Free guide · 6 min read
Korean at the convenience store
The 편의점 (pyeonuijeom), the convenience store, is the most useful shop in Korea. There is one on nearly every corner, most are open around the clock, and they sell hot meals, coffee and transport card top-ups as well as snacks. This guide covers what the cashier says and what you say back.
The exchange at the till is short and runs the same way every time, so a few sentences go a long way. Once you know what the questions sound like, you can answer them before you have caught every word. Day 66 of the daily course spends a whole lesson on the 편의점; this is the version for your first week.
At the till
The cashier will usually ask one or two of these:
Bags are not free, which is why you are asked 봉투 필요하세요? (bongtu piryohaseyo?) every time. 괜찮아요 (gwaenchanayo) from day 5 is the polite no to any offer: a bag, a receipt, a straw. The phrase does double duty as 'it's fine' and 'no thank you', and the tone and the context make it clear which. Most people answer the receipt question with 괜찮아요 too.
Heating food
You heat your own food, so these are for finding things:
In a Korean 편의점 the microwave is self-service. It usually sits near the window or the till, with a hot water dispenser beside it for cup noodles, and many stores have a counter with stools where you can eat. Packets print a heating time for the microwave's wattage, so check the number on the door. 돌리다 means 'to turn', and it is the everyday verb for running a microwave.
Paying and offers
Deals are marked on the shelf, and top-ups are done at the till:
Stickers reading 1+1 and 2+1 mean buy one get one free, and buy two get a third free, and they are why people carry drinks out in pairs. T-money and other transport cards can be topped up at the till, usually with cash: hand over the card and the money and say the amount. Prices are in won, and 만 (man), ten thousand, is the unit to listen for, as day 10 explains.
Finding things
Name the thing and add 어디 있어요? or 있어요?:
삼각김밥 (samgakgimbap), triangles of rice wrapped in seaweed, and 도시락 (dosirak), boxed meals, are the standard cheap lunch; the boxed meals go in the microwave. The packets show a date and time to eat by, and stores take them off the shelf when it passes. Many convenience stores have no customer toilet, and in an office building the answer may be a shared toilet down the corridor, sometimes with a door code the staff will give you.
These phrases get built into real conversation in the daily lessons. The first thirty days need no account, and the Hangul course will have you reading every sign in the guide.