Korean Phrases for Tourists: Why Your Tip Comes Back and Coffee Means Americano
The scene repeats in restaurants all over Korea. A visitor finishes a good meal, leaves a note on the table the way they would at home, and heads for the door. Before they reach it, a member of staff catches up and hands the money back. Korea has no tipping, not in restaurants, taxis or hotels, and nobody is offended. The thank-you and a nod are the tip.
The phrases below fix that trap and seven others, and all of them are part of the free Korean Trip Kit.
The bill will not come, and the tip will come back
In most Korean restaurants nobody brings a bill to the table. You pick up the slip clipped to the table, or simply stand up, and pay at the counter by the door on your way out. If you are not sure where to pay, 계산해 주세요 (gyesanhae juseyo) does the job, and "ttaro gyesanhae juseyo" asks to pay separately.
Then say 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) and go. Do not round up and do not leave anything on the table. "Gomapseumnida" works just as well; both are polite enough for anyone. The textbook "cheonmaneyo" for "you're welcome" is rarely said. What you will actually hear back is "ne" (sure), "anieyo" (it's nothing) or just a bow.
A coffee is an americano
Ask for "keopi" and you get a question back: which one? "A coffee" in Korea means an americano, so the order is 아메리카노 하나 주세요 (amerikano hana juseyo). You will then be asked "ttatteutan geo, aiseu?" (hot or iced?) all year round, and many locals take it iced even in January. A milky coffee is "kape rate" (카페라테). Cafés are everywhere and open late; a Starbucks americano is 4,700 won, and the budget chains (Mega, Compose, Paik's) charge 1,500 to 2,500.
Calling across the room is polite
To get a waiter, say 저기요 (jeogiyo), literally "over there", clearly across the room. It feels rude if you come from a place where you wait to be noticed, but it is normal, and many restaurants have a call button on the table for the same job. The mistake is to use it as an apology. For bumping into someone or a mild sorry, the word is 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida, jwe-song-ham-ni-da). To interrupt a stranger with a question, "sillyehamnida" is the polite opener.
"Jamsimanyo", and which side of the escalator
잠시만요 (jamsimanyo) is how you squeeze through a packed subway car, a market or a queue, and "naerilgeyo" (I'm getting off) at the doors makes people step aside. It also means "hold on a second", so staff will say it back to you constantly, and that is not a brush-off. The trap is on Seoul's escalators, which are a stand-right, walk-left affair: plant yourself on the left with your suitcase and you will earn a noticeably sharper "jamsimanyo" from behind.
The two lines that each add ten percent
At an ordinary restaurant the prices are what you pay: no cover charge, no tipping, and side dishes and water are free. If a "seobiseu" item lands on the table, it is a freebie from the owner. The surprise comes at hotels and upscale restaurants. 부가세 별도 (bugase byeoldo) means VAT is excluded, so add 10%, and 봉사료 (bongsaryo), service charge, adds another 10% on top of that. "Bugase poham" means VAT is included and the number is final.
Korea's real cover charge lives in bars. "Gibon anju" (basic snack), the nuts or popcorn that arrive unasked, is usually free. The real cost is the unwritten rule that a table drinking in a bar orders at least one proper anju dish. Some bars charge for the plate instead, 3,000 to 10,000 won, and then it goes on the bill whether you touch it or not.
Say yes to the receipt when it matters
Cashiers ask "yeongsujeung deurilkkayo?" (would you like a receipt?) expecting "aniyo, gwaenchanayo", and there is no legal duty to take one. Say 영수증 주세요 (yeongsujeung juseyo) when it matters: at shops marked Tax Free, purchases of 15,000 won or more on one receipt can refund most of the 10% VAT to foreign visitors (7 to 8% reaches you after the refund operator's fee), either on the spot at the till if you show your passport, or at the airport kiosks with the receipts. The floor was cut from 30,000 won in 2024, so more of your shopping qualifies than older guides say. In a taxi, the card reader prints one if you ask.
Nothing gets stamped, but you must tap out
There are no ticket stamps in Korea. The fined mistake is the T-money tap. You tap the reader when you board a bus and again at the rear door as you get off, which is what 내리실 때 카드를 대 주세요 (naerisil ttae kadeureul dae juseyo) is reminding you to do. Skip the tap-out and you lose the free transfer to the next bus or subway within 30 minutes, and you are charged extra on your next ride. Subway gates tap in and out too, and riding without a valid tap costs the fare plus a penalty of thirty times the base fare.
The other forty-two
These eight come from days one to four of the Korean Trip Kit: ten phrases a day for five days, each with a respelling you can read aloud, a tip like the ones above and audio. Day one works in the browser without an account, and the whole sheet prints on three pages for the plane.