Essential Korean phrases

The Alien Registration Card. Its 13-digit number is what Korean systems know you by. Register within 90 days of arrival.

The rental deposit — refundable, and far larger than most countries expect. Even a monthly-rent flat wants ₩5-15 million of it in Daegu.

The two lease types. Jeonse is a lump sum of 50-80% of the property's value with no monthly rent, returned at the end; wolse is a smaller deposit plus rent. Take wolse first.

The 'fixed date' stamp on your lease. With the move-in report it gives your deposit priority over later creditors, and it is also what unlocks the monthly-rent tax credit.

The move-in report at your district office. File it the day you take the keys — the protection it creates only starts at midnight the following day.

'Reverse jeonse' — when market deposits fall below what the landlord already holds from you, so they cannot fund your refund from the next tenant. A live risk in an oversupplied market like this one.

'Daegu plus Africa' — the city's own nickname for its summer. Used with a mixture of complaint and pride, and not much exaggeration.

'Have you eaten?' in Gyeongsang dialect — standard Korean would be 밥 먹었어요. The -나 and -노 question endings mark the whole region.

Grilled beef or pork intestine, Daegu's signature dish, eaten with a soybean-and-chive dipping sauce. Whole streets here serve nothing else.

'Separate' rice soup — a spicy beef broth served with the rice in its own bowl. A Daegu invention that spread nationally.

Help me! — 112 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance, free from any phone.