There are two ways to say “country” in Korean. The first is 나라. For example:

To see a breakdown of the above phrase, see this page on how to say “Where are you from?” in Korean.

The second way to say “country” in Korean is to use “국가”. This comes from Chinese and the hanja is 国家 (guójiā).

Let’s break down country names in Korean, by continent/major region. Need a refresher on continents? See the continents vocabulary list.

Asia

*북 means north. South Koreans call North Korea 북, or “North Han”, and South Korea 한국, or “Han Country”. North Koreans call North Korea 조선 and South Korea 남조선 (남 means south).

**This is a more official name that South Koreans use and it translates to “The Republic of Korea”. 한국 is way more common and translates to simply “Korea”.

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Asia) flashcard set!

Europe

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Europe) flashcard set!

North America

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (North America) flashcard set!

South America

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (South America) flashcard set!

Caribbean Islands

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Caribbean) flashcard set!

Oceania

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Oceania) flashcard set!

The Middle East

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Middle East) flashcard set!

Africa

Test your knowledge of the above with the Countries (Africa) flashcard set!

Happy studying!