Travel
Korean expressions and words about Travel, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Travel
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배낭여행 (baenangnyeohaeng) — Travel with nothing but a backpack, the word Koreans pack their youth into
**배낭여행 (baenangnyeohaeng)** means travel you do freely and on very little money, carrying nothing but a backpack. The moments when this word comes out of a Kore
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불꽃축제 (bulkkot-chukje) — Why Everyone Hauls a Picnic Mat to the Han River on an Autumn Night
**불꽃축제 (bulkkot-chukje)** means a large-scale event built around launching fireworks into the night sky. The core of the word is that it is an *event* — held on
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첫차 (cheotcha) — The One Vehicle That Stands at the Very Front of the Day
**첫차 (cheotcha)** means the first bus or train to leave on a given day. It's the one written on the top line of the timetable — the vehicle the whole day's serv
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기념품 (ginyeompum): The Object That Carries a Memory Home — the Korean word that changes hands most in a tourist-town alley
**기념품 (ginyeompum)** means "an object you give or buy as a memento." The moment you pick up a fridge magnet at a little shop in a back alley on the last day of
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한달살기 (handalsalgi) — The Trip Where You Spend a Month Being a Local
**한달살기 (handalsalgi)** is one of the words that pops up most often when Koreans talk about travel these days. 한달살기 means a stay-put style of trip: you settle in
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전망대 (jeonmangdae) — How to Talk About the Spot Where You Take In a Whole City at Once
**전망대 (jeonmangdae)** means a place built up high so that you can look far into the distance. A wooden deck at a mountain summit, a glass-walled floor at the to
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케이블카 (keibeulka) — The Little Cabin in the Sky That Carries You Up the Mountain
**케이블카 (keibeulka)** refers to a vehicle installed on high, steep mountains to carry people or cargo — in other words, a ride that hangs from a thick steel cabl
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여수 (Yeosu) — The City Name Koreans Always Say in the Same Breath as '밤바다' (Night Sea)
If you ask a Korean person to name just one summer travel destination, quite a few will think for a moment and then say these two syllables. **여수 (Yeosu)** is t
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남이섬 (Namiseom): The Tree-Lined Path Floating on the River — Korea's Favorite Day Trip
**남이섬 (Namiseom)** is the name of a small, crescent-shaped island floating on the North Han River, about an hour and a half east of Seoul — Korea's quintessenti
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놀이공원 (norigongwon): Not a Park, Not a Playground — the Place You Buy a Ticket to Get Into
**놀이공원 (norigongwon)** means "a place fitted out with various facilities and rides so that people can look around or get on things and play." In English: *amuse
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서울숲 (Seoulsup) — The Place Seoulites Call by Name Instead of Saying "Let's Go to the Park"
서울숲 is the name of a large urban park in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, and read literally it means "the forest in Seoul." **서울숲 (Seoulsup)** is a proper no
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워킹홀리데이 (wokinghollidei) — A Year of Working and Traveling: Korean Youth's Rite of Passage
**워킹홀리데이 (wokinghollidei)** refers to a system in which two countries sign an agreement so that young people within a set age range can travel *and* work legall
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등산 (deungsan) — Why Koreans Head for the Mountains Every Weekend Morning
**등산 (deungsan)** means going up a mountain for the purpose of exercise, recreation, and the like. You are more likely to meet this word on the subway than in a
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을지로 (Euljiro) — Between Printing Presses and the Nogari Alley, Seoul's Strangest Street
**을지로 (Euljiro)** is the name of a major road that runs east–west through Seoul's Jung-gu district — and also the name of the whole neighborhood along it: the p
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기내식 (ginaesik) — the first thing you start looking forward to once the plane takes off
**기내식 (ginaesik)** means the light meal and drinks served to passengers on an airplane. Once you've taken off and the seatbelt sign clicks off, the rattle of a
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흑돼지 (heukdwaeji) — In Jeju, the Word You Pin Down Before Any Tourist Spot
**흑돼지 (heukdwaeji)** literally means ‘a pig with black hair.’ On paper it’s just a word about color, but in Korea the places where you actually hear it are pret
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환전 (hwanjeon) — the word where getting ready for a trip really begins
**환전 (hwanjeon)** means trading one country’s currency for another country’s. After you’ve booked the plane ticket, checked the expiration date on your passport
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Ikseon-dong — One Step Into an Alley and the Tiled Roofs Come Down to Meet You
**익선동 (Ikseon-dong)** is the name of a neighborhood in Jongno-gu, Seoul. It means an old residential pocket in the middle of downtown Seoul where roughly a hund
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Itaewon: From a Roadside Inn for Travelers to the Hill Where the World Gathers
**이태원 (Itaewon)** is the name of a neighborhood in Yongsan-gu, Seoul — Seoul's signature international street, where people, food, and languages from all over t
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KTX — Seoul to Busan in Two and a Half Hours: Korea's 'Half-Day Living Zone'
**KTX (케이티엑스, keitiekseu)** means Korea's high-speed rail system — the one that links Seoul to Busan in just two and a half hours — and also the name of the hig
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면세점 (myeonsejeom) — The Night Before a Flight, the Favor Koreans Get Asked Most
**면세점 (myeonsejeom)** means a store — at the airport or downtown — that sells goods with the taxes taken off. Once you've cleared immigration and you're walking
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온천 (oncheon) — Time to Soak in Water the Earth Warmed for You
**온천 (oncheon)** means a facility built so you can bathe in water that was heated naturally underground — or the spring from which that water rises. The importa
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속초 (Sokcho) — The Name That Holds Seoraksan and the East Sea in One City
**속초 (Sokcho)** is the name of a city on the East Sea coast of Gangwon State — a place where Seoraksan rises behind you and the East Sea opens in front of you,
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숙소 (sukso): The Two Syllables That Decide Half Your Trip
**숙소 (sukso)** means a place other than your own home where you stay temporarily. A hotel at your travel destination, a motel you check into on a business trip,
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유심 (yusim) — the first Korean word you learn at Incheon Airport arrivals
When you land at Incheon Airport, pick up your bags, and the arrivals doors slide open, a row of mobile carrier booths is standing right there in front of you.
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광안리 (Gwangalli) — The Beach Where Busan Locals Gather at Night
Gwangalli is a place name that covers two things at once: a beach in Busan's Suyeong-gu district, and the neighborhood sitting right in front of it. In Roman le
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귀성길 (gwiseonggil) — The Road You Take Even If It's Eight Hours Long
**귀성길 (gwiseonggil)** means the road you travel down to your hometown to see your parents over a holiday. As 설날 (seollal, Lunar New Year) or 추석 (chuseok, Korean
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해운대 (haeundae): The Name of a Beach — and of a Neighborhood Where People Live
**해운대 (haeundae)** is a stretch of coastline in Haeundae-gu, Busan — a tourist destination famous for its hot springs, its swimming beach, and its beautiful sce
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호캉스 (Hokangseu) — The Vacation That Doesn't Go Far: Your Suitcase, Thirty Minutes by Subway
**호캉스 (hokangseu)** means a short vacation you spend holed up in a hotel instead of traveling far. No flight. No sightseeing itinerary planned down to the hour.
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인사동 (Insadong) — The Traditional Culture Street Still Standing in the Middle of Seoul
인사동 (Insadong) is a *dong* — an administrative neighborhood — in Jongno-gu, Seoul, famous as a traditional culture street and visited by crowds of tourists. If
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전주 (jeonju) Means "Last Week" — So Why Is It on Your Train Ticket Too?
**전주 (jeonju)** means "the week immediately before this one" — in other words, last week. Sit through a Monday-morning meeting at a Korean company and you are g
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막차 (makcha) — The Ten Minutes Before Midnight, and the Last Chance
**막차 (makcha)** means “the last vehicle to run on a given day.” Picture 11:30 at night: at a drinking get-together, someone suddenly pulls out their phone, chec
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남산타워 (Namsan Tawo) — If You Could Only Visit One Place in Seoul: Why Koreans Shorten This Name
**남산타워 (Namsan Tawo)** means "the observation tower standing on top of Namsan, the mountain right in the middle of Seoul." When a friend visiting Seoul for the
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성수동 (Seongsu-dong) — How an Alley of Shoe Factories Became Seoul's Hippest Neighborhood
**성수동 (Seongsu-dong)** is the name of a neighborhood in Seongdong-gu, Seoul: an old industrial district once packed wall-to-wall with shoe factories and print s
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차박 (chabak) — A Night in the Car Instead of a Tent: How Koreans Get Away Every Weekend
**차박 (chabak)** means a trip where you sleep overnight inside your car. Instead of pitching a tent, you fold the back seats down and turn that space into a bed.
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단풍 (danpung) — How to Name a Korean Autumn in a Single Word
When late September comes around, a single map appears at the tail end of the news in Korea. Red arrows drift slowly down from the northern mountains toward the
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강릉 (Gangneung) — Two Hours from Seoul, and Why Koreans Just Say "I'm Gangneung Tomorrow"
**강릉 (Gangneung)** is the name of a city on South Korea's east coast. Its full administrative name is 강원특별자치도 강릉시 (Gangwon-teukbyeoljachido Gangneung-si), but a
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게스트하우스 (geseuteuhauseu) — A Cheap Bed, With People Thrown In
게스트하우스 means lodging where several travelers stay under one roof, share the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, and pay less precisely because of all that shari
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Hanok Maeul — Under the Tiled Roofs, a Neighborhood Where People Still Live
**한옥마을 (hanok maeul)** means a place where a number of hanok — traditional Korean houses roofed with tile or thatch — stand together and make up a single neighb
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환승 (hwanseung): The Word the Station Announcements Teach You Every Day
Once the subway doors close, almost every single time the same announcement comes on. “이번 역은 ○○역입니다. △호선으로 갈아타실 분은 이번 역에서 내리시기 바랍니다.” (“This stop is ○○ Station.
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전통시장 (jeontong sijang) — Where the Free Extra Comes Before the Price
**전통시장 (jeontong sijang)** means a traditional-style market: merchants who have been rooted in one neighborhood for a long time open small shops along the alley
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명동 (Myeongdong) — Seoul's Busiest Three Syllables, and How to Use Them Right
명동 (Myeongdong) is the name of a neighborhood in Jung-gu, central Seoul — a place so densely packed with department stores, cosmetics shops, and restaurants tha
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노포 (nopo) — The Shop Where a Faded Sign Is the Qualification
**노포 (nopo)** means an old shop that has kept its doors open in the same spot for decades. Walk the back alleys of Euljiro in Seoul or Choryang Market in Busan
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포토존 (potojon) — A Spot Made Just for Taking Pictures
When you're out walking around a travel spot with a Korean friend, there's one word you're guaranteed to hear at least once. **포토존 (potojon)** means "a place se
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시차적응 (sichajeogeung) — When Your Body Is Still Back in the Other Country
**시차적응 (sichajeogeung)** means the process of resetting your body's rhythm to a new day-and-night cycle after traveling to a place in a different time zone. The
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야경 (yagyeong) — The View That Only Appears Once the Lights Come On
**야경 (yagyeong)** means “the scenery you see at night.” Once the sun has dropped all the way below the horizon and the city’s lights come on one by one, things
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야시장 (yasijang) — Just a Street by Day, a Market Once It's Past Six
**야시장 (yasijang)** means a market that opens at night. During the day it's an alley with nothing but parked cars and shuttered shops; once the sun goes down, st
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부산 (busan) — The Busan You Pack a Suitcase For, and the 부산 That Lives in the Dictionary
**부산 (busan)** means "a state so dizzying or noisy that you can't keep your head straight." And yet, say **부산** in front of a Korean and nine out of ten will pi
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경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung) — Joseon's First Palace, Named for 'Great Blessings'
**경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung)** means “a palace of the Joseon Dynasty in Seoul — the main palace of the Joseon royal house.” On their first morning in Seoul after comin
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Hongdae — Seoul's Street of Youth, and What a Single Name Holds
If you've been to Korea, or if you enjoy K-pop music videos and variety shows, you've probably heard these two syllables at least once. In Seoul, if you ask a f