[Korean Culture & Language] Asking someone out in Korea

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The act of asking a girl/guy for their number is called ‘번호를 따다’. It is often used in its abbreviated form, ‘번따’.

But what do you say after you’ve gotten their phone number and have been on a few dates with them and want to officially ask them out? 

Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash

You could say ‘I’m in this for the long-term. Do you want to be my boyfriend/girlfriend?,’ ‘Can we make it official and be boyfriend/girlfriend?’ or simply ask “Would you be my boyfriend/girlfriend?”. 

In Korean, you can say ‘사귀자 (Be my girlfriend/boyfriend),’ ‘나랑 정식으로 만나볼래? (Would you like to make it official and be boyfriend/girlfriend?),’ or ‘우리 연애하자 (Let’s go steady)’.

The video below highlights the experiences of various people who have had their 심쿵 moments or how they asked their crush out. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0tu5nKDdtU&t=4s

A girl from the first story says that her ‘짝남(crush)’ used to call her a ‘살찐 수달(chubby otter)’.

Then she continues her story by saying ’몇일 뒤, 짝남이랑 애들이랑 길 가다가 동물 인형 달린 목도리를 발견 했어요. (A few days later, I was walking down the street with some friends and my crush, when we came upon a shop selling stuffed animal scarves.) 애들이 각자 좋아하는 동물 고르고 있는데 짝남이 ‘수달은 없나? 난 수달이 제일 좋은데’ 이러면서 제 머리에 손을 올리는데 정말 심쿵 했습니다 (Everyone was browsing for their favorite stuffed animals when my crush asked, ‘Is there an otter? Otters are my favorite animals.’ Then he put his hand on my head. My heart skipped a beat.’

심쿵 means ‘심장(heart)이 쿵(thud) 하다’

Have you ever experienced a ‘심쿵’ moment before? How did someone ask you out in the past?

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