Very Useful Korean Phrases

Bad travelers. We all know them. "Can I get a hot dog?" in a thick accent at a Parisian cafe. (Okay I've never witnessed that but it seems to illustrate the point.)

I am not one of them, so before coming to Korea I purchased Teach Yourself Korean with the hopes of studying a bit before I landed (and more after I did). Previously I used Teach Yourself Portuguese before a trip to Brazil and was quite pleased.

Teach Yourself Korean has yet, at unit 9 and 7 months of study, to teach me to ask "Where is the bathroom?" ("Hwachangshil odieyo?") I learned that phrase on my own, without the use of the mini-dictionary in the back of it, because bathroom (or any synonym for it) is NOT IN the mini dictionary.

However, I have learned the following:
"Wonsungi-nun p'iryo opseoyo." ("I don't need a monkey.")
"Sashil, sul-i yak-poda teo choayo." ("The fact is, booze is better than medicine.")
"Shikkureowoyo." ("Shut up!" Literally, "It's noisy.")
"Oje bam kieok opseoyo." ("I don't remember last night.")
"Che changnyeok-un cheonggi myeondogi-rul sasseosseosseoyo." ("We bought him an electric shaver last year.")

Armed with these phrases I can create more complicated and useful expressions such as:
"Oje bam-un cheonggi wonsungi-rul sasseosseosseoyo." ("We bought him an electric monkey last night.")
"Kieok-un p'iryo opseoyo." ("I don't need to remember.")

and

"Sashil, shikkureowoyo." ("Really, you need to shut up." Lit., "The fact is, it's noisy.")

At this point I should interject that Teach Yourself Korean, in its introduction, proudly proclaims that it is not another "traveler's Korean" or a Korean treatise. Rather, it (and I am paraphrasing from memory): "Will seek to teach you how to speak Korean the way Koreans really speak Korean." My experience has been that booze is a favored activity and topic of conversation. However, none of my intoxicated evenings have led to monkey-buying or mid-blackout electric shaving. They have, however, all involved a need for a restroom.