Talking About Hobbies in Korean: Reading & Exercise Dialogue 📚

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to discuss hobbies and interests in Korean. Through a simple conversation between two friends, Minjun and Seoyeon, you will master essential vocabulary for talking about activities you enjoy, like reading books and exercising.

💬 Video Transcript

서연: 민준 씨, 안녕하세요.
(Seoyeon: Minjun, hello.)

민준: 아, 서연 씨! 안녕하세요.
(Minjun: Ah, Seoyeon! Hello.)

서연: 지금 뭐 해요?
(Seoyeon: What are you doing now?)

민준: 저는 지금 책을 읽어요.
(Minjun: I am reading a book now.)

서연: 책을 읽어요? 재미있어요?
(Seoyeon: Reading a book? Is it interesting?)

민준: 네, 아주 재미있어요. 저는 책을 좋아해요.
(Minjun: Yes, it’s very interesting. I like books.)

서연: 와, 그렇군요. 민준 씨는 책을 자주 읽어요?
(Seoyeon: Wow, I see. Minjun, do you read books often?)

민준: 네, 자주 읽어요. 책 읽기는 제 취미예요.
(Minjun: Yes, I read often. Reading books is my hobby.)

서연: 아, 민준 씨 취미는 책 읽기예요.
(Seoyeon: Ah, Minjun’s hobby is reading books.)

민준: 네, 맞아요. 서연 씨는 취미가 뭐예요?
(Minjun: Yes, that’s right. Seoyeon, what is your hobby?)

서연: 제 취미는 운동이에요.
(Seoyeon: My hobby is exercising.)

민준: 운동이요? 와! 어떤 운동을 해요?
(Minjun: Exercising? Wow! What kind of exercise do you do?)

서연: 저는 공원에서 달리기를 해요. 저는 운동을 아주 좋아해요.
(Seoyeon: I run in the park. I really like exercising.)

민준: 달리기를 해요? 힘들지 않아요?
(Minjun: You run? Isn’t it tiring?)

서연: 아니요. 아주 재미있어요. 기분이 좋아요.
(Seoyeon: No. It’s very fun. It feels good.)

민준: 그렇군요. 서연 씨는 운동을 좋아하고…
(Minjun: I see. So Seoyeon likes exercising…)

서연: 그리고 민준 씨는 책을 좋아해요.
(Seoyeon: And Minjun likes books.)

민준: 맞아요. 우리는 취미가 다르네요.
(Minjun: That’s right. Our hobbies are different.)

서연: 네, 달라요. 하지만 둘 다 좋은 취미예요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, they’re different. But both are good hobbies.)

민준: 맞아요. 책 읽기도 좋고, 운동도 좋아요.
(Minjun: That’s right. Reading books is good, and exercising is good too.)

서연: 다음에 우리 같이 운동할래요?
(Seoyeon: Shall we exercise together next time?)

민준: 네, 좋아요! 같이 공원에 가요.
(Minjun: Yes, sounds good! Let’s go to the park together.)

서연: 좋아요! 그리고 다음에 같이 책도 읽어요.
(Seoyeon: Great! And let’s read books together next time, too.)

민준: 와, 정말 좋아요. 서점에 같이 가요.
(Minjun: Wow, that sounds really good. Let’s go to the bookstore together.)

서연: 네, 좋아요! 책을 사고 같이 읽어요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, okay! Let’s buy books and read them together.)

민준: 정말 재미있겠어요.
(Minjun: That will be really fun.)

서연: 네, 저도 기대돼요!
(Seoyeon: Yes, I’m looking forward to it too!)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some key words and phrases from the video dialogue. Listen to the pronunciation and practice saying them out loud.

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two key grammar points from the dialogue.

1. The Object Marker: 을/를

In Korean, you use particles to mark the function of a word in a sentence. The particle 을/를 is attached to a noun to show that it is the direct object of a verb—the thing that is being acted upon.

• Use 을 when the noun ends in a consonant.
• Use 를 when the noun ends in a vowel.

Let’s see it in action from the script:

• 책을 읽어요. (I read a book.) The word for book, 책 (chaek), ends in the consonant ㄱ, so we add 을.

• 달리기를 해요. (I do running / I run.) The word for running, 달리기 (dalligi), ends in the vowel ㅣ, so we add 를.

You can see this pattern throughout the dialogue:

• 저는 책을 좋아해요. (I like books.)
• 어떤 운동을 해요? (What kind of exercise do you do?)

2. Stating Your Hobby: [Noun]은/는 제 취미예요

When you want to say what your hobby is, you can use the phrase “제 취미는 [Hobby]이에요/예요” (My hobby is [Hobby]). The structure is straightforward.

• 제 means “my”.
• 취미 means “hobby”.
• 는 is the topic marker.
• [Hobby] is your hobby.
• 이에요/예요 is the “is/am/are” verb. Use 이에요 after a consonant and 예요 after a vowel.

From the script, we see two great examples:

• 책 읽기는 제 취미예요. (Reading books is my hobby.) 책 읽기 (chaek ilgi) means “book reading.” Since it ends in a vowel (ㅣ), we use 예요.

• 제 취미는 운동이에요. (My hobby is exercising.) 운동 (undong) means “exercise.” Since it ends in a consonant (ㅇ), we use 이에요.

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Practice the key phrases from this lesson. Click to flip the cards!

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• To ask someone their hobby, say: 취미가 뭐예요? (chwimiga mwoyeyo?)
• To state your hobby, use the pattern: 제 취미는 [Hobby]이에요/예요.
• Remember to use the correct object marker: 을 after a consonant (책을) and 를 after a vowel (달리기를).
• To make a friendly suggestion, you can use -(으)ㄹ래요? like in 같이 운동할래요? (Shall we exercise together?).
• A simple way to agree and suggest an action is to use the ~아요/어요 form, as in 같이 가요 (Let’s go together).

🎯 Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of the dialogue and vocabulary.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.