9 Korean texts to send your crush (and what the ㅋㅋ is doing)
Texting is where most Korean romances actually happen. Meetings are short and public; the thread on KakaoTalk is long, private, and where people say what they would not say across a table. It has its own rhythm too: read receipts, late-night timing, and the ㅋㅋ and ㅎㅎ that soften a line until it is safe to send.
These nine messages run in the order a thread with someone you like tends to go, in polite 요 speech until the last one, which asks to drop it. Each note says what the message signals, because in Korean texting the signal is usually the point.
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뭐 해요?
mwo haeyo?
What are you up to?
Literally: What do?
The opener, usually typed 뭐해요 with no space and a ㅋㅋ behind it. It asks for nothing and leaves every door open, which is why it is sent so often.
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오늘 뭐 했어요?
oneul mwo haesseoyo?
What did you do today?
Literally: Today what did?
The evening version. Asking about their day signals you want a long reply, not a quick exchange. 밥 먹었어요? (have you eaten?) does the same job earlier in the day.
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집에 잘 들어갔어요?
jibe jal deureogasseoyo?
Did you get home okay?
Literally: Home-to well went-in?
Sent within an hour of saying goodbye. In Korea this is close to a declaration: it says you were still thinking about them after they left. Not replying to it is read as an answer.
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보고 싶다.
bogo sipda.
Miss you.
Literally: See want.
The plain -다 ending makes it look like a thought that slipped out rather than something said to you, which is the hedge. 보고 싶어요 is the same words, aimed directly, and a step further.
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주말에 시간 있어요?
jumare sigan isseoyo?
Are you free this weekend?
Literally: Weekend-on time is-there?
The ask. Vague on purpose; the plan comes after the yes. If they answer with a question about what you had in mind, that is a yes.
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답장 늦어서 미안해요.
dapjang neujeoseo mianhaeyo.
Sorry for the late reply.
Literally: Reply late-because sorry.
Korean messaging shows read receipts, so 읽씹 (reading and not replying) is the cardinal sin. This line, plus a reason, repairs most of the damage.
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지금 통화 돼요?
jigeum tonghwa dwaeyo?
Can you talk right now?
Literally: Now call is-possible?
Moving from text to voice is a milestone. Asking first is the norm; a cold call reads as either urgent or a mistake.
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잘 자요, 좋은 꿈 꿔요.
jal jayo, joeun kkum kkwoyo.
Good night, sweet dreams.
Literally: Well sleep, good dream dream.
Closing the day's thread. Who sends it first matters a little. 꿈에서 봐요 (see you in my dreams) is the bolder version, used once things are clearly going somewhere.
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우리 말 편하게 할까요?
uri mal pyeonhage halkkayo?
Should we drop the formal speech?
Literally: We speech comfortably do-shall-we?
The switch from polite 요 to casual 반말 is a relationship step, and people often propose it over text because it is less awkward than in person. After this message, everything changes shape.
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Keep the ㅋㅋ. Almost every one of these lines gets sent with it, and without it a short Korean message reads as cold or annoyed. The other habit worth copying is timing: a 집에 잘 들어갔어요? sent promptly says more than a paragraph sent the next morning.