I Wish You Would Come Back to Korea Someday
할 씨가 언젠가 한국에 다시 왔으면 좋겠어요
[Hal ssiga eonjenga hanguge tashi wasseumyeon chokesseoyo.]

Wanting and Wishing

Well, it’s almost time to head back to your country now. I mean metaphorically—the book’s almost over! Of course, you can physically stay in Korea as long as you want. ^^

So, what would you want to do if you were really leaving Korea? You’d probably want to head to 인사동 to pick up some last-minute traditional souvenirs. Or you might wish for one last night on the town with your friends. Oh, and you’ll probably want to pack your luggage. So…what do you want to do? Yes, I agree. Let’s learn how to express what you want.

Want to…

It’s pretty easy to say what you want in English, isn’t it? I mean, you just use the verb “want” and then add the infinitive of whatever action you want to do. Well, this must be a universal thing, because expressing wants in Korean is really easy, too!

In this case, the word for “want” is 싶다 [shipda]. (Don’t be fooled—it’s not a verb as in English, but actually an adjective!) Okay, then we have to connect this to the action verb we want to do. That’s done with the ending -고, which belongs to good ole pattern 1. So, what you get is V- 고싶다. The only important thing to remember here is that this construction only works when what you want is a verb. You can’t use the word 싶다 with a noun, as in the English sentence “I want candy.” Instead, in Korean this would have to be “I want to eat candy” (사탕을먹고 싶어요. [Satangeul meokgo shipeoyo.])

So let’s start with a very general but important question:

뭐 하고 싶으세요 [Mweo hago shipeuseyo?] What do you want to do?

And now, let’s answer:

우리나라 친구들한테 줄 선물을 사고 싶어요. [Urinara chingudeulhante chul seonmureul sago shipeoyo.] I want to buy gifts to give my friends in my country.

아는 분들한테 작별 인사를 하고 싶어요. [Aneun bundeulhante chakbyeol insareul hago shipeoyo.] I want to say goodbye to people I know.

짐을 싸고 싶어요. [Chimeul ssago shipeoyo.] I want to pack my luggage.

Yes, you’d better start packing. Don’t forget to take your Korean book and notes with you!

Don’t want to, hate doing…

Are you happy to finally be heading home? Of course you are. But at the same time, you don’t want to have to say goodbye to all your friends, do you? Goodbyes are always hard. But hey, why don’t you express to your friends how difficult it is to leave them? I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

You need to learn how to say you don’t want to leave, or that you hate saying goodbye. Let’s start with the first of these. It’s a negation, right? And I’m sure you remember that there are two ways to make a negative sentence in Korean. Look:

안 떠나고 싶어요. [An tteonago shipeoyo.] I don’t want to leave.

떠나고 싶지 않아요. [Tteonago shipji anayo.] I don’t want to leave.

That’s right! You can either add 안 before the verb to create the short -form negation, or go the longer route and use the expression V- 고 싶지 않다. But what if you’re really upset about having to go? You can express yourself in stronger terms by saying you hate doing something:

헤어지기 싫어요. [Heeojigi shireoyo.] I hate parting.

I know, I know. It’s very hard to leave, isn’t it? But you still have to concentrate for just a little bit longer so we can examine this sentence. Unlike 싶다, 싫다 doesn’t come after the ending 고, but rather - 기. Are you familiar with this pattern 1 ending? I hope so. This is the ending that turns verbs or adjectives into nouns, just like adding “-ing” to a verb in English, remember? Very useful! 헤어지다 is a verb that means “to part,” but in this sentence it’s changed into 헤어지기, meaning “parting.” As you can see, the verb 싫다 is used with nouns that you hate. They don’t even have to be verbs that you turn into nouns either—real nouns work too! All you have to do is add the subject particle to them. Check it out:

저는 이별이 싫어요. [Cheoneun ibyeori shireoyo.] I hate farewells.

Yeah, me too.

I wish…

There’s a Korean saying: “Those who meet must part.” Yep. It’s true in any language. But the real meaning of this saying is that you don’t need to be sad on account of parting. It happens to everyone, and you always have the possibility of meeting again.

Yet, this is little consolation when you’re leaving friends. All the Koreans you’ve met during your stay will be so sad to see you go, because Koreans are known for being very passionate and open with their emotions. Your friends will probably say to you, “I wish we could see each other again.” Or, “I wish you would come back to Korea someday.” So, to make sure you don’t miss these important words of parting, let’s learn some expressions dealing with wishes.

In English, when you talk about a wish that hasn’t been fulfilled yet, you use the past tense: “I wish I had a million dollars…” If I were a bird…” Why is this? No one knows. But, coincidentally, it works the same way in Korean.

Verbs you’re wishing about are conjugated in the past tense and then given the conditional ending “if.” You remember this one, don’t you? Yes, it’s -(으)면. And finally, the word for “to wish,” 좋-겠 다, comes at the end. So in total you have the expression -았으면 / -었 으면 / -였 으면 좋-겠 다. I bet you wish to see some examples:

우리가 다시 볼 수 있었으면 좋겠어요. [Uriga tashi pol su isseosseumyeon chokesseoyo.] I wish we could see each other again.

할 씨가 언젠가 한국에 다시 왔으면 좋겠어요. [Hal ssiga eonjenga hanguge tashi wasseumyeon chokesseoyo.] I wish you (Hal) would come back to Korea someday.

My sentiments exactly.

The big goodbye

I can’t believe how far you’ve come in 27 short chapters! You’ve successfully journeyed through the world of Korean language, and with only little old me to guide you. I hope that you’ve enjoyed my company as much as I’ve enjoyed yours, and that I’ve been able to open your eyes to what makes Koreans, their culture, and their language tick. With the knowledge you’ve gained from this book, you’re ready for anything. Don’t hesitate to dive in and use it!

You know I hate goodbyes, so I only have one thing left to say:

보고 싶을 거예요 [Pogo shipeul keoyeyo.] I’ll be missing you!

Korean Style: Crossword puzzle

You’re going to need something to pass the time on that long plane ride back to your home country. Do you enjoy crossword puzzles? Me too. When I was little, my dad and I would buy a crossword puzzle book every weekend and solve the puzzles together. That’s probably where my love of languages came from. If you feel similarly, then I recommend taking on the challenge of a Korean crossword puzzle. You may think it’s difficult…and you’d be right. In fact, most Korean crosswords are too hard for the average Korean. But don’t worry, because I’ve prepared a special one for you, using only words you’ve learned in this book. A great chance for review, wouldn’t you agree? Okay, are you ready? Go!

Across	Down
2. honorific of 자다 (“to sleep”)	1. very, so
4. generally, usually	3. what (kind of)
6. friends	4. to see, or to try, or the particle meaning “than”
8. what you’ve been learning (“Korean language”)	5. who
10. most	7. the modifier form of the pure-Korean word for “eleven”
12. Sino-Korean for thirty-two	9. yesterday
14. ramen	11. Japan
	13. the particle meaning “to be called”

(See page 192 for answers.)