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South Korean

South Korean

22 3.0
A person from South Korea
  • noun
  • /saʊθ kəˈriən/
translation icon : surcoreano
  • About 30,000 South Koreans who are predominantly well-educated are settling in U.S. cities each year (Awanohara, 1991).
  • many South Koreans
  • South Korean people

I mean, the Saudis are watching, the Japanese are watching the, the South Koreans are watching, the Turks are watching right across the.

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Examples

  • The South Korean people cannot afford to lose their hard-earned economic prosperity for immediate national unification.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Whereas older generations of South Koreans remember the United States' role in the Korean War, the 30-and-under group does not.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The South Koreans are following you.

  • The South Koreans are catching up to you, it seems.

  • Numerous South Korean firms have begun to study this region and are working on plans for economic cooperation.

    Academic text (1992)
  • So that is a South Korean patrol boat that was shot at by the North Koreans.

  • Moreover, it is not just the South Koreans who need to be convinced of the need to sign a peace treaty.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Many South Koreans have come to view the United States as a spoiler of the inter-Korean reconciliation process.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Collectively, millions of South Korean citizens gathered week after week, effectively and peacefully, and ousted A corrupt regime.

  • Many South Koreans attended the festival to celebrate their cultural heritage.

Surface Forms

South Korean singular
South Koreans plural

Morphology

South + Korean

The compound 'South Korean' is transparently composed from 'South' (a cardinal direction/region) and 'Korean' (relating to Korea or its people), so its meaning 'of or relating to South Korea or its people' is directly inferable. This demonymic + directional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English composition, making it immediately understandable to B1 learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

South Korean (noun) comes from the two words South and Korean, meaning a person from the southern part of Korea. When Korea was split into two countries, people used South Korean to say someone is 'from South Korea'.