How to introduce yourself in Korean (the version Koreans actually use)
Every Korean textbook opens with the same self-introduction, and almost nobody in Korea talks like that. The sentences are not wrong. They are just stiff, too long, and missing the two things Koreans actually ask a new person within the first minute.
Here is the short version that sounds like a person, followed by what to do when the conversation keeps going.
The core: three sentences
안녕하세요. 저는 마리아예요.
Annyeonghaseyo. Jeoneun Maria-yeyo.
Hello. I'm Maria.
인도네시아에서 왔어요.
Indonesia-eseo wasseoyo.
I'm from Indonesia.
한국어 배우고 있어요.
Hangugeo baeugo isseoyo.
I'm learning Korean.
That is a complete self-introduction. Three lines, polite form, nothing missing.
Two notes on the first line. Textbooks teach 저는 마리아입니다 (-imnida). It is correct, and you will hear it in speeches and job interviews. In a real conversation, -예요 / -이에요 is what people use. If your name ends in a consonant sound, use -이에요: 저는 케빈이에요. If it ends in a vowel, -예요: 저는 마리아예요.
The second note: 만나서 반갑습니다 ("nice to meet you") is fine, but the everyday version is 반가워요 (bangawoyo). Shorter, warmer, same meaning.
What Koreans will ask you next
This is the part textbooks skip. After your three lines, a Korean person will almost always ask one of two questions.
한국어 얼마나 배웠어요? (Hangugeo eolmana baewosseoyo?) "How long have you been learning Korean?" Have a number ready:
6개월 정도 배웠어요.
Yuk-gaewol jeongdo baewosseoyo.
About six months.
정도 (jeongdo, "about") is your friend here. Nobody expects precision.
왜 한국어 배워요? (Wae Hangugeo baewoyo?) "Why are you learning Korean?" Say the real reason. Koreans love hearing it and it opens the conversation:
한국 드라마 좋아해서요.
Hanguk deurama joahaeseoyo.
Because I like Korean dramas.
케이팝 때문에요.
Keipap ttaemune-yo.
Because of K-pop.
한국 친구랑 이야기하고 싶어서요.
Hanguk chingu-rang iyagihago sipeoseoyo.
Because I want to talk with Korean friends.
The ending -서요 means "because", and it is a soft, natural way to give a reason without building a full sentence.
The age question
Within a few minutes, especially if you are around the same age, someone may ask 몇 살이에요? (myeot sal-ieyo?, how old are you?) or the more polite 나이가 어떻게 되세요? This is not rude in Korean. It decides which speech level you will use with each other, which we explain in 존댓말 vs 반말, and why Koreans ask your age.
You can answer with a number:
스물여섯 살이에요.
Seumul-yeoseot sal-ieyo.
I'm twenty-six.
Or, if you would rather not, a smile and 비밀이에요 (bimil-ieyo, "it's a secret") is a perfectly normal, light way to skip it. Koreans do this too.
Things not to say
- Do not say your full name with the family name first unless you are in a formal setting. Koreans know foreign names go given-name first.
- Do not introduce your job in the first breath. Textbooks put 저는 학생입니다 / 회사원입니다 right after the name. In conversation, wait until someone asks 무슨 일 하세요? (museun il haseyo?, what do you do?).
- Do not end with 잘 부탁드립니다 ("please take care of me") in a casual setting. It belongs to first days at work or school. With a new acquaintance at a cafe, it sounds like you are reading from a card.
Turning it into a conversation
A self-introduction is a door, not a room. The fastest way through the door is to ask the same question back:
OO 씨는요?
OO-ssi-neun-yo?
And you, OO?
씨 (ssi) after someone's name is the neutral polite title, roughly "Mr./Ms." but used for people of similar age. Attach it to the given name, never to a bare family name.
After that, the conversation usually lands on food. Koreans will ask 한국 음식 좋아해요? (do you like Korean food?) or, if it is around mealtime, whether you have eaten. That second one is not really about food, and 밥 먹었어요? explains why.
The whole thing, out loud
안녕하세요. 저는 마리아예요. 인도네시아에서 왔어요. 한국어 6개월 정도 배웠어요. 한국 드라마 좋아해서 배우기 시작했어요. 반가워요.
Six sentences, about ten seconds. Record yourself saying it once a day for a week. The words will stop being a script and start being how you say hello, and the first Korean person who answers you will not know which textbook you used, because it will not sound like one.