Talk with your classmates about the public transit systems. Do you know about Korea’s system? What are the transit options in your hometowns? What seems to be happening in the following dialogue?

In this lesson, you will learn how to ask and answer questions about using transportation systems in Korean.

Prospective marker  -(으)ㄹ: -(으)ㄹ Noun  A NOUN to VERB

You have seen -을 being used as part of future (or uncertainty) verb endings like -을 거에요, -을래요,  and -을까요.  In this lesson, -을 is used as a noun modifier ending indicating a future clause (in the sense that something is to happen to that noun). Only verbs can modify nouns this way, and the meaning is a NOUN to VERB (usually in the immediate future).

* 데 means place, and it can only be used with a modifier just before it. (It is called a “dependent noun” for this reason).

When the noun phrase [-(으)ㄹ + Noun] is used as the subject in a sentence embedded in a bigger sentence, the translation is usually the NOUN who/that will:

내가 탈 기차는 저 기차예요.

That train over there is the train I will be taking.

토요일에 시내 구경하러 갈 사람 있어요?

Is there anyone who wants to go to downtown to take a tour this Saturday?

-(으)ㄹ 때 When …

You have already seen the word 때 in noun compounds like 방학 때 (during the vacation), 점심 때 (at the lunch hour).  때 can also be modified by a verb or adjective with the -을 ending. In this case it means when VERB/ADJECTIVE happens.

버스 탈 때 교통 카드를 써요.                    When you ride a bus, use the transportation card.

차가 막힐 때 택시를 타지 마세요.             Don’t take a taxi when traffic is heavy.

When the action in the 때 clause is completed before the action in the main clause, then it can be put in the “past tense”. That is, -(으)ㄹ 때 can be attached to the past tense stem. If the action or state in the 때 clause is not completed before the action in the main clause (for example, if it is an ongoing state or background situation for the main clause), then the 때 clause does not use the past tense even if the main clause does.

A: 한국에 갔을 때 어떻게 여행했어요?

How did you travel when you went to/were in Korea? (You had arrived in Korea, so “going” is completed.)

B: 부산에 갈 때에는 기차로 가고 제주도에 갈 때에는 배로 갔어요.

When I went to Busan, I took the train (to get there); when I went to Jeju Island, I took a cruise (to get there).

Here are some more examples.

A: 한국에서 한국말만 했어요?

Did you only speak Korean in Korea?

B: 아니오. 미국 친구하고 말할 때는 영어로 얘기했어요.

No. When I was talking with American friends, I spoke English.

-보다  …(더)  more/less … than

To make a comparative sentence in Korean is simple.  Just attach the particle –보다 (than) to what is compared. Adding 더 in front of the predicate emphasizes the comparison:

택시가 비싸요.    →     택시가 버스보다 (더) 비싸요.

Taxis are expensive.     →     Taxis are more expensive than the bus.

Notice that the normal, neutral ordering of compared items in Korean is opposite the English order.

비행기가 배보다 빨라요.                 Airplanes are faster than ships.

우리는 한국음식보다 중국음식을 (더) 잘 먹어요.

We eat Chinese food better/more often than Korean food.

(MEMBER중에/CATEGORY-에서) 제일   (among MEMBERS/in CATEGORY,) the most …

When comparing more than two things, use 제일 (most) instead of 더 (more). After category-naming nouns or when you are listing three or more, use 중에 (among). Use  -에서 to mark phrases like in the world, in our class, etc.

기차 여행이 제일 재미있어요.

Train trips are my favorite (Literally, a train trip is the most fun).

세상에서, 어디가 제일 가고 싶어요?            Where (in the world) would you most like to go?

항공사 중에(서) 서울 에어가 제일 값이 싸요.           Among airlines, Seoul Air is the cheapest.

When asking for a choice among two or more options, use the word 어느 (which) and the noun. (*무슨 asks for a more general “what kind of” preference.)

가: 외국 음식 중에서 어느 음식을 제일 많이 먹어요?            Which ethnic foods do you eat most often?

나: 우리는 외국 음식 중에서 중국음식을 제일 많이 먹어요.   I eat Chinese food most among ethnic foods.

-(으)로 with, by

-으로 is a particle that is added to nouns to indicate that the noun is a tool or an instrument.  It can be translated as with or by, or sometimes in.  Use -으로 when the noun ends in a consonant (other than ㄹ) and -로 when the noun ends in a vowel or ㄹ.

펜으로 싸인해요.                                  One signs (one’s name) with a pen.

학교에 버스로 가요.                              I go to school by bus.

‘Dog’은 한국어로 개에요.                     ‘Dog’ is 개 in Korean.

When the noun ends in ㄹ(and you make ㄹ로)  be sure to pronounce a double-ㄹsound.

저는 지하철로 시내에 가요.                  I go downtown by subway.

A에서 B까지 어떻게 가요?/얼마나 걸려요?

어떻게 is used to ask “how” questions meaning “by doing what?”  Be careful – it is not used to ask “how big” or “how long”, etc. To ask “how long (time),” you can use 얼마나 and the “takes time” verb, 걸리다. (얼마나 can also be used before other adjectives to ask “how far,” “how tall”, etc., but with 걸리다, it is used on its own to mean “how long/how much time.”)

가: 호텔에서 지하철 역까지 어떻게 가요?          How can I get to the subway station from hotel?

나: 걸어서 가세요.                                               You can walk there.

가: 호텔까지 얼마나 멀어요?                               How far is the hotel (from here)?

나: (걸어서) 10분쯤 걸려요.                                It will take about 10 minutes (on foot).

연습 1. 질문에 답하세요.

Listen to the announcement and the dialogue between Hanna and Bryan. Then answer the following questions in Korean.

1. Where is the announcement from?

2. Write as much as you can about what you heard.

2. __________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________

You have decided to visit 김치박물관(뮤지엄 김치간) over the holiday break in Korea. To prepare for your visit, you found a website on how to get there. Read the following direction to the place and answer the questions in English. It’s okay to use a dictionary.

https://www.kimchikan.com/?page_id=48 

Describe how to get there by subway and by bus based on the directions provided.

1)__________________________________________________

2)__________________________________________________

Useful Vocabulary

최고의 여행 장소

Talk with your friends about the places you have visited during vacations and ask several questions related to those places. Then compare some of the destinations using -보다 더 and 제일. Talk with your partner(s), then present in class.

Getting Around Seoul

If you’ve ever been to New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong or similar cities, you may be used to the bustling, true metropolis that Seoul is.  Seoul is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with a population of over ten million people in 605 square kilometers (http://global.seoul.go.kr/). The overall street map of Seoul is nothing like the American grid system, but more like the triangularly interwoven streets of Paris or other old cities. As in many of these other big cities, it is probably easier to rely on public transportation than to buy a car, get a driver’s license, and then have to park and take care of a car, much less navigate the streets and traffic. The public transportation system is extremely efficient, inexpensive, and convenient!

교통카드

How do commuters in your area pay for public transportation (bus tickets, etc.)?  The coolest thing about Seoul transportation is probably the T-money card (티머니 카드) or 교통 카드.  The card typically costs 2,500 원itself or 4,000 원 with cool characters or designs on it, then you can load it up with money to use for public transportation at the automated kiosks in the subway stations or at convenience stores. On almost any kind of public transportation, you just swipe it – or in some cases, wave it nearby from inside your bag — to pay the fare.  Each time you use it, you save 100 원off the regular fare, and of course, it saves you lots of time that would otherwise be spent buying tickets or looking for exact change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH6Sdz8LNJw