Intermediate Reading Practice about Moving to Korea

안녕하세요 리더님! It's Koreanstudyjunkie here.

I have an interesting Intermediate level story for you here about a pair of bestfriends who are moving to Korea together.

Each line of the dialogue is broken down making it possible for beginners to also learn from it!

FULL Dialogue:

English translation at the end!

Ami:"친구랑 같이 한국으로 이사 간다니 정말 기대돼! 먼저 어떤 것부터 할 거야?"

Soojin:"우선, 한국 음식 먹어야지. 김치, 비빔밥, 떡볶이 다 먹어보고 싶어!"

Ami:"와, 나도! 그리고 한국에서 유학할 때 꼭 방문해야 하는 명소가 있을까?"

Soojin:"당연하지! 서울의 경복궁, 그리고 부산 해운대 해수욕장이 유명해. 거기 가서 사진 찍고 싶어."

Ami:"그럼, 우리가 갈 곳이 많겠네. 한국어도 배우고 싶어서 매일 연습할 거야."

Soojin:"좋은 생각이야! 나는 한국 드라마를 많이 보니까 언젠가 대사도 자연스럽게 말할 수 있겠지?"

Ami:"그럼 우리 둘 다 한국어 실력이 빨리 늘겠네!"

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Line by Line Breakdown:

Ami:"친구랑 같이 한국으로 이사 간다니 정말 기대돼! 먼저 어떤 것부터 할 거야?"

• 친구랑 같이 (with a friend)

  • 친구 means "friend," and 랑 같이 means "together with."

  • 랑 is used to mean "with" (informal), while 같이 means "together."

• 한국으로 이사 간다니 (moving to Korea)

  • 이사 가다 means "to move" (to a new place).

  • The -다니 ending is used when something is said with a sense of surprise or expectation. It shows a casual or conversational tone.

• 정말 기대돼! (I’m really excited!)

  • 기대되다 means "to be excited" or "to look forward to."

  • 돼 is a form of 되다, which means "to become." Here, it’s used in the present tense to mean "I’m excited."

• 먼저 어떤 것부터 할 거야? (What’s the first thing you want to do?)

  • 먼저 means "first."

  • 어떤 것부터 means "what first" or "which thing first."

  • 할 거야 means "will do" (future tense).

Soojin:"우선, 한국 음식 먹어야지. 김치, 비빔밥, 떡볶이 다 먹어보고 싶어!"

• 우선 (first of all, initially)

  • 우선 means "first of all" or "for now."

• 한국 음식 먹어야지 (I should eat Korean food)

  • 먹어야지 is the -야지 ending, which expresses the idea of “I have to do this,” often used informally. It's softer than a plain -야 하다.

• 김치, 비빔밥, 떡볶이 다 먹어보고 싶어 (I want to try kimchi, bibimbap, and tteokbokki)

  • 다 means "all" or "everything."

  • 먹어보다 means "to try eating" (literally "to eat and see").

  • 싶어 is from 싶다, meaning "to want."

Ami:"와, 나도! 그리고 한국에서 유학할 때 꼭 방문해야 하는 명소가 있을까?"

• 와 (Wow)

  • 와 is an exclamation used to express surprise or excitement, like “Wow!”

• 나도 (Me too)

  • 나 means "I," and 도 means "also." So it means "me too."

• 그리고 (And then)

  • 그리고 is used to add more information or continue the conversation, like "and then" or "also."

• 한국에서 유학할 때 (When studying abroad in Korea)

  • 유학하다 means "to study abroad."

  • 할 때 means "when doing" (the time when doing something).

• 꼭 방문해야 하는 (must visit)

  • 꼭 means "must" or "certainly."

  • 방문하다 means "to visit."

  • 해야 하는 is the verb form of 해야 하다 (must do), describing something that must be done.

• 명소가 있을까? (Are there any famous spots?)

  • 명소 means "famous place" or "tourist spot."

  • 있을까? is a question form of 있다 (to be, to exist) used for speculation or asking if something exists.

Soojin:"당연하지! 서울의 경복궁, 그리고 부산 해운대 해수욕장이 유명해. 거기 가서 사진 찍고 싶어."

• 당연하지! (Of course!)

  • 당연히 means "naturally" or "of course," and -지 is a casual ending used for emphasis or agreement.

• 서울의 경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul)

  • 서울의 means "in Seoul" (the possessive form of 서울 is used to show location).

  • 경복궁 is the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.

• 부산 해운대 해수욕장이 유명해 (Haeundae Beach in Busan is famous)

  • 부산 is the city of Busan, and 해운대 해수욕장 is a well-known beach.

  • 유명해 comes from 유명하다 (to be famous).

• 거기 가서 사진 찍고 싶어 (I want to go there and take pictures)

  • 거기 means "there."

  • 가서 is the -아서/어서 form of 가다 (to go), meaning "after going."

  • 사진 찍다 means "to take pictures."

Ami:"그럼, 우리가 갈 곳이 많겠네. 한국어도 배우고 싶어서 매일 연습할 거야."

• 그럼 (Then)

  • 그럼 is a casual form of 그럼요 (then, in that case), used to continue a thought or conversation.

• 우리가 갈 곳이 많겠네 (We will have a lot of places to go)

  • 갈 is the future form of 가다 (to go), meaning "we will go."

  • 곳 means "place."

  • 많겠네 is a form of 많다 (to be many), used in a conversational tone to express a prediction or expectation.

• 한국어도 배우고 싶어서 매일 연습할 거야 (I also want to learn Korean, so I’ll practice every day)

  • 배우다 means "to learn."

  • 싶어서 is from 싶다 (to want), used with -아서/어서 to show reason.

  • 연습하다 means "to practice."

  • 할 거야 means "will do."

Soojin:"좋은 생각이야! 나는 한국 드라마를 많이 보니까 언젠가 대사도 자연스럽게 말할 수 있겠지?"

• 좋은 생각이야! (That’s a good idea!)

  • 좋은 means "good" or "nice," and 생각 means "idea" or "thought."

• 나는 한국 드라마를 많이 보니까 (Since I watch a lot of Korean dramas)

  • 보니까 is the -니까 form of 보다 (to see, to watch), meaning "since" or "because."

  • 드라마 means "drama."

• 언젠가 대사도 자연스럽게 말할 수 있겠지? (I’ll probably be able to speak the lines naturally one day)

  • 언젠가 means "someday" or "one day."

  • 대사 means "lines" (in a script or drama).

  • 자연스럽게 means "naturally."

  • 말할 수 있겠지? is the future tense of 말하다 (to speak) combined with -ㄹ 수 있다 (to be able to), and -겠지indicates a soft guess or expectation.

Ami:"그럼 우리 둘 다 한국어 실력이 빨리 늘겠네!"

• 그럼 (Then, in that case)

  • 그럼 is used to confirm or continue the conversation.

• 우리 둘 다 (Both of us)

  • 우리 means "we," and 둘 means "two" (for people), so 둘 다 means "both."

• 한국어 실력이 빨리 늘겠네 (Our Korean skills will improve quickly)

  • 실력 means "skills."

  • 빨리 means "quickly."

  • 늘다 means "to improve" or "to increase."

  • 겠네 is used to express an assumption or guess in the future tense.

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English Translation

Ami:"I’m really excited to be moving to Korea with you! What’s the first thing you want to do when we get there?"

Soojin:"First, I want to eat Korean food. I want to try kimchi, bibimbap, and tteokbokki!"

Ami:"Wow, me too! Also, are there any famous spots we should visit when we study abroad in Korea?"

Soojin:"Of course! Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul and Haeundae Beach in Busan are famous. I want to go there and take pictures."

Ami:"Then, we will have a lot of places to visit. I also want to learn Korean, so I’ll practice every day."

Soojin:"That’s a great idea! Since I watch a lot of Korean dramas, I’ll probably be able to speak the lines naturally one day."

Ami:"Then, both of us will improve our Korean skills quickly!"

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Thank you for making it this far! If you'd like more reading practice, there is plenty more where this came from on Koreanstudyjunkie.com/blog!

Below I have linked 3 other reading practices that I think you'll enjoy.