Movies Korean — 60 Expressions Explained

60 Korean expressions you'll hear in movies, explained with romanization, English meaning and cultural context. Tap any phrase in the app to hear the audio and practice with quizzes.

K-content like movies is full of natural Korean you won't find in a textbook. These 60 example sentences are written in that same style for learners, with romanization, English meaning and cultural context (B1–C1). Examples include “기택, 너 계획이 다 있구나” and “짜파구리 끓여 줄까”. These 60 phrases are graded B1 20 · B2 20 · C1 20 on the CEFR scale and run from 8 to 46 characters.

KoreanMeaning (EN)
기택, 너 계획이 다 있구나.gitaek, neo gyehoegi da itgunaKi-taek, so you do have a plan.
짜파구리 끓여 줄까?jjapaguri kkeulyeo julkka?Want me to make Jjapaguri?
냄새가 선을 넘어요.naemsaega seoneul neomeoyoThe smell crosses the line.
영화 끝까지 자리를 뜨지 마세요.yeonghwa kkeutkkaji jarireul tteuji maseyoPlease don't leave your seat until the movie ends.
이 좀비 영화 진짜 무서워요.i jombi yeonghwa jinjja museowoyoThis zombie movie is really scary.
감독이 누구예요?gamdogi nuguyeyo?Who is the director?
올드보이는 박찬욱 감독의 대표작이에요.oldeuboineun bakchanuk gamdok-ui daepyojakieyoOldboy is director Park Chan-wook's signature work.
이 영화 진짜 강추합니다.i yeonghwa jinjja gangchuhamnidaI highly recommend this movie.
이 영화는 실화를 바탕으로 만들어졌어요.i yeonghwaneun silhwareul batangeuro mandeureojyeosseoyoThis movie is made based on a true story.
주연 배우의 연기가 정말 인상적이에요.juyeon baeu-ui yeongiga jeongmal insangjeokieyoThe lead actor's performance is really impressive.
그 겨울은 아직 끝나지 않았어요.geu gyeoureun ajik kkeunnaji anasseoyo.That winter still has not ended.
나는 돌아갈 집이 없어요.naneun doragal jibi eopseoyo.I have no home to go back to.
이 도시는 아무것도 기억하지 않아요.i dosineun amugeotdo gieokaji anayo.This city remembers nothing.
문을 열면 다른 사람이 되어 있었어요.muneul yeolmyeon dareun sarami doeeo isseosseoyo.When the door opened, I had become someone else.
흑백 화면이 더 많은 걸 말해 줘요.heukbaek hwamyeoni deo maneun geol malhae jwoyo.The black-and-white screen says more.
복수는 사람을 구하지 못해요.boksuneun sarameul guhaji motaeyo.Revenge cannot save anyone.
아버지는 끝내 아무 말도 하지 않았어요.abeojineun kkeunnae amu maldo haji anasseoyo.In the end, my father never said a word.
그 여름의 비 냄새를 아직 기억해요.geu yeoreumui bi naemsaereul ajik gieokaeyo.I still remember how the rain smelled that summer.
우리는 같은 계단을 반대로 걸었어요.urineun gateun gyedaneul bandaero georeosseoyo.We walked the same stairs in opposite directions.
진실을 알고도 모른 척했어요.jinsireul algodo moreun cheokaesseoyo.I knew the truth and pretended not to.
기생충은 계급 갈등을 비유적으로 풀어낸 작품입니다.gisaengchungeun gyegeup galdeungeul biyujeogeuro pureonaen jakpumimnidaParasite is a work that allegorically unpacks class conflict.
이 장면의 미장센은 봉준호 감독의 시그니처라 할 만합니다.i jangmyeon-ui mijangsenneun bongjunho gamdok-ui sigeunicheora hal manhamnidaThe mise-en-scène of this scene is fairly called director Bong Joon-ho's signature.
미나리는 한미 가족 정체성의 갈등과 화해를 그렸습니다.minarineun hanmi gajok jeongchaeseong-ui galdeunggwa hwahaereul geuryeotseumnidaMinari portrays the conflict and reconciliation of Korean-American family identity.
헤어질 결심은 사랑과 죄의 경계를 모호하게 처리합니다.heeojil gyeolsimeun saranggwa joe-ui gyeonggyereul mohohage cheorihamnida'Decision to Leave' renders the boundary between love and crime ambiguous.
관객의 해석에 여지를 남기는 열린 결말이 인상적입니다.gwangaek-ui haeseoge yeojireul namgineun yeollin gyeolmari insangjeokimnidaThe open ending that leaves room for the audience's interpretation is impressive.
이 영화는 천만 관객을 동원하며 흥행에 성공했습니다.i yeonghwaneun cheonman gwangaegeul dongwonhamyeo heungaenge seongonghaetseumnidaThis film mobilized ten million viewers and succeeded at the box office.
영화 음악이 이야기 전개에 중요한 역할을 합니다.yeonghwa eumagi iyagi jeongaee jungyohan yeokareul hamnidaThe film music plays an important role in the story's development.
감독은 이 영화에서 한국 사회의 단면을 날카롭게 포착했어요.gamdogeun i yeonghwaeseo hanguk sahoe-ui danmyeoneul nalkaropge pochakhaesseoyoIn this film, the director sharply captured a cross-section of Korean society.
그 영화의 클라이맥스는 두고두고 회자됩니다.geu yeonghwa-ui keulraimaegseuneun dugodugo hoejadoemnidaThe film's climax is talked about over and over.
한국 영화는 OTT 시대를 맞아 새로운 변곡점에 있습니다.hanguk yeonghwaneun OTT sidaereul maja saeroun byeongokjeome itseumnidaKorean cinema stands at a new turning point with the OTT era.
롱테이크 하나로 인물의 시간을 견디게 합니다.rongteikeu hanaro inmurui siganeul gyeondige hamnida.A single long take makes the audience endure time with the character.
가난은 말보다 먼저 자리를 정합니다.gananeun malboda meonjeo jarireul jeonghamnida.Poverty decides where you sit before a word is spoken.
화면의 여백이 인물의 고립을 드러냅니다.hwamyeonui yeobaegi inmurui goribeul deureonaemnida.The empty space in the frame reveals how isolated the character is.
이 장면은 대사 없이 이십 분을 버팁니다.i jangmyeoneun daesa eopsi isip buneul beotimnida.This scene holds for twenty minutes without a single line.
조명 하나로 방 전체의 계급이 보입니다.jomyeong hanaro bang jeoncheui gyegeubi boimnida.One lamp is enough to show the class of the whole room.
복수의 대가는 언제나 자기 자신입니다.boksuui daeganeun eonjena jagi jasinimnida.The price of revenge is always yourself.
작은 영화는 규모가 아니라 시선으로 싸웁니다.jageun yeonghwaneun gyumoga anira siseoneuro ssaumnida.Small films fight with their gaze, not their scale.
편집의 리듬이 죄책감의 속도를 만듭니다.pyeonjibui rideumi joechaekgamui sokdoreul mandeumnida.The rhythm of the editing sets the pace of the guilt.
결말을 알고 봐도 매번 다르게 읽힙니다.gyeolmareul algo bwado maebeon dareuge ilkimnida.Even when you know the ending, it reads differently every time.
클로즈업을 아끼는 영화일수록 인물과의 거리를 오래 지킵니다.keullojeueobeul akkineun yeonghwailsurok inmulgwaui georireul orae jikimnida.The more a film holds back its close-ups, the longer it keeps its distance from the character.
봉준호의 미장센은 디테일의 축적을 통한 사회적 알레고리의 극대화로 평가받는다.bongjunho-ui mijangsenneun diteil-ui chukjeogeul tonghan sahoejeok aregori-ui geukdaehwaro pyeonggabatneundaBong Joon-ho's mise-en-scène is evaluated as the maximization of social allegory through accumulated detail.
박찬욱의 영상 미학은 폭력과 미의 경계를 끊임없이 해체한다.bakchanuk-ui yeongsang mihageun pongnyeokgwa mi-ui gyeonggyereul kkeunimeopsi haechehandaPark Chan-wook's visual aesthetics ceaselessly deconstructs the boundary between violence and beauty.
이창동의 시적 사실주의는 한국 영화의 또 다른 좌표를 제시한다.ichangdong-ui sijeok sasiljuuineun hanguk yeonghwa-ui tto dareun jwapyoreul jesihandaLee Chang-dong's poetic realism proposes another coordinate for Korean cinema.
기생충은 자본주의의 모순을 수직 공간으로 시각화하는 데 성공했다.gisaengchungeun jabonjuui-ui mosuneul sujik gonggangeuro sigakhwahaneun de seonggonghaetdaParasite succeeded in visualizing the contradictions of capitalism through vertical space.
한국 영화 산업의 글로벌 부상은 단순한 흥행을 넘어 문화 헤게모니의 재편을 시사한다.hanguk yeonghwa saneop-ui geulrobeol busangeun dansunhan heunghaengeul neomeo munhwa hegemoni-ui jaepyeoneul sisahandaThe global rise of the Korean film industry implies a reshaping of cultural hegemony beyond mere box-office success.
영화의 시간성은 단지 서사의 길이가 아니라 정서의 두께를 의미한다.yeonghwa-ui sigansoengeun danji seosa-ui giriga anira jeongseo-ui dukkereul uimihandaCinematic temporality means not merely narrative duration, but the thickness of emotion.
이 작품은 한국 영화사의 중요한 분기점을 형성한다고 평가된다.i jakpumeun hanguk yeonghwasa-ui jungyohan bungijeomeul hyeongseonghandago pyeonggadoendaThis work is evaluated as forming an important turning point in Korean film history.
감독은 인물의 침묵을 통해 더 많은 말을 남긴다.gamdogeun inmul-ui chimmugeul tonghae deo maneun mareul namgindaThe director leaves more words through the characters' silence.
이 영화는 관객으로 하여금 윤리적 모호성과 마주하게 한다.i yeonghwaneun gwangaegeuro hayeogeum yunnijeok mohoseonggwa majuhage handaThis film makes the viewer confront ethical ambiguity.
촬영 감독의 카메라 워크는 인물의 내면 풍경을 외화한다.chwaryeong gamdok-ui kamera wokeuneun inmul-ui naemyeon punggyeongeul oehwahandaThe cinematographer's camera work externalizes the characters' inner landscape.
이 작품의 결말은 구원을 약속하지 않고 다만 직시하게 한다.i jakpumui gyeolmareun guwoneul yaksokaji anko daman jiksihage handa.The ending promises no redemption; it only makes you look.
계급은 대사가 아니라 인물의 동선으로 서술된다.gyegeubeun daesaga anira inmurui dongseoneuro seosuldoenda.Class is narrated through where the characters move, not what they say.
기억은 서사를 앞지르고 인물은 뒤늦게 그 자리에 도착한다.gieogeun seosareul apjireugo inmureun dwineutge geu jarie dochakanda.Memory runs ahead of the story, and the character arrives there late.
장르의 경계를 허무는 시도는 현실을 담기 위한 형식의 선택이다.jangneuui gyeonggyereul heomuneun sidoneun hyeonsireul damgi wihan hyeongsigui seontaegida.Breaking the boundaries of genre is a choice of form made to hold reality.
폭력의 잔상은 화면이 꺼진 뒤에 비로소 완성된다.pongnyeogui jansangeun hwamyeoni kkeojin dwie biroso wanseongdoenda.The afterimage of violence is completed only after the screen goes dark.
관객은 공범의 자리에 앉은 채 끝까지 일어나지 못한다.gwangaegeun gongbeomui jarie anjeun chae kkeutkkaji ireonaji motanda.The audience sits in the seat of an accomplice and cannot rise until the end.
죄책감은 고백이 아니라 반복되는 습관으로 드러난다.joechaekgameun gobaegi anira banbokdoeneun seupgwaneuro deureonanda.Guilt shows itself not in confession but in repeated habit.
카메라의 거리가 곧 감독의 윤리적 입장을 대변한다.kameraui georiga got gamdogui yullijeok ipjangeul daebyeonhanda.The distance of the camera is itself the ethical position of the director.
서사의 공백은 결핍이 아니라 관객을 초대하는 형식이다.seosaui gongbaegeun gyeolpibi anira gwangaegeul chodaehaneun hyeongsigida.A gap in the narrative is not a lack but a form that invites the audience in.
엔딩 크레딧 위로 남는 잔향이 이 작품의 진짜 본문이다.ending keuredit wiro namneun janhyangi i jakpumui jinjja bonmunida.The resonance left over the closing credits is the real text of this film.

Works and people referenced on this page

The example sentences on this page are written for learners in the style of K-content, not quoted from any single work. Where a sentence names a real film, show or person, it is credited here.

  • 기생충 (Parasite)Film2019 · 봉준호 / Bong Joon-ho
  • 올드보이 (Oldboy)Film2003 · 박찬욱 / Park Chan-wook
  • 미나리 (Minari)Film2020 · 정이삭 / Lee Isaac Chung
  • 헤어질 결심 (Decision to Leave)Film2022 · 박찬욱 / Park Chan-wook
  • 봉준호 (Bong Joon-ho)PersonDirector
  • 박찬욱 (Park Chan-wook)PersonDirector
  • 이창동 (Lee Chang-dong)PersonDirector

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Frequently asked questions

How many Korean movies phrases are on this page?
This page lists 60 movies phrases in Korean, each with romanization and an English meaning.
What level are these Korean movies phrases?
They span B1–C1 on the CEFR scale (B1 20 · B2 20 · C1 20), which suits intermediate to advanced learners.
Can I hear how these Korean phrases are pronounced?
Yes — every phrase on this page has a play button with audio. The free WeBring Korean app adds quizzes and spaced-repetition review.
How many of these movies phrases are questions?
2 of the 60 end in a question mark; the other 58 are statements.
What speech endings do these Korean phrases use?
18 end in the polite -요 form and 3 in the formal -습니다 form; the rest use other endings.