Day of Korean Language

Today, October 9, a Thursday, is Korean Language Day.

How do you speak the Korean language or Hangul? First, the letters are different. The letter a is not written as an "a" but as ㅏ. Melon candy is written as 메론켄디.

Also, the sentence structure in the Korean language is different from the English language because the verb is at the end. So you have to listen to a Korean until the end of his sentence so you will know what he means.

Even my name is written differently. Since married female Koreans do not change their surnames to their husbands' last name, I have to do the same here. But since my last name is so long (Gutierrez), they have to cut it to 에레즈.

Even the way they say things here are different. You say "Hello" when answering the phone but in Korean language you say "yo bo seyo."

Even the way you greet people are different. Usually, you just wave your hand, smile and say "Hi." But in here, it depends on the person you are greeting. If the same age, you say anyong haseyo. But if he or she is a colleague or a teacher, you bow (up to the waist) and say "an yong haseyo."

Even the way you speak to elders are different. To show respect, you have to say "yo" at the end. For example, you are asking an older person if his coffee is sweet. Instead of just saying "tara" or sweet, you say "tarayo."