helpful for second language acquisition to
minimise or totally ban the use of the learners L1 in L2 learning settings as desired
by the teachers in this survey, or whether it is more desirable to conduct classes with
more flexible attitudes towards the use of the learners L1 as preferred by the
student-respondents, particularly if we are to support the current practice of
language teaching based on learner-centred methodology.
(2) The second implication is on the educational philosophies and the educational
effects. As we have observed the teacher-respondents were divided in half and could
not give a unified opinion on the questions about the content-based non-language
classes, there is a question about whether the use of the L1 is desirable in nonlanguage courses like linguistics or society, and such a question falls under the
educational philosophy of a particular institution as to whether the priority should be
placed on the acquisition of language skills or the intake of knowledge and
understanding. In looking at this question, the learners linguistic competence
should also be examined along with the educational setting where the language is
taught, but what is more important is to examine which method has more
educational benefits for learners.
(3) The third point to consider is which form of L2 will work better and be more
beneficial for L2 acquisition. The teachers themselves in the survey were divided in
half in their views on elaborated and simplified L2. As a reference, there are some
studies in ESL (e.g. Parker and Chaudron, 1987) that show that the elaborated L2
was more effective to the acquisition of ESL but it appears that there has been no
report on this topic in KFL or KSL thus far, and this is an area that requires a
longitudinal classroom-based study. If such research proves that elaborated
modifications are more valuable in terms of language acquisition, teachers should
try to provide redundant information by repeating and paraphrasing teacher speech
rather than simplifying it.
(4) Lastly, the responses from the teachers in relation to the roles of teacher represent
the typical perception about the traditional roles of teachers such as instructor and
assessor. The question is whether this kind of typical perception is desirable in this
global era where educational goals, settings and methodologies change, and the
conventional teacher-student relationship is being re-established. This question
should be examined in relation to such roles as motivator and guide, which were

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low-valued by the teachers but were strongly expected by the students in the survey.
The findings seem to implicitly indicate that rigid or flexible positions work
commonly in forming perceptions of the use of the learners L1/L2 and the teachers
role.

8.

Motivation and Learning Style Preferences 9

1) Aims: to investigate the motivational factors, learning experiences and learning-style

preferences of the learners at the Sydney College (Ultimo) of TAFE NSW and to
examine views on cultural components which should be placed in the language
program and the learners first image or impression of Korea and Korean people.
2) Subjects: 81 respondents (54 female) and 27 male) studying Korean at the College;
mostly in their 20s, from various ethnic backgrounds with Chinese background
formed the largest portion (30%), followed by Anglo-Saxon or Scottish Australians,
Vietnamese and Indonesians. Most respondents have studied Korean less than 1 year
(61.7%) or about 1 year (27.2%).
3) Data collection: survey questionnaire consisting of four sections, ie. Reasons for the
study of Korean language, learning experiences and expectation, learning-style
preferences, and first image impression of Kore and Korean people.
4) Results
(1) Why study Korean?: The following three reasons were shown to be very relevant to
students choices:
a) to understand TV drama and films in Korean;
b) to hold conversations with Korean people; and
c) found the Korean language interesting.
Beside these reasons, three reasons receiving strong support from the students as
being relevant or very relevant for their choices were:
d) to have a personal relationship with Koreans;
e) to be able to get around Korea; and
f) to understand Korean people and their way of life.
(2) For most respondents, job prospects, written correspondence, and Korean arts were
not the immediate reasons for their study of Korean, and the capacity to understand
newspapers and magazines, literary works and family influence on their motivation
do not appear to be very relevant.
9

Source: Shin, S-C. (2009). Students' Motivation, Learning Experiences and Learning-Style
Preferences: A Survey on Australian College Students of Korean. The Language and Culture 5-2. 31p
(1-31). The Korean Language and Culture Education Society. ISSN: 1738-3641.

112

(3) The results discussed above suggest that there were two important motivational
factors influencing student choice.
A utility factor - the capacity to understand Korean drama and films; the
aspiration to communicate in Korean; the hope to put the language to use
overseas.
An interest factor - the interest in the Korean language itself; personal
relationship with Koreans; an interest in Korean people and their way of life.
(4) Learning experience and expectation:
a) The most enjoyed aspects were:
(a) Conversation and speaking practice;
(b) Role-play, games and fun ways of teaching/learning;
(c) Learning to read and write, and comprehension;
(d) Learning the Hankul alphabet;
(e) Learning Korean as a new language;
(f) Korean songs, drama and films;
b) The least enjoyed aspects were:
(a) Grammar;
(b) Vocabulary and pronunciation;
(c) Learning numbers;
(d) Homework and tests;
(e) Classroom practices/management.
c) The most interesting cultural aspects were:
(a) Showing respect, relationships, and associated language;
(b) Food, drinking and table manners;
(c) Music, drama and films;
(d) Way of life and way of thinking;
(e) History;
(f) Body language;
(g) Traditional costume.
d) Cultural aspects I wish to learn more are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)

Lifestyle, customs and daily life;

Art, entertainment and media;
Culture in the language;
History;
Food and cooking;
Others (e.g. fashion, business, literature, education).

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(5) Learning-Style Preferences: Two learning methods were most preferred, and these
were learning by conversation practice in class (56.8%) and through pictures, films
and videos (40.7%). This learning-style preference reflects the findings dealing
with the aspects of language learning they most enjoyed, which was presented in
the previous section. Other preferable learning methods include learning by error
correction, writing something and doing something.
Table: Learning-Style Preference
Learning preferences
By conversation in class
Through pictures, TV drama and films
My teacher to tell me all my mistakes
By writing something
Korean words by doing activities

No (%)
out of 81 per item
46 (56.8)
33 (40.7)
26 (32.1)
25 (30.9)
21 (25.9)

(6) First image or impression of Korea and Korean people:

a) The overwhelming majority of respondents gave very positive comments on
Koreans, Korea and its culture, while some respondents gave mixed or neutral
views. Comments on negative images or impressions were very minimal.
b) The positive image or impression of Korean-speaking people that the students
perceived is summarized in a variety of positive attributes such as sincere, kind,
lovely, respectful, polite, fun-loving, high spirited, friendly, hospitable, hardworking, honest, straight, interesting, humorous, proud, nice, gentle, close bond,
welcoming, vibrant, united, neat, good-looking, good skin, stylish and good at
arts and sports.
c) To them Korea was a country which has both old and new: rich in culture with
a long history and yet technologically advanced. They perceived positive
impressions of both traditional costumes and modern fashion. Two of the
national brands, Tae-kwon-do and Kimchi, were among their first images of
Korea, while Korean entertainment such as TV drama and music along with
Korean celebrities greatly appealed to them.
d) Some students commented in a neutral or dispassionate way. This feeling was
expressed in contrastive words such as proud and selfish, friendly but
conservative, rude and romantic and divided but rich in culture.
e) The comments on negative perceptions of Korea were minimal in number and
were most likely based on the respondents own personal experience and
observations. Most comments were made on the appearance, behaviour and
quality of Korean people (eg.Small eyes; Very formal; They smell like
bulgogi (BBQ); I felt that they are a bit insular keep to themselves; Blunt;
Not good at English).
f) Generally speaking, the students statements on the first images or impressions
the students received are fair and insightful in that the comments represent quite
an accurate and balanced view on the typical character of Korea and its people.
The respondents seem to have observed Korea from an international perspective
and as objectively as they could. This is not a bad sign in terms of the students

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attitude towards Korean. Rather, it demonstrates the students analytical capacity,
which could lead to a deeper understanding of Korea.
5) Implications
(1) In short, the findings show that the respondents are very practical and integrative
(rather than instrumental) about their learning of Korean, and very positive about
the target country and its people. They wish to learn conversational Korean through
fun language activities, to be aware of everyday life in Korea with updated
information and to do something interesting, for example, something relating to
food, cooking and entertainment culture. It is desirable that the Korean program at
the College and other institutions with similar educational goals and settings should
reflect the findings.
(2) If this type of vocational Korean program is to be successful, it is important to have
internal and external demand basis, have an easy access to transport and be easily
accessible by anyone who is interested in Korean.
(3) Furthermore, it is desirable to set up a socio-educational program or institution in
metropolitan cities such as Sydney in collaboration with the Korean government
initiative such as the King Sejong Institute project initiated and managed by the
Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Education. To promote Korean widely in
the community, it is inadequate to rely only on education through school and
university programs. We need not only elite-oriented tertiary or systematic
educational programs but also a well-structured community-based life-long
education program.
(4) In addition to the Hallyu (Korean Wave) phenomenon (eg. K-Pop),which has
gained considerable popularity among the Asian migrant community in Sydney and
other big cities, there are a considerable number of Australians such as public
servants, business people, families of international marriages, families with adopted
Korean children who need, or wish to have access to community-based Korean
programs. Both institutional and community efforts should be made in providing
more non-award socio-educational models of Korean programs for the general
public, government employees and business people in the community.
9. Language Use and Maintenance 10
1) Aims: to address issues of Korean migrant childrens language use and maintenance
that are faced by the Korean community in multicultural Australia, and to examine
whether or how Hallyu or Korean Wave, which is a vigorous socio-cultural
phenomena in Asia and beyond, has impacted on the maintenance of language and
cultural practices.

10

Source: Shin S-C (2008). Language Use and Maintenance in Korean Migrant Children in Sydney,
Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language, 33: 139-168. KLI Institute of Language Research and
Education. ISSN 1598-8201.

115
2) Subjects: 149 children (88 girls/59.1% and 61 boys/40.9%) attending three Korean
community schools; Years 4-6 primary and Years 7-9 junio high; their age range was
from 9 to 16, with 10 (17.7%) to 12 (25.2%) years of age being the largest group. A
large group of respondents were in Year 7 (37 or 25%), Year 4 (31 or 20.9%) and
Year 6 (26 or 17.6%); The length of stay in Australia was 5 to 15 years (except one
16 years) with the mean length of residence in Australia being 8.8 years.
3) Data collection: survey questionnaire consisting of four sections: background data;
frequency of language use; language preference; and socio-cultural aspects and
language learning.
4) Results
(1) Frequency of language use: The age of the interlocutors has great influence on the
language chosen. With their grandparents (60.0%), parents (36.7%) and other
Korean adults (47.0%) the response of always using Korean is in stark contrast to
always using Korean with their siblings (13.7%) and their Korean friends (10.1%
and 13.5%). This is probably due to a large extent to the language abilities and
preferences of the interlocutors. In other words, some children would use Korean
with adults as part of the process of developing their ethnic identity. However, in
many cases it is more likely that they would choose to use Korean themselves or be
requested to use Korean at home or in community situations.
Table 1: Frequency of Use of Korean (%)
Interlocutors

Always Usually

Sometimes Rarely Never

1) with grandparents
2) with parents
3) with other Korean adults
4) with siblings
5) with Korean friends at
school
6) with Korean friends when
socialising
7) in dreams
8) in prayer

60.0
36.7
47.0
13.7
10.1

10.7
37.3
34.2
25.3
23.0

12.7
19.3
13.4
30.8
24.3

6.7
6.7
2.7
17.8
31.1

10.0 11
0
2.7
12.3
11.5

13.5

25.0

36.5

18.9

6.1

12.8
20.1

14.2
18.1

21.6
34.9

18.9
13.4

32.4
13.4

(2) The extent that the respondents participated in the Korean community by visiting
various venues or participating in community events was also investigated. The
single biggest influence is that of Korean churches where 67.1% of the respondents
attended on a weekly basis. But if we look at the overall trend of the cumulated
frequencies Korean shops have greater influence.
11

It is possible that 10% of the respondents did not have grandparents (e.g. as they had passed away), did
not yet have a chance to talk with them or talked in languages (e.g. English) other than Korean.

116

Table 2: Visiting Korean Venues and Participating in Korean Events (%)

Venues and Events
Churches / temples
Shops
Restaurants
Functions /events

Weekly
67.1
57.7
14.0
20.8

Monthly
4.0
11.4
28.2
16.7

Sometimes
12.0
28.9
49.7
50.0

Seldom
8.7
1.3
8.1
22.2

Never
8.0
0.7
0
9.0

(3) The influence exerted by the Korean mass media was also investigated. The Korean
medias biggest influence was from Korean songs with 45.9% of the respondents
listening to Korean songs most days of the week. But visual media (videos, DVDs,
TV) have a greater overall effect than any other media. More students listen to
Korean music or watch videos on a day to day basis, but newspapers (or
magazines) and radio programs do not seem to have much appeal as 61.1% seldom
or never read them and an overwhelming 82.3% seldom or never listen to Korean
radio programs.
Table 3: Frequency of Use of Korean Media (%)
Media

Most days

Weekly

Sometimes

Seldom Never

Newspapers / magazines
Videos, DVDs, TV
Radio
Songs

6.3
36.7
5.4
45.9

14.6
20.4
3.4
14.4

18.1
29.9
8.8
24.7

21.5
8.8
20.4
8.9

39.6
4.1
61.9
6.2

(4) Contact with people in Korea: The frequency of using emails or the internet in
communicating with Korea is much higher than that of post as expected, at 20% on
a fortnightly basis and 39.3% on a monthly or less frequent basis. 40.7% seldom or
never email or chat on the internet with people in Korea. The means which was
most frequently used by the respondents in contact with Korea was phone calls,
with 30% phoning on a fortnightly basis and 52.1% on a monthly or occasional
basis. The majority (62.3%) of respondents seldom or never communicated with
Korea by post.
Table 4: Frequency of Contact with People in Korea
Means of contact
Phone
Emails /internet
Post

Fortnightly
30.0
20.0
3.5

Monthly
18.1
10.3
0.9

Sometimes
34.0
29.0
24.8

Seldom
11.1
11.7
24.1

Never
6.9
29.0
38.2

(5) Language Preference: The students were asked whether they read English or
Korean language books other than those required to be read for school. 19.4% of

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the respondents did not read for pleasure. Among those who read for pleasure and
answered the question about the type of books they read, overwhelming 87.6%
show overall preference for English books with only 12.4% preferring or strongly
preferring Korean books.
Table 5: Types of Books Read for Pleasure
Questions
Reading for pleasure?

Type of books?

Answers
Yes
No
TOTAL
English books only
More English books
More Korean books
Korean books only
TOTAL
U/A

%
80.6
19.4
100
33.6
54.0
10.6
1.8
100

(6) Types of Friends: The students were asked if they had more Korean friends than
non-Korean friends or not, 60.4% said that they had more or only non-Korean
friends, with 39.6% having more or only Korean friends.
Table 6: Types of Friends
Types of friends
Korean friends only
More Korean friends
More non-Korean friends
Non-Korean friends only
TOTAL

%
1.9
37.7
47.2
13.2
100

(7) The language use in reply: The students were asked how often they used English in
reply to a Korean stimulus. The respondents were more likely to reply in English to
a Korean stimulus with others of a similar age than adults. They used English in
reply to their parents (39.5%) more often than other adults (30.6%), and with their
friends (65.3%) than with their siblings (58.6%). The interaction with adults was
more likely to be bilingual between Korean and English, with more frequent replies
in Korean to other adults.

Table 7: Frequency of Reply in English when Spoken to in Korean (%)

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Interlocutors
Friends
Siblings
Parents
Other adults

Always
26.4
23.4
18.0
18.8

Often
38.9
35.2
21.5
11.8

Sometimes
22.9
27.6
31.3
25.7

Seldom
6.9
5.5
18.8
20.8

Never
4.9
8.3
10.4
22.9

(8) Easier language: The students were asked as to the language they found easier for
each of the four language skills, i.e. speaking, listening, reading and writing. In all
four skills English was perceived as being much easier than Korean. The greatest
margin was for writing, where 82.6% found English easier.
Table 8: Easier Language in Four Skills (%)
Language skills
Speaking (N=135)
Listening (N=136)
Reading (N=134)
Writing (N=132)

English
75.6
66.2
80.6
82.6

Korean
20.0
29.4
14.9
13.6

U/A
4.4
4.4
4.5
3.8

(9) Overall preference: The respondents were then asked about their overall preference
for using English or Korean. They showed 49.3% preferring English, only 13.8%
preferring Korean and 29.7% having preference in either language, while 7.2%
having not decided or answered. Overall, a large number of respondents who gave
comments said that they found English easier and were more comfortable with it
than Korean, so they preferred to use English in everyday situations, but at the
same time many others were confident in and comfortable with both Korean and
English and/or recognised the need to use Korean.
(10) Socio-cultural aspects and learning Korean: Students were asked about whether
they felt they were motivated to learn more Korean by cultural activities
performed by visiting high-profile Korean entertainers. The majority (60.4%) of
the respondents agreed or strongly agreed to that motivational factor while 38.8%
disagreed or strongly disagreed to that idea. Similarly, more than the half (58.3%)
of them were also motivated by Korean community events and cultural activities
but the remaining students did not agree.

Table 9: Motivation Influenced by Hallyu and Community Events

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Answers
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
U/A
TOTAL

Visiting stars & entertainers

%
5.6
54.8
25.3
13.5
0.8
100

Community Events
%
3.8
54.5
31.8
9.1
0.8
100

(11) Interested cultural activities: The students were asked about what Korean cultural
activities/aspects they are interested in or wish to learn about. They were more
interested in food/cooking (30.8%), followed by songs and music (27.3%) and
dances (11.6%).
Table 10: Socio-Cultural Activities Favoured by Students
Activities
Songs and music
Dances
Student/family life
Food/cooking
Pot-making
Korean painting
Brush-writing
TOTAL

%
27.3
11.6
9.9
30.8
7.0
7.6
5.8
100

(12) Motivating factors: The students were asked about the most important motivating
factors for studying Korean. The four reasons receiving strong support (10% or
more) from the students as being most important were:
Family and relatives (26.9%)
Korean way of life and culture (14.9%)
Korean media, music and films (13.4%)
Travel (10%)
5) Summary and implications
(1) The respondents seem to make distinctions between the languages they need to use
inside and outside, and according to interlocutors. The students clearly indicated
that they chose to use Korean in conversations with grandparents, parents and other
Korean adults but they preferred not to use Korean (i.e. preferred to use English) in
all other situations given in the question. It appears that this separate everyday
language management is related to family policy factors including parental
language attitudes (Schwartz 2008).
(2) This result was reinforced by the language preference indicated by the students.
They were strongly in favour of English in all other areas in question such as book

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(3)

(4)
(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

reading, friends, verbal response and language skills. English books were preferred
overall to Korean books, and they had more non-Korean friends.
The test of language preference provided by the question about answering in
English when spoken to in Korean showed reasonable loyalty to Korean in
replying to their parents or other adults but a strong preference to English in
replying to their friends and siblings.
The strong majority of the respondents found English easier to use than Korean in
all four macro-skills areas.
The majority agreed that visiting Korean entertainers and local community events
provided a certain influence on their motivation to study Korean. However, they
were more interested in contemporary cultural elements such as food, music and
dances, with minimal interest in traditional cultural activities such as brushwriting, pot-making and Korean painting.
Overall, their motivational factors to study and maintain Korean came from
integrative orientation: language of family, Korean way of life and Korean
entertainment. Ethnic communities in Australia vary in their relative emphasis on
the core values of their culture (Smolicz et al. 2001), and the children in the Korean
community placed their emphasis on those three factors as their core values.
It is clear that the subject group was integratively motivated. They were interested
in studying their or their parents mother tongue in order to be able to identify with
their family, or because they were interested in understanding the culture and way
of life of Korean people.
If the students enjoy studying Korean for family reasons for now, this might well
encourage positive attitudes to further integrative or instrumental reasons with the
growing maturity of the students and their increasing concern with job
opportunities. This type of change in attitudes may be further facilitated when
social distance (Shuman 1976)cultural, technical, economic and political
statusbetween Australia and Korea is perceived to be closer, heightened and
tangible.
In the process of developing childrens attitudes towards the language of their
family, it is probably parents or family who play the most influential role. The
results of this survey indicate that the attitudes and motivation of the students were
closely related to immediate family and cultural reasons mostly encouraged by their
parents and community.

10. Other Research

Studies on Korean language policy include:
Shin, S-C. (2010). Strategic Direction and Tasks for the Global Expansion of Korean
Language Education. Journal of the International Network for Korean Language and
Culture 7-2: 93-119. The International Network for Korean Language and Culture. ISSN:
1738-2793.

121
Shin, S-C. (2010). The Current State of Korean Language Education in Australian
Schools. Carlton South, Vic: Education Services Australia. (funded by the Australian
Government DEEWR under the School Languages Program and managed by Asia
Education Foundation).

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Chapter 3: Teaching Korean Culture

This chapter presents Koreans cultural practices, relevant linguistic elements and
cultural activities which can be conducted in Korean language classes at schools. The
descriptions in this chapter are extracted, summarised or modified mainly from Chang H.,
S-C. Shin and S-O. Lee (1998) 12. Some details have been modified to provide up-to-date
information or suit the purpose of this reference book.
1. Insa (greetings) the Korean Way
1) Cultural Notes
(1) Greetings: Korean culture takes manners very seriously and as a means of showing
respect. In Western countries including Australia, shaking hands is very common
as a "greeting", but in Korea, bowing is a more common "greeting". Bowing is
done in a number of different ways, depending on the situation and some other
factors such as age, relationship and status. In Korean culture, people often
perform a bow while shaking hands. In some situations, shaking hands is performed
differently from the way what the Westerners (Australians) normally do. When two
Koreans who have a power relationship shake hands, the junior or younger
person is expected to use two hands rather than one. The right hand is actually used
to shake hands, whilst at the same time, the left hand grasps the right wrist, as a
sign of respect.
(2) 45 degree bow: This is the most commonly practised bowing and is normally
performed when bowing to a superior or senior person. The superior or senior
person then usually responds by nodding or bowing to a slightly lower degree.
(3) Exchanging Business Cards (myeongham): In Korea, the first step to establish any
business relationship is the exchange of mywongham. It is an essential part of any
first-time business meeting. Koreans feel comfortable when they know and see who
they are meeting. Myeongham has several different styles and normally includes
ones contact details. Some people use Korean alphabet only but a mixture of
Korean and Chinese characters is more common. Depending on the type of work,
an English version may also be provided, usually on the back of the card. These
days some put their photos and even a message. Whatever it takes, it is important
to create the best possible impression of your workplace and yourself. Proper
manners are also essential in exchanging myeongham.
2) Linguistic Elements and References
The following lists provide the basic minimum vocabulary and sentence patterns required
for the relevant activities. Depending on the interests and needs of students in a
12

Chang, Hyun, Seong-Chul Shin and Sang-Oak Lee (1998). Ancillary Cultural Materials for Teaching
Korean as a Second Language. National Korean Studies Centre [defunct] and the Department of
Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

123
particular activity, teachers are encouraged to add vocabulary and grammatical items that
they consider useful.
(1) Activity 1: Bowing
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , , , , ,
/ , , , 45, 90, -,
, , , , , , , , ,
, .
b) Structural Patterns:
- -/ VS+() ( )
- - - (/) -.
c) References:
- Types of dress: , , , ,
- Speech tones: , , ,
- Types of insa: , 45 , 90 , ,
- New Years bow and gift: .
(2) Activity 2: Shaking Hands
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , , , ,
, , / , , , ,
, , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- -VS+ ( , )
- -VS+() ( , )
- A() B/ - ( -).
c) References:
- Shaking hands between friends, young and old, and men and women
- Shaking hands at business meeting situations
- Postures and positions of body parts when shaking hands.
(3) Activity 3: Exchanging (Business) Cards
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , , , , , , ,

124
, , , , , , , , ,
, .
b) Structural Patterns:
-

Formal-polite style Respectful Language: e.g. -

-VS+()() ()
(
)/ ? (e.g. )
(
).

c) References:
- Types of myeongham
- Standard positions of information on cards
- Proper manners in exchanging cards.
3) Cultural activities
(1) Activity 1: Bowing
a) Task: Students are to take turns in conducting different types of bows.
b) Instruction for teachers: The teacher may choose to show the students some
visual materials including video, which contain different typeas of bows and/or
to demonstrate with some brief explanations. Divide the students into pairs and
appoint a senior or superior in each pair to conduct (practice) bowing
according to the situation.
c) Instructions for students:
45 degree Insa:
- Look at the persons face but not directly into their eyes;
- Head down about 45 degrees, as a sign of respect, and your eyes look at the
floor;
- Both hands should hang naturally down beside your legs. Do not swing them
or put them in your pocket.
(2) Activity 2: Shaking hands
a) Task: Students are to shake hands with one another appropriately.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher may choose to show the students some
visual materials inclusing video, which contain different types of handshaking
and/or to demonstrate with some brief explanations. Divide the students into
pairs and set up the situation, e.g. junior/senior, between classmates, men/boys
and women/girls. The teacher make sure that students make these actions gently
with proper demeanour.

125

c) Instructions for students:

Between a senior and a junior:
- The senior person has to offer his hand first;
- The junior person gently grasps the seniors hand, with the left hand of
junior supporting his right wrist, as a show of respect for the senior;
- While shaking hands, the junior person also does a simple bow as a sign of
respect.
Between close friends (in the same or similar age):
- It does not matter who offers the hand first;
- You do not normally use two hands;
- Shake your friends right hand. You may gently pat the back of your friends
shoulder.
Between a man/boy and a woman/girl:
- If a boy is senior, he can offer his hand to a girl and the procedure will be the
same as for between a senior and a junior above.
- If a girl is senior, she can offer her hand to any man or woman, and the
procedure will be the same as for between close friends above.
- Note that, in Korea, shaking hands between a man/boy and a woman/girl is
not customary and is practiced in limited circumstances.
(3) Activity 3: Exchanging Myeongham
a) Task: Students are to make their own myeongham and exchange with one
another in a culturally appropriate manner.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher is to show the students the standard format
of myongham and some authentic Korean myongham. Students are then to
design/make a number of their own myongham with genuine or imaginary
details. When they are ready, set up the situation, where students exchange their
cards in pairs and/or in groups.
c) Instructions for students:
When you receive a business card from a senior person:
- Stand and receive the card with two hands as a show of respect;
- Say thank you in Korean and perform a simple bow;
- Briefly read it and lay it on the table in front of you during the conversation;
- Then put it in your wallet or card holder politely. Do not put it in your back
pocket.
When you give a away your business card to a senior person:
- Have your myongham ready;
- Stand, and hold out your myongham with the written information facing the

126

receipient so that it can be read straight away;

Give it with two hands with a simple bow. You may say (This) is my
myongham. at this time.
While giving your myongham, be sure to pronounce your name and the
name of institution you are affiliated with.

4) Suggested Topics for Discussions

(1) What social gestures are more commonly practised by Koreans?
(2) What are the differences in roles and manner of performance of handshaking in
Western versus Korean culture?
(3) How do the interpersonal relationships operate in Korea? What are the important
factors which determine the choice of gestures?
(4) In what ways should you present your myeongham? What would you do when you
receive a myeongham from someone else, particularly from a senior person.

2. Family Tree and Family Motto

1) Culture Notes
(1) Family: Korea is one of the most family-oriented countries in the world. The
traditional family in Korea is where family members from two or three generations
live in the same house and share the same family rules. However, the way in
which a family is formed differs from period to period and society to society. In
modern Korean society, family life is changing rapidly with modernisation and the
improvement of the social status of women. The number of people in the family is
smaller than it was before, producing the so called nuclear family. The younger
generation does not have a traditional family concept as the older generation.
Lifestyles have also changed a lot over time and been affected by "Western"
society and values.
(2) Jokbo (Family Genealogy): From around the 16th century, Koreans began to trace
their family origins and to compile a genealogical table as the family legacy. The
genealogical table details the history of ones family, important historical events
and the achievements of ancestors who distinguished themselves as officials or
scholars. The record of each family unit contains the personal data of the family
head and family members. In this way, the family table functions as a vertical
record of generations forming a family line. The most common Korean surnames
which cover the majority of the population are , , , , , , , , , ,
and .
(3) Family Motto: In Korea, family values are seen as very important. Each member of
the family is well aware that the family should be placed first, be peaceful and
disciplined as the home is believed to form the basis for social life. Traditionally,
the head of the family, the grandfather or father chooses a particular motto to guide
the family members. Family mottoes are handed down to the younger generation to
maintain the tradition of the family and naturally contribute to a strong bond

127
between family members.
(4) Calligraphy: Traditionally, calligraphy was the art of a gentleman. Nowadays,
people dont practice calligraphy as an essential requirement to be a gentleman, but
the tradition continues. Some people take it as a profession, some others practice it
as their favorite hobby. A considerable number of women also spend their time and
money learning or practising calligraphy. Many primary and secondary school
students choose a calligraphy class in their extra-curricular hour. If you visit
Korean homes, the chances are you will see calligraphic works hanging on the wall
of the living room or main bedroom. The content of the works usually express
family mottoes.
2) Linguistic Elements and References
The following lists provide the basic minimum vocabulary and sentence patterns that are
required for the relevant activities. Depending on the interests and needs of students in a
particular activity, teachers are encouraged to add vocabulary and grammatical items that
they consider useful.
(1) Activity 1: Family Trees
a) Vocabulary:
Kinship terms: , /, /, , , ,
, /, /, , , , , ,
/, /, , , , .
Occupation (optional): , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , , ,
, , , , , , .
b) Structural Patterns
- VS + ().
- Adverbials (e.g. , , )+ /.
- Noun + / / / Noun + / .
c) References
- Typical Korean family names
- A genealogy () and family system/unit
- Social trends towards occupational preference.
(2) Activity 2: Family Motto in Calligraphy
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , , , , , /, , ,
, , , , , , , , , ,

128
, , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- VS + (e.g. , , )
- VS + - (e.g. -).
c) References:
- Historical backgrounds of a calligraphy and Hangeul calligraphic styles (e.g.
, , )
- Sa-gun-ja (the Four Gracious Plants: plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and
bamboo)
- Well known calligraphers and family mottoes (e.g. ).
3) Cultural Activities
(1) Acitivity 1: Family Trees
a) Task: Students are to make up their own family trees.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher may choose to show the students some
pictures and/or photos of Korean families. Hand out some examples of family
trees. After doing some work on vocabulary and some basic sentence structures,
students are directed to make up their own family trees.
c) Instructions for students:
- Using the paper provided, draw your own family tree;
- Label your family members in Korean;
- In addition to kinship terms, label the names, ages and/or occupations of the
family members as well;
- Using an OHP or Powerpoint, introduce your family members to the class.
(2) Activity 2: Family Motto in Calligraphy
a) Task: Students are to write their own family motto in calligraphy.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher first will need to have a brainstorming
session for family mottos, or students to create their own family mottoes as their
homework and bring them to the calligraphy session. Show the students some
examples of typical Korean family mottos which are relatively easy to
understand. It does not have to be a set phrase of Chinese-derived words and in
fact, students should be encouraged to use the words and expressions they have
learned as much as possible. Next, the teacher may choose to show the students
some pictures displaying the proper position of each calligraphy tool on the desk
and to explain how to grind the ink stick on the ink-stone, how to hold the brush
and how to write each syllable/stroke.

129
c) Instructions for students:
- First, think about and construct your family motto;
- Show the draft to your teacher and if necessary alter the wording;
- Lay a mat or newspaper on your desk;
- Place the calligraphy tools in the appropriate position on the desk;
- Put a spoonful of water in the ink-stone and slowly grind the ink stick until it
produces dark black ink. Use your brush to test the colour of the ink;
- When satisfactory, practice some syllables and words with your brush on a
newspaper several times before actually writing on the blank paper;
- When you fell a little confident, move your brush to the calligraphy paper
and write your family motto.
4) Suggested Topics for Discussions
(1) What was the traditional structure of the Korean family, and how has that changed
in modern society?
(2) How important is genealogy to Koreans? What is included in the genealogical
record?
(3) What is the role of family mottos for Koreans? What are some usual themes of
family mottos?
(4) What historical and cultural importance does calligraphy have in Korean society?
What are the tools of Korean calligraphy? How are they used?

3. Hanbok and Jeol (Traditional deep bow)

1) Cultural Notes
(1) Hanbok: The traditional Korean costume called hanbok varies with the distinct
weather of the four seasons. As a symbol of Korean traditional culture, the
development of hanbok mirrors the changing patterns of Korean life. It is well
known for the characteristic beauty of its curving lines. The unique beauty of
hanbok is further highlighted by its unique color match.
(2) Hanbok clothes are worn by Koreans of all ages, particularly on traditional holidays
and when attending social affairs having a Korean overtone. Some of the basic
elements of todays hanbok, namely the jeogori (jacket), baji (trousers) and
durumagi (overcoat), were probably worn at a very early date, but it was not until
the Three Kingdoms period that the two-piece costume of today began to evolve.
Todays hanbok are patterned after those worn by women of yangban (upper class)
households during Joseon. Yangban women wore wrap-around chima 12 pok (a
width of cloth) wide and lapped it on the left side while commoners were
prohibited from wearing chima of more than 10 or 11 pok and were required to lap
it on the right.
(3) Jeol (Traditional bow): Requires a junior or younger person to kneel down on the
floor, with proper postures. It is normally practised on special days (e.g. New
Years Day) or at traditional ceremonies (e.g. a wedding, ancestor worship rituals

130
and funerals). The recipient of jeol is usually someone who is of an older
generation in the family (e.g. grandparents and parents) or someone who commands
personal respect for some other reasons (e.g. a teacher).
2) Linguistic Elements and References
(1) Activity 1: Hanbok
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , , , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , , ,
, , , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- VS +
- VS + / / ; VS +
- VS + ().
c) References:
- Types of Hanbok and occasions to wear them.
- Hanbok and its historical development.
- Colors and design of Hanbok.
- Special days and Hanbok.
(2) Activity 2: Jeol
a) Vocbulary:
, , , , , , , , , ,
, . , , ,
, , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- VS+() ( , )
- VS+/ ( , )
- , .
c) References:
- Types of insa:
- New Years bow and gift:
- Special occasions and
3) Cultural Activities
(1) Activity 1: Hanbok

131

a) Task: Students are to try on Hanbok.

b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher will need to show the students some visual
materials including videos about various types of hanbok. Give some
explanations about its historical and cultural background. Then demonstrate how
to wear a hanbok.
c) Instructions for students:
Men/boys:
- Trousers tighten the baggy trousers by folding a tuck at the waist and fasten
with a tie.
- An inner jacket tie the coat strings so that the collar ends line up;
- Traditional sock tie ankle bands;
- Vest At this time, make sure that the vest is lined up with the jacket;
- Overjacket make sure that the jackets sleeves do not protrude out from the
overjacket;
- Overcoat used when attending a ritual ceremony or going out.
Women/girls:
- Inner bloomer and then petticoat;
- Skirt. Tighten the skirt by overlapping the right hem over the left one;
- Inner jacket;
- Socks, with its curving nose pointed upward;
- Jacket. Line up the fastening strings. Ensure that the jacket covers the white
seam of the skirt;
- Trinket. Thread the trinket loop on a coat string before fastening it with
another string;
- Overcoat used when going out; It is proper to wear a scarf neatly around the
neck; and
- Traditional shoes.
(2) Activity 2: Jeol
a) Task: Students are to learn how to jeol (traditional deep bow).
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher will need to show the students some visual
materials including videos about how to conduct jeol. Give some explanations
about its historical and cultural background. Then demonstrate how to do jeol.
The instructor may take the role as a recipient of jeol ot appoint a student. The
teacher need to make sure that students make this practice with proper
demeanour.
c) Instructions for students:
Ordinary male jeol:
- Put your right leg one step backward and bend knees to touch floor;

132
- Touch the floor with two hands and bend the head slowly over ones hands;
- Rise slowly and move one or two steps backward with two hands gathered
together; and
- Then, wait for senior persons advice or words of encouragement.
Ordinary female jeol:
- Move your left leg one step backwards and, with your right leg folded upward,
sit down on the floor gracefully;
- The hands go down to touch the floor to support the body;
- Bend the hand as a gesture of salute; and
- Stand up and listen to senior persons advice or words of encouragement.
4) Suggested Topics for Discussions
(1) Describe how to put on a male or female hanbok. What are the main parts of a
hanbok? What different types are there?
(2) What kind of Korean dresses do you know? What colours are favoured in Korean
dresses?
(3) What historical and cultural significance does hanbok have for Koreans?
(4) How is jeol different from other types of Korean insa?
(5) On what special occasions is usually jeol conducted?

4.

Korean Food

1) Cultural Notes
(1) Korean food consists of a wide variety of grains and side dishes. Rice, either plain
or cooked with other grains, is the main dish at all Korean meals. Rice is
accompanied by a variety of side dishes that vary greatly according to the region
and the season. In general, the Korean diet is high in grains and vegetables which
add much fibre to the diet, moderate but adequate in protein, both meat and
vegetables, moderate in calories, and low in fat and sugar. It provides a wellbalanced diet, but may be a bit high in salt if soy sauce is used heavily. It may or
may not be red peppery hot; it is a matter of individual taste.
(2) A formal dinner usually consists of a number of different kinds of food and if it is a
special occasion, such as a first birthday, wedding, sixty-first birthday or other
festive occasion, several kinds of dishes are added on top of everyday meals.
Barbecued Beef in Korean style called pulgogi (literally meaning fire meat) is the
most favoured worldwide. Thinly sliced tender beef is marinated with a seasoning
mixture of soy sauce, chopped garlic and green onions, sugar, toasted sesame seeds,
sesame oil, and black pepper, then, barbecued.
(3) On the day of the full moon in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, known as
chuseok, the joy of the harvest is celebrated in traditional chuseok rites offered to
family ancestors, by the cooking of new rice and the making of songpyeon. This
half-moon-shaped rice cake is an important food to celebrate chuseok on the full

133
moon day and night.
(4) The flavor and color of songpyeon differ with the addition of mugwort, pine
endodermis, and gardenia to the rice flour. This is then kneaded with boiling water
and kept in a small damp cloth so that it may be kept for a long time, without
drying out. Ingredients such as hulled red beans, new season green mung beans,
honey and sugar are mixed with salt to give flavor as a filling to the songpyeon.
Small pieces of songpyeon dough are broken off, about the size of a chestnut, and a
curved well is made in the center, into which the filling is placed and then the
songpyeon are shaped like a half moon. Pine needles are placed in between layers
of songpyeon inside an earthenware steamer, and then steamed and rinsed swiftly in
cold water and covered lightly in sesame seed oil.
2) Linguistic Elements and References
(1) Activity 1: Cooking Bulgogi (Korean BBQ)
a) Vocabulary:
, , , , (), , , , , ,
, , , , (), (/), , ,
, , , , , , , , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- () /
- - (/) /
- - () /
- () () /
- , /,
c) References:
- Names of Spices (, , , , , , ).
- Names of Meat (, , , ).
(2) Activity 2: Making Sonpyeon
a) Vocabulary:
, , , (), , (), , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , , , ,
, , , .
b) Structural Patterns:
- () ()
- () ()
- () ()
- () ()

134
-

() ()
() ()

c) References:
- Names of grains (, , , , , , , , , ).
- Names of rice cakes (, , , , , , ).
3) Cultural Acitivities
(1) Activity 1: Cooking Bulgogi
a) Task: Students are to learn how to prepare and cook bulgogi.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher may choose to show the students some
pictures and/or photos of bulgogi. Then introduce the ingredients: 600g of top
round or tenderloin of beef, 3 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of chopped garlic, 6 tbsp of
soy sauce, 1 tbsp of powdered sesame mixed with salt, 2 tbsp of sesame oil,
black pepper, lettuce, garland chrysanthemum, sesame leaves, garlic ans small
green onion. Divide the class into small groups to prepare the dish in
cooperation.
c) Instructions for students:
- Slice the beef thinly and score lightly with a knife to make it more tender.
Cut it into bite-sized pieces and marinate it in the sugar (and optionally rice
wine).
- Mix the marinated beef thoroughly with the soy sauce, chopped garlic,
sesame salt, and sesame oil.
- Broil the seasoned beef over hot charcoal on a grill or in a fry pan.
Alternative, you may use an oven-broiler heated to 570F for ten minutes.
Bulgogi is often served with lettuce and/or sesame leaves, chrysanthemum
and minced garlic.
(2) Acvitity 2: Making songpyeon
a) Task: Students are to learn how to prepare and make songpyeon.
b) Instructions for teachers: The teacher may choose to show the students some
pictures and/or photos of songpyeon. Introduce the ingredients: 10 cups of rice, 1
tbsp of sugar, teaspoon of honey, 1 teasppoon of salt, tbsp of sesame oil,
pine needles, cup of jujubes, cup of chestnuts, teaspoon o f cinnamon,
cup of green (mung) beans, 2 tbsp of roasted and ground sesame seeds, and
cup of red beans. Divide the class into small groups for them to work together in
preparing songpyeon.
c) Instructions for students:

135
-

After washing the rice well in water, let it soak in water overnight. The next
day, drain the rice and grind it together with a little salt.
Mix the ground rice flour well by hand, then put it through a sieve.
Add cup of boiling sugar water to 3 cups of the ground rice flour and
knead well. After kneading, wrap the dough in a damp cloth.
Break off pieces of dough about the size of chestnut, put in the desired filling
and shape into songpyeon.
Wash the pine needles well, then dry out all the moisture. Lay the dry pine
needles in an earthenware steamer, place the shaped songpyeon on top, and
steam.
After taking out the steamed rice-cakes and rinseing them in cold water,
cover them lightly in salt and sesame oil and serve.

4) Suggested Topics for Discussions

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

What kind of Korean food have you ever tasted?

What kind of Korean food do you like most?
Isn't the Korean food too spicy? How do you like it?
What kind of Korean drinks do you know?

(Notes: Teachers (and students) may wish to choose other food items such as Gimbap
and Japchae. This food activity may be conducted as part of the schools special event
such as Korean Day or a special project such as Masterchef Korean Food
Challenge.)

Other Cultural Activities

1) Folk games: eg. jegi-chagi, yeon-making/flying, ssireum, juldarigi

(1) Objectives: Students should be able to
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

understand understand the historical background of Korean popular folk games;

learn jegi-chagi/shuttlecock-kicking for action;
make yeon and enjoy yeon-naligi/flying;
demonstrate the ssireum/Korean-style wrestling activitity;
discuss some of the similarities and differences that exist between traditional
folk games and those of other countries.

(2) Cultural Notes

Folk games are a mix of religious, social, and artistic elements. Many of the ones
enjoyed throughout the year are generally symbolic of a wish for the collective
welfare of the players.
Jegi is a Korean shuttlecock that Korean children use in a kicking game. Jegi is

136
usually played by boys in the Lunar New Years Day season and the way to play is
to kick it up in the air using the instep of the foot. There are many ways of playing
a kicking game and normally it can be kicked in one of the three ways: with either
foot and touching the ground between kicks; with either foot but not touching the
ground between kicks; or kicking with alternate feet.
In the old days, kite-flying, yeonnalligi, usually took place in the country and cities
by boys and young men between the first and the fifteenth days of the first lunar
month. On the last day, they wrote letters meaning warding off bad luck or away
evils, come blessings on the kite and flew it as high as they could, then the kite
string was cut with its whole length, symbolizing the expulsion of misfortune and
diseases in the coming new year.
Kite-flying is also appreciated by elderly men and the greatest excitement is in an
engagement where both kites are managed so as to cross their strings and the
friction between the two threads causes one thread to break. This is the main kind
of kite flying contest and kite fliers eagerly sharpen their threads, by treating the
thread in glue mixed with porcelain or glass powder and letting it dry. The thread
becomes rough and coarse.
Popular summer games include ssireum. Ssireum was a kind of wrestling and the
national folk sport for men at the season of 'the fifth day of the fifth moon (May in
the lunar calendar)' called tano or on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon
(August). It was held for farmers and the top prize for the strongest winner was a
bull. This sport is now so much in fashion nearly everywhere all the year round.
Modern Korean wrestling contests are held in nationwide series and are also
propagated overseas.
Korean style tug-of-war, Juldarigi, which is played after a community ritual, is rich
in religious implication and is designed to foretell the years harvest, not to speak of
increasing community spirit and fitness of the people involved.
2) Art - Samulnori
(1) Objectives: Students should be able to a) Understand how to play samulnori, the Korean four-piece percussion ensemble;
b) Appreciate the histotorical and cultural background of samulnori.
c) Gain a general understanding of the traditional music, art and dance.
(2) Cultural Notes
Korean music is closer to life than any other art. Korean music consists of wind
instruments, percussion instruments and stringed instruments. Koreans used these
instruments to perform at royal or religious ceremonies or other special occasions
such as harvest festival.

137

Samulnori is played by four people with four instruments: a small drum, a gong, a
small gong, a double-headed drum shaped like an hourglass. It is spotlighted on the
international stages of Korean music and dance. Both players and audience easily
get in high spirits. While the Western orchestra or chamber music has delicate and
harmonic expression of rhythm and melody, Korean samulnori has a rather rough
and nave expression of percussive rhythem and spirits. If possible, it is suggested
that the teacher get the audio and/video tapes of samulnori and try to imitate them
before students start practicing.

138
APPENDICES
The Appendices section presents some specific or general information on such topics as
Korean sound systems, orthography, vocabulary, Korea and its people, and cultural
symbols. It is intended to provide an additional information to supplement the main
chapters and to give teachers an updated information about Korea from broad
perspectives. Sources of the information are given under specific subsection.
Appendix 1: The Korean Sound Systems 13

1. , .
(), (), (), (), (), (), (), (),
(), (), (), (), (), ()
(), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), ()
,
.

13

()
()
()
()
()

()
()
()
()
()
()

()
()
()
()
()

Source: http://www.korean.go.kr/09_new/dic/rule/rule01_0306.jsp

139
2.
, , , , , , 7 .
, , , , , , 7
. 8 (),
7 .
, , , , , , , [, ,
] .

[]
[]

[]
[]

[]
[]

[]
[]

, , , , , [, , , ]
.

[]
[]
[]

[]
[]
[]

() , - [] , -
[] .
(1)

[] , [] , [] ,
[] , [] , []

(2) -[] ,-[]

140
, , [, , ] .

[]
[]
[]

() , [] .

[] , [] , []

3. .
3.1
.
1)

2) , , ,

, , ,
.

. ,
-, - ,
.
3.2
, - (-) - - , ,
, , .( , .)

141

3.3
.

, [] , , , ,
. ,
,
[] .
, .
-( ), -( ), -(
), -( ) ,
-, -, - .

-
-
-
-
-

.
, , ,
, .
,
.

142
3.4
, , , , , , ,
. ( , .)

()

()

()

()

()

()

, , .

()
(-)
() ( )

()
()

,
.

()
()

. 1 1 () ,
, .
, , , , , , .

()
()
()
()
()
()
()

143
, (), (-), ()
,
.

() 3 () ,
.
, .

( )
( )
( )

, , , , , , , , , ,
, .( , .)

()

()

()

()

()

()

, .

144
Appendix 2: Korean Orthography 14

1. .
() , , , ,
,
.
2. .
() , , ,

,
. -
,

, ,
. , -, -, -, -
,
.

3. .
() - , -
4.
.
() , ,
5. .
.
() , ,
14

Source: http://www.korean.go.kr/09_new/dic/rule/rule01.jsp

145

. ,
() , ,
.
() ,
6. .
()

146
Appendix 3: Korean Vocabulary 15

1. .
30 40 .
, .
,
.
.
: .
: .
: .
: .
: .
: . .

2. .
.
.
20 .
.
, , ..
. .

.
, , .
.
, , .
.
, , ..

15

Source: (2003), , , .

147
.

.
: , :
: , :
.
. .
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
, , ,
, .
.
, .
. .
- , -, -
.

. .
.
. . 20
.

.
(, ), (), (, ), (), (),
(, ), (), (), ()
( ) .
3. .

. .
.
/
/, / , / , /,
/ , /, /
/

148
/, /, /, /,
/, /, /, /
//, //, //, // , , .
, , .
.
/(/), /(/), /(/)
.
, , , , ,
/ //, /
.
.
. .
.
(), (), (), (), (), (),
()
( ) .
.
.
, .
4. .

.
. .
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

149
.
.
.
: ,
.
:
, .
: ,
.

150
Appendix 4: Loan words 16

1.
.
< >
, .

.

.
?

.
.

. supermarket ,
, , ,
chocolate , , , , .

.
< >
.
2.
1 24 .
24
.
.
.
[f,v] .
[f] , [v] [p], [b]
,
.
.
,
.

16

Source: (2002), , , )

151
.

.
2 1 1 .

. [f]
,
.
.

.
.
3 ,,,,,,
(,,,,,,)
(, , ) . , ,
. , ,
.
,,,,,, ,
. ,
[], []
.
[], []
[], [] .
,,,,
. racket [],
[] , [],
[] , .
4 .
(,,), (, , ,),
(,,) .
(p,t,k), (b,d,g) .
. [g] , [d] , [b]
. .

. .
, ,
(Paris), (caf), (TGV)
.

152

4
.
,
.

, .
,
.

.
5 .
.
, 3
.
.

.
.
. radio
[reidiou], camera [kamera]
. ,

. ,
.
3.

[p,t,k]
. robot[r b t]
. < >
.
, . robot[r b t] ,
book[buk] , , .
[t,k] .
, ([l,r]) ([m,n, ])
. act[kt] [] [t]

153
[k] ,
. action [k n], lipstick[lipstick] ,
, .
.
tape[teip], cake[keik], flute[flu:t]
, , , ,
. mattress[mtris] [t] [] [r]
. sickness [siknis] [k] [i]
[n] .

154
Appendix 5: Background: The Land and the People 17
1. Geography
Korea is situated on the Korean Peninsula, which spans 1,100 kilometres north to south.
The Korean Peninsula lies in the north-eastern part of the Asian continent, where Korean
waters are joined by the westernmost parts of the Pacific. The peninsula shares its
northern border with China and Russia. To the east is the East Sea, beyond which Japan
lies. To the west is the Yellow Sea. In addition to the mainland, Korea includes some
3,200 islands, including Jejudo, Ulleungdo and Dokdo.
The Korea peninsula encompasses a total of about 223,000 square kilometres, almost the
same size as the United Kingdom or Ghana. Some 45 percent of this area, or about
99,000 square kilometres, is considered cultivable, excluding land reclaimed from the sea.
Mountainous terrain accounts for some two-thirds of the territory, much like Portugal,
Hungary or Ireland. The lifting and folding of Korea's granite and limestone base create a
breathtaking landscape of scenic hills and valleys.
The Taebaeksan Mountain Range runs the full length of the east coast, where the lashing
waves of the East Sea have carved out sheer cliffs and rocky islets. The western and
southern slopes are rather gentle, forming plains and many offshore islands honeycombed
with inlets. The highest peak is on Mt. Baekdu in North Korea along the northern border
facing China. It rises 2,744 meters above sea level and is an extinct volcano with a large
crater lake named Cheonji. The mountain is regarded as an especially important symbol
of the Korean spirit and is mentioned in Korea's national anthem.
Considering its smallish territorial size, Korea has a relatively large number of rivers and
streams. These waterways have played crucial roles in shaping the lives of Koreans and
in the nation's industrialization. The two longest rivers in North Korea are the
Amnokgang (Yalu River, 790 kilometers) and the Dumangang (Tumen River, 521
kilometers). These rivers originate from Mt. Baekdusan and flow to the west and the east,
respectively. In the southern part of the peninsula, the Nakdonggang and the Hangang (or
Han River) are the two major waterways. The Hangang flows through Seoul, the capital
of South Korea, and serves as a lifeline for the heavily concentrated population in the
central region of modern Korea.
Surrounding the peninsula on three sides, the ocean has played an integral role in the
lives of the Koreans since ancient times, contributing to the early development of
shipbuilding and navigational skills.
Further
information
can
http://blog.joinsmsn.com.
17

be

found

from:

http://www.korea.net/

and

Source: official websites of various South Korean and other governmental organisations as well as
reliable media sources. Some details have been modified to provide up-to-date information or suit the
purpose of this reference book. The information sources are given unden the subsection.

155

G20-Countries: the Area of Land

(Unit: km2)

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

Country
Russia
Canada
USA
China
Brazil
Australia
India
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Indonesia
South Africa
Turkey
France
Japan
Germany
Italia
UK
Korea Republic

Area
17,075,200
9,984,670
9,826,630
9,596,961
8,511,965
7,692,208
3,237,782
2,766,890
2,149,690
1,964,375
1,919,440
1,219,912
779,452
551,695
377,835
357,021
301,336
244,820
100,032

Comparison
170 times
99.8 times
98.2 times
95.9 times
85 times
76.8 times
32.3 times
27.6 times
21.4 times
19.6 times
19.1 times
12.1 times
7.8 times
5.5 times
3.7 times
3.5 times
3 times
2.4 times

2. Climate
Korea's climate is regarded as a continental one in terms of temperature and as a
monsoonal climate from a precipitation standpoint. The climate of Korea is characterised
by four distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Spring lasts from late March to
May and is warm. Flowers, including the picturesque royal azelea blossom, cover the
nation's mountains and fields during this time. Summer lasts from June to early
September. It is a hot and humid time of year. Autumn lasts from September to
November, and produces mild weather. Winter lasts from December to mid-March. It can
be bitterly cold during this time due to the influx of cold Siberian air. Heavy snow in the
northern and eastern parts of Korea makes for favourable skiing conditions.
Further information can be found from: http://www.korea.net/

3. Population
South Korea's total population was estimated at 49.35 million in 2009. Expatriates
accounted for 1.8 percent of the Korean population. According to the Ministry of Public

156
Administration and Security, the number of non-Korean residents in Korea increased
23.3 percent year-on-year to 891,341. Nearly half of immigrants were workers hired by
local firms. Spouses mostly women - and children from international marriages
accounted for 16.2 percent or 144,385 and 6.5 percent or 58,007, respectively. Students
made up 6.3 percent, according to the statistics. The number of Korean-Chinese residents
recorded 378,345, or 42 percent of the total number of the expats. Their number
increased 44 percent from the previous year. Southeast Asians were 22.2 percent,
Chinese 15.8 percent, South Asians 3.7 percent, Americans 3 percent, Japanese 2.7
percent and Mongolians 2.4 percent. About 66 percent of the alien population resides in
industrial areas in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. About 65,500, or 7.4 percent, acquired
Korean nationality, the statistics said.
Further information can be found from: http://kostat.go.kr/

4. History
1) Gojoseon
People began living on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding areas from some
700,000 years ago. The Neolithic Age began some 8,000 years ago. Relics from that
period can be found in areas throughout the Korean Peninsula, mostly in coastal areas
and in areas near big rivers. The Bronze Age began around 1,500 to 2,000 B.C. in
present-day Mongolia and on the peninsula.
As this civilization began to form, numerous tribes appeared in the Lioaning region of
Manchuria and in northwestern Korea. These tribes were ruled by leaders, whom Dangun,
the legendary founder of the Korean people, later united to establish Gojoseon (2333
B.C.). The founding date is a testament to the longevity of Korea's history. This heritage
is also a source of pride that provides Koreans the strength to persevere in times of
adversity.
Further
information
can
http://blog.joinsmsn.com.

be

found

from:

http://www.korea.net/

and

2) Three Kingdoms and Gaya

Town-states gradually united into tribal leagues with complex political structures which
eventually grew into kingdoms. Among various tribal leagues, Goguryeo (37 B.C.- A.D.
668), situated along the middle course of the Amnokgang (Yalu River), was the first to
mature into a kingdom. Goguryeo's aggressive troops conquered neighboring tribes one
after another, and in 313, they even occupied China's Lolang outposts.
Baekje (18 B.C.-A.D. 660), which grew out of a town-state located south of the Hangang
River in the vicinity of present-day Seoul, was another confederated kingdom similar to

157
Goguryeo. During the reign of King Geunchogo (r. 346-375), Baekje developed into a
centralized and aristocratic state.
Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) was located in the southeast corner of the peninsula and was
initially the weakest and most underdeveloped of the three kingdoms. However, because
it was geographically removed from Chinese influence, it was more open to non-Chinese
practices and ideas. Its society was built on an advanced Buddhist order that was
markedly class-oriented, including a military that featured a unique corps of young
aristocratic warriors called Hwarang.
Gaya (42-562) began as a type of confederation, formed when several tribes from the
Nakdonggang River came together.
3) Unified Silla and Balhae
By the mid-sixth century, the Silla Kingdom had brought under its control all of the
neighboring town-states within the Gaya Confederation. Through an alliance with the
Tang Dynasty of China, Silla unified the Korean Peninsula in 668 and saw the zenith of
its power and prosperity in the mid-eighth century. It attempted to establish an ideal
Buddhist country. Bulguksa Temple was constructed during the Unified Silla period.
However, its Buddhist social order began to deteriorate as the nobility indulged in
increasing luxury. Silla had repelled Tang attempts to subjugate Goguryeo and Baeche by
676. Then in 698, the former people of Goguryeo who resided in south-central Manchuria
established the Kingdom of Balhae. Balhae included not only people of Goguryeo, but
also a large Malgal population.
Balhae established a government system centered around five regional capitals, which
was modeled after the Goguryeo Kingdom's administrative structure. Balhae possessed
an advanced culture which was rooted in that of Goguryeo. Balhae prosperity reached its
height in the first half of the ninth century with the occupation of a vast territory reaching
to the Amur River in the north and Kaiyuan in south-central Manchuria to the west. It
also established diplomatic ties with Turkey and Japan. Balhae existed until 926, when it
was overthrown by the Khitan. Many of the Balhae nobility, who were mostly Goguryeo
descendants, moved south and joined the newly founded Goryeo Dynasty.
4) Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) was founded by Wang Geon, a general who had served
under Gungye, a rebel prince of the Silla Kingdom. Choosing his native town of Songak
(present-day Gaeseong in North Korea) as the capital, Wang Geon proclaimed the goal of
recovering the lost territory of the Goguryeo Kingdom in northeast China.
Wang Geon named his dynasty Goryeo, from which the modern name Korea is derived.
Although the Goryeo Dynasty could not reclaim lost lands, it achieved a sophisticated
culture represented by cheongja or blue-green celadon and flourishing Buddhist tradition.

158

No less significant was the invention of the world's first movable metal type in 1234,
which preceded the Gutenberg Bible of Germany by two centuries. About that time,
skilled Korean artisans also completed the herculean task of carving the entire Buddhist
canon on large woodblocks. These woodblocks, numbering more than 80,000, were
intended to invoke the influence of Buddha for the repulsion of the Mongol invaders.
Called the Tripitaka Koreana, they are now stored at the historic Haeinsa Temple.
5) Joseon

In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established a new dynasty called Joseon. The early rulers
of Joseon, in order to counter the dominant Buddhist influence during the Goryeo period,
supported Confucianism as the guiding philosophy of the kingdom.
The Joseon rulers governed the dynasty with a well-balanced political system. A civil
service examination system was the main channel for recruiting government officials.
The examinations served as the backbone for social mobility and intellectual activity
during the period. The Confucian-oriented society, however, highly valued academic
learning while disdaining commerce and manufacturing.
During the reign of King Sejong the Great (1418-1450), Joseon's fourth monarch, Korea
enjoyed an unprecedented flowering of culture and art. Under King Sejong's guidance,
scholars at the royal academy created the Korean alphabet Hangeul. It was then called
Hunminjeongeum, or "proper phonetic system to educate the people."
King Sejong's interest in astronomical science was comprehensive. Sundials, water
clocks, celestial globes and astronomical maps were produced at his request. King Sejo
(r.1455-1468) later established an institutional framework for government by publishing
a compendium of legal codes, called Gyeongguk Daejeon.
In 1592, Japan invaded the peninsula to pave the way for its incursion into China. At sea,
Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545-1598), one of the most respected figures in Korean history, led
a series of brilliant naval maneuvers against the Japanese, deploying the geobukseon
(turtle ships), which are believed to be the world's first ironclad battleships.
From the early 17th century, a movement advocating Silhak, or practical learning, gained
considerable momentum among liberal-minded scholar-officials as a means of building a
modern nation. They strongly recommended agricultural and industrial improvements
along with sweeping reforms in land distribution. The conservative government
aristocrats, however, were not ready to accommodate such drastic change.
In the latter half of the Joseon era, government administration and the upper classes came
to be marked by recurring factionalism. To rectify the undesirable political situation,
King Yeongjo (r.1724-1776) eventually adopted a policy of impartiality. He was thus
able to strengthen the royal authority and achieve political stability.

159

King Jeongjo (r.1776-1800) maintained the policy of impartiality and set up a royal
library to preserve royal documents and records. He also initiated other political and
cultural reforms. This period witnessed the blossoming of Silhak. A number of
outstanding scholars wrote progressive works recommending agricultural and industrial
reforms, but few of their ideas were adopted by the government.
6) Japanese Occupation
In the 19th century, Korea remained a "Hermit Kingdom," adamantly opposed to Western
demands for diplomatic and trade relations. Over time, a few Asian and European
countries with imperialistic ambitions competed with each other for influence over the
Korean Peninsula. Japan, after winning wars against China and Russia, forcibly annexed
Korea and instituted colonial rule in 1910.
Colonial rule stimulated the patriotism of Koreans. Korean intellectuals were infuriated
by Japan's official assimilation policy, which even banned Korean-language education in
Korean schools. On March 1, 1919, a peaceful demonstration calling for independence
spread nationwide. The Japanese authorities ruthlessly repressed the demonstrators and
their supporters, slaughtering thousands.
Although it failed, the March 1 Independence Movement created strong bonds of national
identity and patriotism among Koreans. The movement led to the establishment of a
Provisional Government in Shanghai, China, as well as an organized armed struggle
against the Japanese colonists in Manchuria. The Independence Movement is still
commemorated among Koreans every March 1, which is designated a national holiday.
During the colonial period, Japan's economic exploitation of Korea continued. The lives
of Koreans deteriorated under colonial rule until the end of World War II in 1945.
7) Founding of Republic
Koreans rejoiced at Japan's World War II defeat. However, their joy was short-lived.
Liberation did not instantly bring about the independence for which the Koreans had
fought so fiercely. Rather, it resulted in a country divided by ideological differences
caused by the emerging Cold War. Korean efforts to establish an independent
government were frustrated as U.S. forces occupied the southern half of the peninsula
and Soviet troops took control of the north.
In November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that
called for general elections in Korea under the supervision of a UN Commission.
However, the Soviet Union refused to comply with the resolution and denied the UN
Commission access to the northern half of Korea. The UN General Assembly then
adopted another resolution calling for elections in areas accessible to its commission. The
first elections in Korea were carried out on May 10, 1948, in the areas south of the 38th
parallel. This parallel came to divide the Korean Peninsula into South and North.

160
Syngman Rhee was elected the first President of the Republic of Korea in 1948.
Meanwhile, north of the 38th parallel, a communist regime was set up under the
leadership of Kim Il-sung. On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched an unprovoked fullscale invasion of the South, triggering a three-year war which drew in U.S., Chinese and
other foreign forces including Australian forces. The entire peninsula was devastated by
the conflict. A cease-fire was signed in July 1953.
Korea's growth-oriented, export-led economic development since the 1960s was so
remarkable that it earned the expression "the Miracle on the Hangang River" in the 1970s.
Subsequently, Seoul successfully hosted the 24th Olympics in 1988 and Korea co-hosted
the 2002 FIFA World Cup soccer finals with Japan. Through these occasions, Korea has
demonstrated to the world its rich cultural heritage and love of art, as well as modern
technologies. In the 1950s, Korea ranked among the poorest countries. Today, its
economy is around the 12th largest in the world, and the nation is determined to become
even more of a global economic leader throughout the new millennium.
The Republic of Korea has steadily followed the path to mature democracy and market
economy. Even though the legacies of the Cold War still linger on this peninsula, Korea
today is poised to make a new economic take-off. The Koreas are also working toward a
durable structure of peace on the peninsula and promoting common prosperity for South
and North Korea through peace, reconciliation and cooperation.
Further Information can
http://blog.joinsmsn.com.

be

found

from

http://english.president.go.kr/

and

161
5. Organization of the Government Administration

(Source: http://english.president.go.kr/government/branch/branch.php)

162
Below is a list of Korean Government offices with their website addresses.
Presidents office: http://english.president.go.kr
Board of Audit and Inspections: http://www.bai.go.kr/
National Intelligence Service: http://eng.nis.go.kr
Office of Minister for Special Affairs (OMSA): http://www.omsa.go.kr/
Ministry of Government Legislation: http://www.moleg.go.kr/english/
Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA): http://english.mpva.go.kr/
Fair Trade Commission Korea (FTC): http://eng.ftc.go.kr/
Financial Services Commission (FSC): http://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/index.jsp
Civil Rights Commission (CRC): http://www.acrc.go.kr/eng_index.html
Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF): http://english.mosf.go.kr/
National Tax Service (NTS): http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/
Korea Customs Service (KCS): http://english.customs.go.kr/
Public Procurement Services (PPS): http://www.pps.go.kr/english/
Korea National Statistical Office (KNSO):
http://www.nso.go.kr/eng2006/emain/index.html
Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MEST):
http://english.mest.go.kr/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT):
http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/main/index.jsp
Ministry of Justice (MOJ): http://www.moj.go.kr/HP/ENG/index.do
Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO):
http://www.spo.go.kr/user.tdf?a=user.renewal.main.MainApp&lang=eng
Ministry of Unification (MOU):
http://www.unikorea.go.kr/CmsWeb/viewPage.req?idx=PG0000000394
Ministry of National Defence (MND):
http://www.mnd.go.kr/mndEng_2009/main/index.jsp
Military Manpower Administration (MMA): http://www.mma.go.kr/eng/
Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA):
http://www.dapa.go.kr/eng/index.jsp
Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS):
http://www.mopas.go.kr/gpms/ns/mogaha/user/nolayout/main/english/userEngM
ainDisplay.action
National Police Agency (KNPA): http://www.police.go.kr/eng/index.jsp
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA):
http://www.nema.go.kr/eng/index.jsp

163
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST):
http://www.mcst.go.kr/english/index.jsp
Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA): http://english.cha.go.kr/
Ministry for Food, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF):
http://english.mifaff.go.kr/main.tdf
Rural Development Administration (RDA): http://www.rda.go.kr/
Forest Service:
http://english.forest.go.kr/foahome/user.tdf?a=user.index.IndexApp&c=1006
Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MOKE): http://www.mke.go.kr/language/eng/
Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA):
http://eng.smba.go.kr/main.jsp
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO): http://www.kipo.go.kr/en/
Ministry for Health Welfare and Family Affairs (MIHWAF):
http://english.mw.go.kr/front_eng/index.jsp
Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA): http://eng.kfda.go.kr/index.php
Ministry of Environment (MOE): http://eng.me.go.kr/
Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA): http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/index.jsp
Ministry of Labour (MOL): http://www.moel.go.kr/intro/intro_2010/intro.html
Ministry of Gender Equality (MOGE): http://english.moge.go.kr/index.jsp
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MOLTMA):
http://english.mltm.go.kr/intro.do
Korea Coast Guard (KCG): http://www.kcg.go.kr/in_site/english/
Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency (MACCA):
http://www.happycity.go.kr/
6. Government and Political Conditions
The Republic of Korea (commonly called as "South Korea") is a republic with powers
nominally shared among the presidency, the legislature, and the judiciary, but
traditionally dominated by the president. The president is chief of state and is elected for
a single term of 5 years. The 299 members of the unicameral National Assembly are
elected to 4-year terms. Suffrage is universal at age 19 (lowered from 20 in 2005).
South Korea's judicial system comprises a Supreme Court (http://eng.scourt.go.kr/),
appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court (http://english.ccourt.go.kr/). The judiciary is
independent under the constitution. The country has nine provinces and seven
administratively separate cities--the capital of Seoul, along with Busan, Daegu, Daejeon,
Gwangju, Incheon and Ulsan.
Political parties include:

164
Grand National Party (GNP) (http://www.hannara.or.kr/),
Democratic Party (DP) (http://english.minjoo.kr/),
Liberty Forward Party (LFP) (http://www.jayou.or.kr/) and
New Progressive Party (NPP) (http://www.newjinbo.org).

7. Economy
The following economic figures are based on statistics and information which are
currently available (2009). For the latest statistics, please also see the websites of the
Bank of Korea: http://bok.go.kr/statistics and Korea Bureau of Statistics:
http://kostat.go.kr/.
(Statistics: 2009)

GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.364 trillion.

GDP per capita: US $17,074 (2009)
Unemployment rate: 3.6%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8%
Natural resources: Coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Agriculture: Products--rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit, cattle,

pigs,

chickens, milk, eggs, fish. Arable land--16.58% of land area.

Industry:

Electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals,

shipbuilding, steel.

Trade:

Exports--$363.5 billion: semiconductors, wireless telecommunications

equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals. Imports-$323.1 billion: crude oil, food, electronics and electronic equipment, machinery,
transportation equipment, steel, organic chemicals, plastics, base metals and articles.

Major export markets (2008): China (21.5%), U.S. (10.9%), Japan (6.6%), Hong
Kong (4.6%).

Major

importers to South Korea (2008)--China (17.7%), Japan (14.0%), U.S.

(8.9%), Saudi Arabia (7.8%), U.A.E. (4.4%), Australia (4.1%).

Over the past several decades, the Republic of Korea has achieved a remarkably high
level of economic growth, which has allowed the country to rise from the rubble of the
Korean War into the ranks of the Organization for Cooperation and Development
(OECD). Today, South Korea is Australias third or fourth-largest trading partner and is
the 12th-largest economy in the world.
In the early 1960s, the government of Park Chung-Hee instituted sweeping economic
policy changes emphasizing exports and labour-intensive light industries, leading to rapid

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debt-financed industrial expansion. The government carried out a currency reform,
strengthened financial institutions, and introduced flexible economic planning. In the
1970s Korea began directing fiscal and financial policies toward promoting heavy and
chemical industries, consumer electronics, and automobiles. Manufacturing continued to
grow rapidly in the 1980s and early 1990s.
In recent years, Korea's economy moved away from the centrally planned, governmentdirected investment model toward a more market-oriented one. South Korea bounced
back from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis with assistance from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), but its recovery was based largely on extensive financial reforms
that restored stability to markets. These economic reforms helped Korea return to growth,
with growth rates of 10% in 1999 and 9% in 2000. The slowing global economy and
falling exports slowed growth to 3.3% in 2001, prompting consumer stimulus measures
that led to 7.0% growth in 2002. Consumer over-shopping and rising household debt,
along with external factors, slowed growth to near 3% again in 2003. Economic
performance in 2004 improved to 4.6% due to an increase in exports, and remained at or
above 4% in 2005, 2006, and 2007. With the onset of the global financial and economic
crisis in the third quarter of 2008, annual GDP growth slowed to 2.3% in 2008 and just
0.2% in 2009.
Economists are concerned that South Korea's economic growth potential has fallen
because of a rapidly aging population and structural problems that are becoming
increasingly apparent. Foremost among these structural concerns are the rigidity of South
Korea's labor regulations, the need for more constructive relations between management
and workers, the country's underdeveloped financial markets, and a general lack of
regulatory transparency. Korean policy makers are increasingly worried about diversion
of corporate investment to China and other lower wage countries, and by Korea's falling
foreign direct investment (FDI). President Lees economic agenda necessarily shifted in
the final months of 2008 to dealing with the global economic crisis. In 2009, the
economy responded well to a robust fiscal stimulus package and low interest rates.

8. North-South Economic Ties

Two-way trade between North and South Korea, which was first legalized in 1988, rose
to almost $1.82 billion in 2008 before declining sharply thereafter. Until recently, South
Korea was North Korea's second-largest trading partner after China. Much of this trade
was related to out-processing or assembly work undertaken by South Korean firms in the
Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). Much of the work done in North Korea has been
funded by South Korea, but this assistance was halted in 2008 except for energy aid
(heavy fuel oil) authorized under the Six-Party Talks. Many of these economic ties have
become important symbols of hope for the eventual reunification of the peninsula. For
example, after the June 2000 North-South summit, the two Koreas have reconnected their
east and west coast railroads and roads where they cross the DMZ and have improved
these transportation routes. South Korean tour groups have used the east coast road to
travel from South Korea to Mt. Geumgang in North Korea since 2003, although the

166
R.O.K. suspended tours to Mt. Geumgang in July 2008 following the shooting death of a
South Korean tourist by a D.P.R.K. soldier. Unfortunately, these North-South economic
ties have been seriously damaged by escalating tensions following North Koreas
torpedoing of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010.

9. Foreign Relations
South Korea joined the United Nations in August 1991 along with North Korea and is
active in most UN specialised agencies and many international forums. The Republic of
Korea has also hosted major international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics, the
2002 World Cup Football Tournament (co-hosted with Japan), and the 2002 Second
Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies. In 2010, South Korea hosts
the R.O.K.-Japan-China Trilateral Summit as well as the G-20 Seoul Summit.
Economic considerations have a high priority in Korean foreign policy. The R.O.K. seeks
to build on its economic accomplishments to increase its regional and global role. Along
with Australia, South Korea is a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum and chaired the organisation in 2005.
The Republic of Korea maintains diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries and a
broad network of trading relationships. It has strong economic, political and strategic
partner relationships with Australia. The United States and Korea are allied by the 1953
Mutual Defense Treaty. Korea and Japan coordinate closely on numerous issues. This
includes consultations with the United States on North Korea policy.
Further Information can be found from http://www.state.gov; http://www.mofat.go.kr/;
and http://www.dfat.gov.au/

10. Religion
Freedom of religion is protected under South Koreas constitution. Roughly half (53.1%
in 2005) of the South Korean population actively practice some form of religion. Most
religious believers in South Korea follow Buddhism (22.8%), Christianity (Protestants)
(18.3%) and Catholics (10.9%). Although only 0.2% of South Koreans identify
themselves as Confucianists, Korean society remains highly imbued with Confucian
values and beliefs. A small minority of South Koreans practice Islam, Shamanism
(traditional spirit worship), and Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way"). 46.5% of South Koreans
practice no religion.
Further Information can be found from www.kostat.go.kr and http://www.state.gov.

167
11. Science and technology
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is mandated to provide central
directions, planning, coordination and evaluation of all science and technology activities
in the country; and formulate S & T policies, programs, and projects including
technology cooperation, space technology, and atomic energy in support of national
development priorities (http://english.mest.go.kr/)
By all indications, the growth of Koreas electronics industry epitomises its rapid
advance over the past six decades and, to a certain extent, may be said to have driven it.
After the Korean War (1950-53) the country was a divided and demoralized nation in
abject poverty, lacking non-human natural resources and facing never-ending security
threats. It was thought of the utilization of its abundant manpower, development of new
and prospective industries, encouragement of import substitution, promotion of exports,
the effective use of aid from the U.S. and the coordination of government policies with
Koreas new entrepreneurial class.
1) The 1970s: decade of consumer goods, higher tech
Building on a background of government policies that nurtured industrial development,
Korea underwent an economic leap forward during the 1970s. This advance was largely
pushed by a series of new inventions, the government electronics promotion policy and
the 1974 establishment of the Masan Free Export Zone as well as the Gumi Export
Industrial Complex.
In 1970, Korea started the production of black-and-white transistor TV sets and by the
mid-1970s some 13 companies were producing more than one million of these a year. In
1974, Korea National, a joint venture between Anam Industries and National Electric of
Japan, produced and exported 29,000 color TV sets. Samsung Electronics and GoldStar
(currently LG Electronics) began the production of color TV sets for export in 1977. The
three companies made 110,000 sets that year. Yet, color broadcasting did not begin in
Korea until 1980.
Radios, electronic watches and cassette tape players took a large part of the business in
the second half of the decade. Small and portable cassette players, must-have items,
were especially favored by youths and generally popularized consumer electronics.
Samsung produced its first magnetrons in 1979 and marketed Koreas first microwave
oven that year.
2) Telecommunications
If you cant communicate, you cant operate is a saying that is equally applicable to
Koreas development. Prior to 1986, the few phones that Korea had were under a
manually operated switching system but in that year a pilot electronic switching system,
the TDX-1, was installed for 362 subscribers. This was followed in 1989 by the TDX-10
which later evolved into the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system. CDMA is

168
used in 2G and 3G mobile phone communications and allows many signals to occupy a
single transmission channel, increasing the number of customers that can utilize the
limited frequencies.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) strove to expand and
commercialize CDMA in Korea through a 1992 tie-up with Qualcomm of the U.S.,
enabling Korea to be on an equal footing with developed countries and to get into the
mobile phone business. In 1996, the predecessors to SK Telecom started commercial
services and in 2008 chalked up a market share of 50.5 percent. The company started the
worlds first Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), also known as mobile TV, in 2005
for sending multimedia such as TV signals to mobile devices such as mobile phones, and
replacing FM radio.
3) IT and the Internet
Sambo Trigem was established in 1980 and produced Koreas first microcomputer that
year. Since then a myriad companies have entered the market but Samsung and LG
continue as the top contenders with a combined market share in 2009 of over 50 percent.
Samsung sells more than 10 million PCs worldwide while Koreas IT spending is
expected to increase from $16.1 billion in 2010 to around $20.3 billion in 2014. Areas
subject to prospective growth are cloud computing (delivering services over the Internet),
notebook PCs and flash memory.
A 2007 study by Nielsen showed that Koreans are the worlds most wired people with 80
percent having access to the Internet. Computer ownership for the same year stood at 88
percent, the highest internationally. In 2010, according to the OECD, more than 90
percent of Korean homes have broadband access, while PC cafes are open 24 hours a day.
Such market penetration augurs well for the industry.
As part of its policies to induce foreign investments and foster private investment, the
Korean government has placed semiconductors, nanotechnology and robotics on a list of
prospective future technologies. This strategy will very likely procure new markets for
the industry. Government R&D funding and collaboration with top scientific institutes
are also positive harbingers for the future.
R&D is vital for the new products Korea needs. Samsung Electronics spent US$6.4
billion on research and development in 2009 and the company says this amount will
certainly increase in the future. For Samsung, enjoying the ability to afford the necessary
investment and with huge economies of scale in making TVs and phones among other
products the future seems rosy. That of other companies is less certain but if there is no
second downturn, Korea may be able to look forward to more bright years for its
electronics industry.
(Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/09/291_72034.html)

169
Appendix 6: Cultural Symbols of Korea 18
1. Bulgogi: The Emblem of Korean Meat Dishes

(Source: http://www.hansik.org)

Bugogi is a seasoned dish of thinly sliced beef which is broiled over a fire. While the
bul in bulgogi means fire, gogi means meat. Bulgogi, a dish with a history that spans
some 2,000 years, was reserved for royalty during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), when
it was known as neobiani. Bulgogi, along with galbi, is widely regarded as the most
representative Korean meat dishes.
2. Bibimbap: A dish that encompasses the Principle of Nature

(Source: http://www.korea.net/; http://www.hansik.org)

Located in the southwest of the Korean peninsula, Jeonju is widely perceived as the food
capital of Korea. To this end, bibimbap constitutes the very essence of Jeonjus food
18

Source: Yoo M-J and Lee J-H (2008), 100 Cultural Symbols of Korea, Discovery Media.

170
culture. Bibimbap is a healthy dish consisting of rice mixed with gochujang (red pepper
sauce), beef, and various vegetables such as bean sprouts, spinach, bracken, radish, and
zucchini.
3. Kimchi: The Taste of 2,000 Years

(Source: http://www.kimchiworld.kr/; http://www.korea.net/)

Kimchi is in all likelihood the most popular of Korean foods. The term Kimchi literally
means, vegetables fermented in salt in Korean. A variety of vegetables can be used to
make kimchi; these include Chinese cabbage, turnips, squash, eggplants, sesame leaves,
Korean lettuce, and stone leeks. Kimchi is created by adding salt, garlic, red pepper
powder, ginger, anchovies or shrimp, pear juice, and chestnuts to the vegetables.
Traditionally, kimchi consisted simply of vegetables stored in salt to which a few basic
spices were added. By the 1600s red chili peppers and pickled fish had become the main
ingredients in kimchi. The modern era has seen pears, chestnuts and pine nuts also be
added to this dish. Kimchi is the main staple of the Korean diet and a dish that Koreans
enjoy throughout their entire lives.

4. Hangeul: The Alphabet of Love

(For photo images please refer to the Korea National Tourim Orgainisation homepage:
http://korean.visitkorea.or.kr/)
Hangeul was invented in 1443 by King Sejong, who was the fourth of the Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910). King Sejong invented a new writing system that featured 28 letters which
he called Hunminjeongeum, which means the proper language for the instruction of the
people. This writing system is now known as Hangeul. While Korea had long had its own
language, it did not prior to the invention of Hangeul by King Sejong have its own
writing system. As a result, Koreans had up until that point utilized the Chinese writing
system. Aware of this situation, King Sejong set out to analyze the contemporary state of
Korean phonology and to create a new alphabet system.

171
Hangeul is the only writing system in the world for which we can pinpoint with
exactitude the period in which it was created, the identity of its creator, and its founding
principles. While Hangeul originally consisted of 28 phonemic letters, only 24, 14
consonants and 10 vowels are now utilized. E.O. Reischauer, a professor at Harvard
University, and J.K Fairbank praised the excellence of Hangeul as follows: Hangeul is
in all likelihood the most scientific of all writing systems presently used in the world.

5. Taegeukgi: The National Flag of the Republic of Korea

(Source: http://aus-sydney.mofat.go.kr/)

The term Taegeuk literally means the state of chaos that existed before the creation of
the sky and earth. In this regard, while the red portion of the taegeuk symbol signifies
yang, the blue section is meant to denote yin. This yin and yang can in turn be expressed
as the moon and sun, or earth and heaven. Taegeuk thus has been taken to mean a
complete circle in which yin and yang encounter one another, or an unlimited universe.
The flag was first referred to as the taegeukgi in the March 1st, 1919 Declaration of
Korean Independence signed by 33 national representatives during the Japanese colonial
era.

6. Hanbok: Clothing of the wind

(For photo images please refer to the Korea National Tourim Orgainisation homepage:
http://korean.visitkorea.or.kr/)
The hanbok, the traditional Korean costume, developed under the influence of Buddhism,
Confucianism, China and even the Mongols. While people these days wear a hanbok on
special occasions and holidays, Koreans used to wear it on a daily basis. A hanbok
consists of upper and lower garments. The basic components of a hanbok are a skirt
(chima) and jacket (jeogori) for women, and pants (baji) and a jacket (jeogori) for men.
The hanbok dates as far back as the Three Kingdoms Era (18BC-660AD). The hanbok is

172
a beautiful article of clothing which boasts exquisitely harmonized lines and patterns. The
colors of the cloth, designs, and ornaments combine to create the hanboks refined and
magnificent mood.

7. Taekwondo: A martial art which involves the training of both body and mind
(For photo images please refer to the Korea National Tourim Orgainisation homepage:
http://korean.visitkorea.or.kr/)
Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art whose history spans some 2,000 years.
Taekwondo is more than a simple fighting sport such as wrestling and boxing; it is a
spiritual exercise and a performing art which combines both stillness and motion.
Furthermore, Taekwondo is an international sport which not only highlights Korean
culture and thought, but one in which etiquette is regarded as being important.
Taekwondo is an international sport which some 50 million non-Koreans the world over
have partaken of. Taekwondo became an official sport during the Sydney Olympic
Games in 2000.
8. Ssireum: A sport based on the notion of humanism

(Source: http://ssireum.sports.or.kr/)

Ssireum is a traditional Korean sport in which two people wearing a belt that is wrapped
around their waists and thighs compete to bring any part of their opponents body to the
ground using a serious of techniques and their own brute strength. Based on the notion of
humanism, ssireum is a scientific and rational sport in which little harm or injury is
inflicted to ones opponent.

173
9. Tripitaka Koreana: Buddhist Scriptures

(Source: http://www.haeinsa.or.kr/tripitaka/)

The Tripitaka Koreana (National Treasure no.32) has long been housed in Haeinsa
Temple located in Hapcheon, Gyeongsangnam-Do Province. Due to the high number of
printing plates involved, it is also known in Korean as the Palman Daejanggyeong
(Eighty-thoughand Tripitakas). In this regard, the Tripitaka Koreana represents the most
precise and complete Buddhist scriptures remaining in the world. Produced during the
Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) over a period of 16 years (1236-1251), the Tripitaka
Koreana was initially intended to serve as a rallying cry for the people of Goryeo to rise
up and repel the invading Mongols and restore stability to a deeply fractured society.
10.

Pansori: Korean opera

(Source: http://www.koreapansori.com/)

Pansori is a Korean traditional performing art in which one singer (changja or sorikun)
tells a dramatic story while a drummer (gosu) plays on in the background. Although
outwardly similar to Western-style opera, pansori stands out because of the fact that it
features only one singer conveying stories amidst various rhythms emanating from a
drummer. As the changja must play all the characters that appear in a story, she or he
must have the ability to carry out vocals in various octaves. Meanwhile, the gosu, or the
drummer, must possess the ability to always choose the appropriate rhythm at the right
time. As such, the gosu can make or break a pansori performance.

174

11.

The DMZ: The path to reunification

(Source: http://www.korea-dmz.com/)

Having officially divided the Korean peninsula into South and North Korea ever since the
Korean War ended in July 1953, the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is an area that evokes
great sadness amongst the Korean people. The DMZ truncates the Korean peninsula at its
center (38th parallel), effectively dividing the nation into Southern and Northern parts.
The DMZ spans 250km from east to west and 4km from north to south. Fortunately, the
two sides have managed to avoid any huge conflagrations or even all-out war over the
past 50 years. The DMZ has remained off limits to all human traffic for more than 50
years. This has resulted in Koreans inheriting a setting that has over time become a
natural preserve the likes of which has rarely been seen anywhere else in the world. The
DMZ is both an ecological treasure trove and a haven for wildlife.

175
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