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Living in Korea
Korean for the Office: Emails, Meetings, and Everyday Workplace Phrases
Every phrase below is tappable — press it and your browser speaks it aloud, so you walk into your next meeting already knowing how it should sound.
Korean office culture leans formal by default — these phrases are safe to use with almost anyone senior to you.
Starting and Ending the Day
The small phrases that get used constantly and almost never appear in textbooks.
수고하세요
sugohaseyo
Keep up the good work (said when leaving, to those still working)
먼저 가보겠습니다
meonjeo gabogesseumnida
I’ll head off first (polite way to leave before others)
수고하셨습니다
sugohasyeosseumnida
Thanks for your hard work (said after a task or at day’s end)
Worth knowing: 수고하세요 is technically not said to someone senior to you — 고생하셨습니다 or a simple bow is safer upward in the hierarchy.
In a Meeting
Phrases for following along, agreeing, and gently pushing back.
질문 있습니다
jilmun isseumnida
I have a question
다시 한번 말씀해 주시겠어요?
dasi hanbeon malsseumhae jusigesseoyo?
Could you say that once more?
제 생각에는
je saenggageneun
In my opinion…
확인해 보겠습니다
hwaginhae bogesseumnida
I’ll check on that
일정을 조율할 수 있을까요?
iljeongeul joryulhal su isseulkkayo?
Could we adjust the schedule?
Formality level shifts constantly by seniority — these phrases sit safely in the polite/formal register throughout.
Email Openers and Closers
Korean work emails follow a predictable shape — these lines cover the start and end of almost any message.
안녕하세요, [이름]입니다
annyeonghaseyo, [ireum]imnida
Hello, this is [name] (standard email opener)
다름이 아니라
dareumi anira
The reason I’m writing is… (common transition into the point of the email)
확인 부탁드립니다
hwagin butakdeurimnida
Please check this / please confirm
감사합니다
gamsahamnida
Thank you (standard email sign-off line)
Worth knowing: most Korean work emails open with a greeting line and the sender’s name, state the reason for writing directly, and close with 감사합니다 — the structure barely varies between companies.
These phrases are just the start
Surviving a meeting is one thing — actually following the conversation around you needs a real foundation in the language.
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