Expressing Place and Movement with Go and Come

The most essential movement verbs in Korean are 가다 (to go) and 오다 (to come).

The difference is based on the speaker's viewpoint or the reference point of the conversation.

가다

Use 가다 when the subject is moving away from the speaker's current location.

오다

Use 오다 when the subject is moving toward the speaker's current location.

Core takeaway: 가다 vs 오다

To say where you are going or coming, attach the location particle 에 to the place.

[Place] + 에 가다 / 오다

Place · + 에 가다 · + 에 오다

학교 · 학교에 가요 · 학교에 와요

회사 · 회사에 가요 · 회사에 와요

집 · 집에 가요 · 집에 와요

식당 · 식당에 가요 · 식당에 와요

에 acts like "to" in English, pointing to the destination.

You can easily expand these sentences by adding question words or people.

Where and When

어디에 가요? (Where are you going?)

언제 와요? (When are you coming?)

With Whom

누구와 같이 가요? (Who are you going with?)

친구하고 같이 식당에 가요. (I am going to a restaurant together with a friend.)

To express both the starting point and the destination, use 에서 (from) and 에 (to).

[Place A]에서 [Place B]에 가다 / 오다

회사에서 집에 와요. (I come home from work.)

서울에서 부산에 가요. (I go from Seoul to Busan.)

집에서 학교에 걸어서 가요. (I walk to school from home.)

You do not need to memorize complex grammar rules right now. Just remember this frame to express moving from A to B naturally.

A very common mistake happens when a friend calls and asks where you are. In English, you might say, "I'm coming!"

In Korean, since you are moving away from your current location to go toward your friend, you must use 가다 .

Incorrect: 지금 와요!

Correct: 지금 가요! (Correct: I am going to you)