Welcome to the final lesson of our first module! Over the past few lessons, we've laid a strong foundation by exploring Korean sentence structure, mastering the essential topic, subject, and object particles, and learning to identify people and things with the verbs 이다 (to be) and 아니다 (to not be).
Today, we will synthesize all these elements to achieve our goal for this module: performing a complete, culturally-aware self-introduction. You will learn the key phrases needed to confidently state your name and your profession as a journalist in a polite and formal context. This is a crucial skill that brings together everything we've covered and prepares you for real-world interactions.
1. The Core of Your Introduction: Name and Occupation
In our last lesson, you learned to use the polite present tense endings -이에요 / -예요. Let's now apply this knowledge to the two most important pieces of information in a self-introduction: your name and your job.
The video below provides a great real-world demonstration of how to state your name and occupation using this pattern.
How to Introduce Yourself in Korean | Easy Self-Introduction for Beginners
This video from the "Korean with Ina" channel walks through the practical application of -이에요/예요 for self-introductions.
First, watch the segment on stating your name. Pay attention to how the speaker applies the consonant/vowel rule to different names. Then, watch the section on stating your occupation. The speaker reinforces the same grammatical pattern with job titles.
As you saw, the structure is straightforward:
- 저는 [Name]이에요 / 예요. (I am [Name].)
- 저는 [Occupation]이에요 / 예요. (I am a [Occupation].)
For your specific goal, you need the word for "journalist." This next short video clip will introduce it.
Jobs and Occupations in Korean ㅣ Basic Korean Vocabulary 01
This clip from "Minji Teaches Korean" introduces the word for journalist and shows it in a sentence.
Please watch from this segment. The key vocabulary word is 기자 (gija).
The word 기자 (gija) ends in a vowel, so you would say:
- 저는 기자예요. (I am a journalist.)
2. Crafting a Formal and Polite Introduction
While -이에요/예요 is perfectly polite, in a first meeting or a professional setting—like interviewing an artist's representative—a more formal style is often preferred. This style uses the ending -입니다.
The following article provides an excellent guide to building a formal introduction, including phrases that convey respect and cultural awareness. Given your background in linguistics, you may find the notes on how language reflects social hierarchy particularly interesting.
Korean Job Interview Prep: Self-Introduction for Beginners ...
This article from DailyHangul on Medium introduces what it calls the "Golden Trio" of introductory phrases. It's framed for a job interview, which makes it perfect for the formal, professional tone you'll often need.
Please read the following sections: "Phase 2: Deep Dive — The Golden Trio": This introduces the three core phrases. Pay close attention to the meaning and cultural significance of 잘 부탁드립니다 (jal butak-deurimnida). "Phase 3: Textbook vs. Real Life": This offers a valuable tip on why "저는 [Name]입니다" is often more natural than "제 이름은 [Name]입니다." "Phase 9: Think Deeper — Language & Hierarchy": This short section explains the use of the humble "I," 저 (jeo), which connects directly to concepts of honorifics in language.
As you read, you learned three crucial phrases for a formal introduction:
- 저는 [Name]입니다. (I am [Name].)
- 만나서 반갑습니다. (Nice to meet you.)
- 잘 부탁드립니다. (A phrase with no direct English equivalent, but it means something like "Please look after me" or "I look forward to our good relationship.")
Notice that -입니다 is used after both consonant and vowel-ending nouns, making it simpler to apply than -이에요/예요.
- 저는 소연입니다. (I am Soyeon.)
- 저는 마크입니다. (I am Mark.)
- 저는 기자입니다. (I am a journalist.)
3. Putting It All Together: Your Introduction Script
Now, let's assemble these pieces into a complete, polite, and formal self-introduction script. This structure is standard and will serve you well in many contexts.
- Greeting: 안녕하세요. (Hello.)
- Name: 저는 [Your Name]입니다. (I am [Your Name].)
- Occupation: 저는 기자입니다. (I am a journalist.)
- Pleasantry: 만나서 반갑습니다. (Nice to meet you.)
- Closing: 잘 부탁드립니다. (I look forward to working with you.)
This five-part introduction is professional, respectful, and demonstrates cultural understanding.
Practice Your Pronunciation
The phrase 잘 부탁드립니다 is one of the most important in Korean professional culture. Let's make sure you can say it confidently.
Korean Job Interview Prep: Self-Introduction for Beginners ...
Return to the Medium article we just read.
Find the section titled "Phase 6: 10-Second Shadowing Drill". Follow the steps to practice the pronunciation of 잘 부탁드립니다 slowly and then at a more natural speed. Try to say it with a sincere tone, as the article suggests.
4. Practice Exercise
Imagine you are at a press event and you are introducing yourself to the manager of a K-pop group. Which of the following is the most appropriate self-introduction?
Manager: 안녕하세요. (Hello.)
You:
A) 안녕! 나는 [Your Name]이야. 기자야. 반가워.
B) 안녕하세요. 저는 [Your Name]입니다. 저는 기자입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. 잘 부탁드립니다.
C) 안녕하세요. 제 이름은 [Your Name]예요. 직업은 기자예요.
Answer:
B is the best choice. It uses the formal -입니다 ending and includes all the key pleasantries (만나서 반갑습니다, 잘 부탁드립니다), showing the highest level of respect appropriate for a first professional meeting. Choice A uses casual language (반말) which would be considered very rude. Choice C is polite but less formal and complete than B.
Conclusion
Congratulations on completing the first module! You've successfully built up your knowledge from individual particles to full, meaningful sentences.
In this lesson, you learned how to:
- Combine your knowledge of grammar to state your name and occupation.
- Use the key vocabulary word 기자 (gija) for "journalist."
- Construct a formal self-introduction using the -입니다 ending.
- Master the three essential phrases for a polite introduction: 저는 [Name]입니다, 만나서 반갑습니다, and the culturally vital 잘 부탁드립니다.
You now have a solid script for introducing yourself in professional settings related to your work.
In our next lesson, we will begin Module 2, where you'll learn how to conjugate regular verbs and adjectives into the present tense. This will allow you to move from stating who people are to describing what they do—an exciting step that will get you closer to understanding the content of K-pop news articles.