Korean Transport & Travel Time: 에서부터, -는 동안에, 걸리다

Talking about transport in Korean centers on one question — how long does it take? 집에서부터 한 시간 걸려요 = from home it takes an hour. Three pieces do the work: 에서부터 marks the start point you’re counting from, 이/가 걸리다 says how much time is taken, and -는 동안에 (during/while) fills the ride with whatever else you do. Add the verbs for getting on, off, and transferring, and you can narrate any commute in Korea.

In Lesson 5 you found the station; now you’ll ride. Korean keeps travel time simple: a start point with 에서부터, a duration with 걸리다, and the ride itself wrapped in -는 동안에.

Twelve words for getting around

Public transit in Korea runs on a tight set of verbs and distance words. Bank these first.

How do I say how long it takes? 이/가 걸리다

The single most useful travel phrase in Korean is “it takes ___.” That verb is 걸리다, and the time amount takes the subject marker 이/가.

Keep one line clear in your head: 걸리다 is for time, 멀다/가깝다 is for distance. 집이 멀어요 says home is far; 집에서 한 시간 걸려요 says it takes an hour. English blurs these (“it’s far / it’s an hour away”) — Korean keeps them on separate verbs.

에서부터: marking where you count from

You already know 에서 for “from.” Stack 부터 on it — 에서부터 — when you want to spotlight the exact start point of a measurement.

The pair 에서부터 … 까지 (from … to …) is your go-to for stating a route’s length: 집에서부터 학교까지 (from home all the way to school). Plain 집에서 would work too, but 에서부터 presses on the origin — useful exactly when you’re about to give a time or distance.

-는 동안에: filling the ride

A commute is a block of time, and Korean has a clean way to say “during” it: -는 동안에 on a verb stem.

So a full commute sentence layers all three: 집에서부터 (start point) 한 시간이 걸리는데 (duration), 지하철을 타는 동안에 (during the ride) 음악을 들어요. That’s the natural shape of “my commute takes an hour, and I listen to music on the way.”

Talking transit, the Korean way

Watch the three patterns carry a quick chat about a commute:

See the layering: 집에서부터 fixes the origin, 걸려요 reports the hour, 멀네요 reacts to the distance (note 멀다, not 걸리다), and 타는 동안에 fills the ride. That’s a complete, natural account of a commute — origin, duration, and what you do in between.

FAQ

What is the difference between 에서 and 에서부터? Both mark a starting point, but 에서부터 adds emphasis on where something begins: 집에서부터 한 시간 걸려요 = it takes an hour (counting) from home. Plain 집에서 가요 just means I go from home. Use 에서부터 when you want to stress the origin of a measurement or sequence — distance, time, or numbering: 1번부터 시작해요 = we start from number 1. In casual speech 에서 alone is often enough; 에서부터 makes the start point pop.

How does 이/가 걸리다 work for travel time? 걸리다 means (an amount of time) is taken, and the time phrase takes 이/가: 한 시간이 걸려요 = it takes an hour, 30분이 걸려요 = it takes 30 minutes. In everyday speech the 이/가 is often dropped: 한 시간 걸려요. Add 쯤 for approximation: 30분쯤 걸려요 = about 30 minutes. Note that 걸리다 is for time taken — distance uses 멀다 (far) / 가깝다 (near), not 걸리다.

What does -는 동안에 mean and how do I attach it? -는 동안에 means during / while and attaches to a verb stem: 기다리는 동안에 = while waiting, 버스를 타는 동안에 = while riding the bus. It frames a span of time inside which something else happens: 지하철을 타는 동안에 책을 읽어요 = I read while on the subway. With a noun, drop the verb part and use 동안 directly: 방학 동안 = during the vacation, 한 시간 동안 = for an hour.

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