Yes, we are friends, but not "친구"

[@talktomeinkorean]

Hey, Talk-Talks! Turn on CC to see English subtitles! ❤ Enjoy the video! 0:00 Am I a "friend" to my coworkers? 0:21 Don't call all of your "friends" 친구 in Korean 2:20 Let's look at why 2:52 4 types of relationships based on speech levels 3:42 Typical definition of the word 4:22 It's slowly changing 7:47 Discussion in Korean 14:50 What do you think? 15:45 Explained in Korean

[@gallasebiyo4427]

저 한국인인데 누나 너무 예뻐서 계속 보게되요 ㅠㅠ

[@jeany2023]

I liked this format. Another brilliant video from the brilliant TTMIK team!

[@el3264]

I literally just thought of this question! TTMIK is out here reading minds 😂

[@cherylschaeffer7832]

I like this format a lot. Would love to see more of this.

[@annakateSD]

It seems quite rare to find people the exact same age as me (at my work ages range from 25-70). So by this definition, I have no friends 😥

[@cish808]

This format is the most helpful in explaining the levels of Korean speech in actual conversational examples. You explain things well and I like your friendly instructional manner.

[@RashiKashyap-b3k]

"Best TTMIK video I've seen in 2 yrs. Love the helpful English/Korean explanations. Thanks!"

[@TheNerdyTannator]

I really liked this format, personally watched the explanation in Korean first without subtitles then back to the start of the video with subtitles, helped a lot!

[@_omorewo]

I really love this format because whenever I want to listen to your conversations, I turn on subtitles first and listen for the second time without subtitles.. Thank you so so much for this 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@Entropic_Alloy]

This format was very good. It leads with a primer on a cultural topic, which lets you know which words to focus on when listening to the discussion!

[@jeff__w]

I read a blog post several years ago by an English speaker who made the mistake of calling her Korean friend, who was older, her “친구” and using the ending 아 or 야, in a group of Koreans. (I don’t remember which.) Her friend looked visibly uncomfortable and one of the other Koreans told her angrily that she _couldn’t_ address her friend like that. Drama ensued. The English speaker rushed into another room in tears-how could this person _not_ be her friend? Her friend came in, trying to comfort her; other people were less understanding. The English speaker felt hurt and betrayed but I got that she unknowingly violated a social norm and it wasn’t like her friend _wasn’t_ her friend-she just wasn’t observing the narrower meaning of 친구. This video goes a long way toward explaining the nuances. One thing I always find fascinating (but not surprising) is that Koreans still seem to prefer “hierarchy maintenance” as a form of respect whereas English speakers will take “hierarchy minimization” as a sign of intimacy and something desirable. That’s changing a bit-we can see that in 예지’s comment “저는 좁은 의미의 친구예요…좋은 건데? 감동하셔야 돼요.” I suppose we _can_ say that neither “hierarchy maintenance” nor “hierarchy minimization” is worse or better than the other-they’re just different “choices”-but navigating hierarchy seems to add a bit more complexity and some more constraints (if 현우 really _is_ 예지’s 친구, then it seems better to be able to say that) so, as I’ve said in another comment, maybe some “flattening” in Korean is occurring over time as we see with the word 친구.

[@trishasmith2303]

Thank you for sharing this story. As a person who has a hard time making friends my own age and is normally close to people much older or a few years younger than me, I was conflicted. I was thinking like “so I can’t be friends with people unless they’re my exact age? What if I don’t get along with or have interest in people my own age? Or is it just having to address them with a different title?” I think I got it now. Thank you.

[@jeff__w]

@@trishasmith2303 Thanks for your nice reply. If you or anyone else is curious, the actual post was “Conversations With Koreans: Wait, we aren’t friends?” on _The Soul of Seoul_ blog. Here’s a bit of a quote: _Taking what I’d learned from class on how to call someone by name, I said, “So-yung-a, do you want to play a game?” (소영아, 게임 하고싶어?) using the lower form of the language. I had been gaining confidence with the language and using it whenever I could. There was an audible gasp and after a few seconds of silence, So-yung said, “yes,” but two of the more aggressively conservative members of the group told me I couldn’t say “So-yung-a” to So-yung._ … Friend 2: _You can’t say “So-yung-a” because you’re younger than she is._ Me: _We’re friends though._ Friend 1: _No, you’re not friends with So-yung._ (The actual post is about a decade old and things can change but it’s still revealing about the concept of 친구 in Korean.)

[@chansherly212]

Dang… I mean, you’d think they’d be more understanding towards a language learner ..they’re still learning .. what they’d expect the English speaker to be a master at politeness levels from the start??

[@jeff__w]

@@chansherly212 That was my reaction, too, at first. But, then, when I thought about it, I took the whole incident as an indication of just how _unconsciously_ emotional the whole thing is-the people who reacted angrily _knew,_ of course, that the speaker was a learner of Korean, but that didn’t remove the emotional valence of violating a pretty important norm in Korean culture-they couldn’t separate their emotions from the specific facts of the situation. (And, of course, it might be that such things “trigger” some people more than others-and the post, in fact, notes that these were “two of the more aggressively conservative members of the group.”) I guess a really imperfect analogy is if a non-native speaker of English keeps mispronouncing the word _beach_ and you _know_ it’s a mispronunciation but you _still_ want that person to _stop._ Another is that Hyunwoo some time ago saw some Korean-speaking competition for non-native speakers and one of the top contenders had a few lapses in politeness levels. Hyunwoo, of all people, understands how non-native speakers could make such mistakes but it _still_ rubbed him the wrong way, at an emotional level.

[@dylanthekoreanteacher]

오늘도 재미있는 주제 감사합니다. Very interesting topic.

[@cynarmoro8224]

I found this video super useful and learn much from it! Hyunwoo씨, Yeji씨, 감사합니다!

[@deirdremckprice7702]

They work together so well.

[@PolygonStatic]

This format was great! Some culture and explanation in English to set up and help give context to the Korean portion is such a cool idea! Very helpful!

[@2oqp577]

That 진구 age window, does it widens with age. For example, two kids of 11 and 13 years old wouldn't use it, but if you are 58(🙂) and the other person is 63, does it become acceptable to use it?

[@timeisgone123]

Yes, in my opinion old people dont need to seperate their position each other

[@youtuuuub1]

전 한국인이고, 아마 그렇다고 생각해요. 20대 중반 쯤부터는 1~2살 차이는 큰 의미 없어집니다.

[@mirrormepls]

⁠​⁠@@youtuuuub17~8년차이는요?

[@penpencilbrush]

This is brilliant. Both content and format. More please!

[@keilchar]

I absolutely LOVE this format, please please please do more videos like this it’s so so helpful!!

[@anjalisinha4291]

I like this format! It lets you practise and internalise information in Korean with a good mix of English in between.

[@low2118]

저도 한국인으로서 항상 갖고 있던 생각이었는데, 마침 제 생각과 똑같은 영상이 나왔네요 ㅋㅋㅋ '친구'가 'friend'에 정확히 대응되지 않는 미묘한 단어하는 게 참 어려워요 😅

[@8_bit_Andy]

It was great to see Kyung-hwa again! I hope she is doing well and enjoying life.

[@b.a.p.4718]

한국어도 쓰면 정말 정말 감사합니다! ❤

[@jessicah317]

This is great! I like the new format, although it's too advanced for me, but all exposure helps! I'm so grateful for all the work TTMIK puts into their work so, 감사합니다!! ❤❤

[@tessasguideto9354]

I really like this format. I am still a beginner. I use TTMIK and watch the videos but always with English subtitles. I like having a second section that is only Korean so I can practice my listening and reading. Thank you!

[@alysharaedt4759]

한국어로 성명하는 부분도 촬영해주셔서 너무 감사합니다. 요즘 듣기를 많이 연습하고 있는데 여기는 말이 꽤 빨라도 다 이해했으니까 매우 기뻐요. 고생 많으셨습니다❤

[@kiyk7273]

My listening needs a lot of work, but I realised that when I read the sentences, I understand a lot better, though I still have a hard time translating naturally. I really enjoyed this

[@NewBeginner27]

Great format, great content. I had no idea that there is such a wide differentiation including so many different terms😅

[@izadee7596]

Really effective format, which can reach all levels of Korean learners. It also touches upon a topic which can be interesting to a broad range of people and gives insight into the culture and society as well. As for myself, I especially enjoyed the fact that listening to the English first gave me a sense of the context and the notions discussed, and allowed me to challenge listening to the Korean and understand much more of it. Thank you as always for all the quality material!

[@Lizzy251000]

Annyeong, Korea has alot of different dialects in the meaning of their words. It takes alot of patience to learn any language. Thank God you all took the time to explain this information, fighting. Enjoy😁.

[@rendalay]

I really like this format. The Korean explanation at the end was a nice help for what I understood. Also the Korean discussion was helpful to see the word more in use and a natural discussion about it after the English explanation.

[@sandratcarrascom8024]

I really liked this video format!!

[@tilakrijal456]

너무 촣은 생각입니다, 감사합니다!

[@LeePark-qs9eg]

I found this format very helpful - it was good to have the topics covered a couple of different times, with slight differences.

[@talktomeinkorean]

Thank you for the comment! :)

[@HappyGnoux]

That was very interesting! thank you! In French we have different words (pote, meilleur-pote, copain/copine, ami, meilleur-ami...etc.) and some have age related reference in some ways, but it's also used for different level of closeness. So it's very interesting to see the difference in Korean. It must be confusing sometimes if you're not good at reading between the line. I like the idea of being friends with a 70 year old grand ma as well as with a person 10 years younger than me. I like the fact that it's evolving in Korea. It will create more opportunities for people of different age groupe to get closer and make the society more open (not saying it's bad now, but it's more rigid as you explained)

[@i_will_achieve_my_goals]

Thanks for the video very helpful.

[@KORHOUSE]

Your breakdown of the meaning behind '친구' in Korean is spot-on!💯💯 It's one of those words that can be tricky to grasp, but you nailed it with your explanation. Thanks for making it so clear and easy to understand. Your examples really helped put it into perspective. Keep up the awesome work!

[@deirdremckprice7702]

Thank you! TTMIK, I sure hope you all know how much you are appreciated and admired.

[@justinmontgomery9526]

Dude please make more videos like this! This was immensely helpful!

[@bikyukhuang8879]

This format gives a deeper dive to understand a concept vs literal meaning of the characters used also how those are different among certain generations or age groups vs individuals. Thanks you.

[@mikealsonalexander5162]

Very interesting !! i liked this format !! plz do more videos with one sentence x number of grammar point !!! 감사합니다!

[@horangi321]

Long time no see Kyunghwa! I'm always up for more Korean-only content. Since TTMIK kindly puts subtitles in the video, I didn't really need an explanation in English. But I think some Korean viewers may be interested in hearing the explanation in English?

[@MsAnotherCrazyfan]

I like this format! Thanks! The English and korean explanation has different vibe and purpose for me too

[@ruxandrab1674]

The way you approach these topics is really intelligent and super helpful for people who aren’t immersed in Korean culture (like myself). It’s very insightful to see the differences between how two kind, open people relate to a concept that is probably built right into Korean society. More so, seeing how that concept is evolving as newer generations shape it into something that better suits them is also very cool. Your guys’ conversation left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside 🥰 Loved the video! 🙌

[@marialuisaachille9608]

선현우 선생님 감사합니다! 이 수업은 아주 도움입니다 =)

[@asmaaria5066]

I really loved this new type of video format with explanations in both languages. I'll be looking forward to more videos like this one

[@DeannaWillistonOFS]

This concept would be foreign to American homeschoolers who freely mix with friends of different ages . Grade levels (when used) are based more on ability and maturity than chronological age.

[@karinmichanek]

This is so good! More of this kind of videos please 😀

[@ratolita]

amazing format, amazing explanation, nice teachers

[@ricardo22448]

concept is very fun and i learned something new :D

[@TheSalyanea]

Thank you those examples were really usefull

[@jkang7265]

This is phenomenonal and attention-holding video on what could be a super dry topic. Thank you!

[@t_tory]

I was wondering how to deal with this kinda topic and here you are! Thank you so much 🙏 In my culture it's kinda weird to call everybody you now as a friend, so I was interested in how to deal with it in Korean

[@usduchess1009]

Cool video! Thanks for the explanation! I get confused alot on this and some formal/informal language and this helps a lot.

[@dizzy.ant.]

I love learning about the cultural and social aspects of Korea, and this format is excellent. If possible, I would appreciate it if this is also added to your Spotify podcast, as I often listen to your lessons while on the go or multitasking. 감사합니다! 🎧

[@0M366Y]

I really enjoyed the format of this video~ I've really been enjoying everything the TTMIK team have been releasing lately!

[@tatianasukhova910]

I personally love this format! Thank you very much. I knew a lot about the problem of the term 친구 in comparison with 'friend', but the explanation in both languages helps to learn more Korean expressions. Example conversations also show the difference in body language❤

[@marla0412]

It is hard to understand this for foreigners as it is and build up the necessary 눈치 but then sometimes people will just come up to me and say "let's just talk casually!" since I'm a foreigner 😂 It's not like I'm offended but sometimes I find it quite hard to navigate everything on the broader spectrum. There have been times where I asked myself why even people my age I considered myself relatively close to have not suggested switching to 반말. As I've been living here now for 6 months I feel like I'm slowly figuring this out more and more for myself

[@aimziq16]

this is a rather interesting concept. I'm not fully aware of this before. thanks for the explanation! I like the format too.

[@Pretty_as_themoon]

THAT WAS SO FUNNY .감사합니다

[@airwick4631]

Great video and I really like the format. Thanks, friends!

[@expmin1]

This is a great format!! I always wondered why almost all of the videos were entirely in english. Of course this is more work, but with the timestamps, I feel this will cater to most people who watch this channel. Also, there was so much body language to catch in the 4 dialogues ! Maybe this can be for another video :)

[@mondstadtvlogs]

이런 설명방식은 정말 유용하고 도움이 돼요. 앞으로 이렇게 설명하면 좋을 것 같아요. 그런데 한국어로 먼저 설명하는 건 어때요? 이렇게 하면 얼마나 이해했는지 알 수 있을 거니까요

[@koposart1489]

Super helpful and I loved this format alot!

[@cheriebraden]

I love your videos. I watch tons of kdrama. Often there are dialogues where I can tell there is a subtle meaning in the exchange that has been lost in translation, but I'm not sure what it is. It would be really cool if you come across some kdrama scenes that "only Koreans would understand" because of cultural background information, if you did an explication/analysis of what's going on that would be impossible to understand from a translation alone (even a good translation).

[@mirame_kfan7518]

Absolutelly love this type of video thank you

[@cherierussell5017]

Very helpful. I had not even thought about this. Good to know 😎

[@sophiaweber4334]

Very useful! Both for understanding the culture and learning the language. Keep it up! 💯

[@PeterB_]

Great format!!! Keep this up. Love the Wnglish explanation followed by relevant Korean input!

[@BlackFate483]

This is reallly interesting! Because to me friends mean people who have a close relationship with me, regardless of age. They can be 10 years older or younger and they could still be my friends. And regardless of their age, we always speak informally to each other. I don't know, speaking informally to someone makes me feel closer to them 😊

[@chrismossy9774]

Great format with a good mix of both Korean and English. I'm at the intermediate stage where I prefer listening in Korean but sometimes it's hard to understand eveything. So it's good to learn about the topic in both Korean and English.

[@rochka]

It’s a Great format and really interesting and useful video ! Thanks a lot TTMiK👍

[@aikooleannain6895]

This is a great format, please make more videos this way!

[@vassechkavassya]

very inetersting and useful video! i liked that you gave examples because sometimes politeness levels can be a little bit hard. i also have a queastion - is it possible to contribute another language subtitles for your video? i have a lot of ukrainian friends who are learning korean, but don't speak english as well to understand this video. thank you again!

[@お節介じい]

친구는 한자로 쓰면 親舊. 북한에서는 동무(同務)라고도 합니다. 소꿉동무. 길동무등등 한국에서도 하죠.

[@dark.star.1371]

Love the format!

[@mnplumberman]

Great Video. I really like this format.

[@sparklylittlechicken]

Thanks!

[@alinebarbosa8462]

I loved this format!!!!

[@minheelee3008]

Really love this format because after hearing it in Englisch first understanding the Korean explanation almost comes naturally. Would have loved to learn a bit about the underlying 한자 since it might have cleared a bit of the intercultural confusion. Interestingly, even the term "same-age" seems narrower than in English or other European languages. In the end understanding Korean always requires a high understanding of Korean culture. Thanks for this breakdown!

[@mrhamim5504]

From Bangladesh ❤ 감사합니다.

[@13RafaEl777]

It is awesome! Thank you! ✨️

[@veiking]

I really like the video explaining the complex social relationship in Korean culture. I remember I saw a TK video talking about how Chinese Koreans refuse to speak Korean with each other if they became friend speaking Chinese (without knowing the other's Korean background). It seems that they are confused about whether they are already informal speaking 친구 or they should start over from the formal speech😂😂

[@andrewcuevas3221]

i love this channel gamsahabnida

[@urieldaboamorte]

This format probably took a lot of work! Thank you all for so much dedication 🩵

[@NicoleYoshihara]

Korean is so intriguing 😊❤

[@vermull19]

Interesting. The Czechs have something similar. Informal language short name of a friend = best friends (I go out with Pája (Pavel), with Vera (Veronika) and with Tom (Thomas)) Kamarádi = close friends of the same age or from a hobby club with different ages who also travel together on holiday Přátelé = good friends of different ages who just get together socially (bar, restaurant, theatre, concert...) Classmates = friends from school, with whom you get together only occasionally outside Formal (can become informal by agreement) language Známí = friends you have a good time with if you happen to bump into them, but otherwise don't see each other Teachers and co-workers = friends who go out for a drink together Aunt/uncle = father/mother of my friends or other older friends (neighbours of parents' age, friends of parents...) grandma/grandpa = neighbours and friends of grandparents' age

[@davidha8874]

I love that the concept of 친구 is broadening. Rigidity of social roles always makes life more difficult. Loved this conversation.

[@beat1riz]

I'm shook.

[@Bubbabee0914]

I like this format! But I was hoping that there would also be an english sub during the Korean discussion portion as I can only understand about half of it in pure Korean :)

[@talktomeinkorean]

You can see the English subtitles by clicking on CC button 😁

[@yonjantamang6497]

I'm starting watching I think it's helpful so let's see😊

[@evetali99]

Good format!

[@KaruMedve]

I find stuff like this super interesting, but at the same time, this made me give up Korean once I left the beginner level. Too much hassle for me, but I am please my friend kept learning Korean.

[@mojiborrahman5434]

Great video..

[@kiwifruitkl]

I feel like some Chinese people do this as well... in Chinese. In social interactions, Chinese people are aware of the age gap and will address accordingly, so a young adult woman will address her elders as elders, not as peers. To be fair, I think people in the West do do this -- treating elders a bit differently than people of the same age group. Children will call their elders Mr and Mrs and then the surname. But once people become adults, young adults and adults seem to address each other as peers. But I think that still depends. In some cases, I have seen adult westerners call their elders Mr or Mrs surname instead of the first-name basis.

[@ashyb3019]

14 YEARS APART IN AGE?? 현우 씨…. 와 … 🤩 👏🏼

[@BumbleBeeBryony]

This is one of the hardest parts of Korean culture for me. My fiancé says I can’t be “friends” unless we’re born in the same year. It feels harder to make connections because of this but I’m working through it!

[@paulwalther5237]

This is interesting. I think it’s way more common to call someone a friend in English if they are around the same age but obviously it’s not a requirement. You just have to feel close to that person etc. This happens more often when you’re around the same age (and maybe have other things in common too). I could be friends with someone old enough to be my grandfather but it would be uncommon.

[@thatcubr6961]

I love this video!! I am studying with your textbooks (because the website is longer free ㅠㅠ) but I don’t know how to use the sentence building drills. The instructions were a bit confusing. Am I supposed to come up with the rest of the sentence on my own after given a new phrase? Please help!

[@saradiego1]

I like this format and would love to see more. 😊

[@alaxx9746]

This has a veritasium vibe

[@susankim9605]

Very helpful