Christmas 2011

Happy Holidays 2011

As the holidays approach, you may wish to greet your Korean colleagues with:
Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo! (Season's Greetings)

(I will modify the Romanization for easier pronunciation).
Hint: Break the greeting into: sae hae bok—mah ne—bah deu say yo

In South Korea, the government recognizes Christmas December 25 as a public holiday. This year it falls on a Sunday, so most are back to work on Monday. Christians, who make up about 30% of the population, celebrate the occasion as a religious holiday.

Like in the West, both Christians and non-Christians may engage in some holiday customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes.

What may surprise some is that public and company Christmas trees and decoration stay up way past the holiday. In fact, many stay in place to the Lunar New Year in late January.

Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo! works well and is a common seasonal greeting. 

For those wanting to wish someone Merry Christmas use Sung tan jul chuk ha.

If you have a specific question, please feel to contact me at Dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com.

On behalf of myself and Bridging Culture Worldwide, have a happy holiday season!


Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo!