Common English Mistakes in Screenplays by Korean Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Korean speakers from South Korea when writing a Screenplay in English.

Mistake Example #1

Confusion with prepositions ('in', 'on', 'at')

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN sits at the table, looking out the window. He turns to MIN-JI, who is sipping her coffee. JIN: I met him inat the parkon last Saturday. He said he will be at the concert in theevening. Do you want to join me onat the concert?

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I just replaced a word or two to make the English sound more natural. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN sits at the table, looking out the window. He turns to MIN-JI, who is sipping her coffee. JIN: I met him at the park last Saturday. He said he will be at the concert in the evening. Do you want to join me at the concert?

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN sits at the table, looking out the window. He turns to MIN-JI, who is sipping her coffee. JIN: I met him in the park on last Saturday. He said he will be at the concert in evening. Do you want to join me on the concert?

Mistake Example #2

Omitting articles ('a', 'an', 'the')

INT.'L COFFEE SHOP- DAY JIN sits ata table, nervously tappinghis fingers. He looks around, waiting for hisfriend. SThe sunlight streams through thewindow, casting awarm glow. DThe door opens, and MIN-JI enters, smiling brightly. She waves and approaches the table. MIN-JI Sorry I am late. The traffic was terrible today. JIN No problem. I ordereda coffee for you. How was yourtrip to Busan?

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I added articles and pronouns to this text as needed. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

INT'L COFFEE SHOP DAY JIN sits at a table, nervously tapping his fingers. He looks around, waiting for his friend. The sunlight streams through the window, casting a warm glow. The door opens, and MIN-JI enters, smiling brightly. She waves and approaches the table. MIN-JI Sorry I am late. The traffic was terrible today. JIN No problem. I ordered a coffee for you. How was your trip to Busan?

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN sits at table, nervously tapping fingers. He looks around, waiting for friend. Sunlight streams through window, casting warm glow. Door opens, and MIN-JI enters, smiling brightly. She waves and approaches table. MIN-JI Sorry I am late. Traffic was terrible today. JIN No problem. I ordered coffee for you. How was trip to Busan?

Mistake Example #3

Incorrect word order in complex sentences

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN, a young man in his twenties, sits at a table, nervously tapping his fingers. Across from him, MIN-JI, a woman of similar age, sips her coffee. JIN (looking at Min-ji) When you saw methe first time sawme, what did you think? I have always wondering alwaysed if you thought I wasstrangewas. MIN-JI (smiling) I thought you wereinterestingwere, and maybe a little bit shy. But now, I know youare kind and funnyare.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Your ideas were clear :) I just made a few small changes to improve the flow and polish things up."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN, a young man in his twenties, sits at a table, nervously tapping his fingers. Across from him, MIN-JI, a woman of similar age, sips her coffee. JIN (looking at Min-ji) When you saw me the first time, what did you think? I have always wondered if you thought I was strange. MIN-JI (smiling) I thought you were interesting and maybe a little bit shy. But now I know you are kind and funny.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JIN, a young man in his twenties, sits at a table, nervously tapping his fingers. Across from him, MIN-JI, a woman of similar age, sips her coffee. JIN (looking at Min-ji) When you the first time saw me, what did you think? I was wondering always if you thought I strange was. MIN-JI (smiling) I thought you interesting were, and maybe a little bit shy. But now, I know you kind and funny are.