How to Say "Bye Formally" in Korean

안녕히 계세요

annyeonghi gyeseyo[a̠nɲʌ̹ŋʝi kje̞sʰe̞jo]

To say bye formally in Korean when you are leaving and the other person is staying, use 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo).

Use 안녕히 계세요 when you leave a place where the other person will remain, such as a shop, an office or someone's home.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is made of 안녕히, meaning peacefully and 계세요, meaning please stay or be. Together they mean stay peacefully.

If you are the one staying and the other person is leaving, say 안녕히 가세요, meaning go peacefully. When someone is going to sleep or rest, say 안녕히 주무세요.

안녕히 계셔요 is a slightly less formal but still polite variation of 안녕히 계세요.

It is written in Latin letters as annyeonghi gyeseyo.

Do not mix up the two farewells. Use 안녕히 계세요 only when you are the one leaving, and 안녕히 가세요 when the other person is leaving.

The word 안녕 is derived from Chinese characters meaning 'peace' and 'comfort'. In historical contexts, it was used as a question to ask if someone had actually been peaceful, as life was often precarious.
If you use 안녕히 계세요 while you are the one staying, you are inadvertently commanding the other person to stay with you. This can sound quite rude or even possessive in a social setting.
In very formal settings, such as the military, you will hear 안녕히 계십시오 instead of 안녕히 계세요. The ending -십시오 represents the highest level of formal politeness in the Korean language.

먼저 가겠습니다. 안녕히 계세요.
meonjeo gagetseumnida. annyeonghi gyeseyo.
I will leave first. Goodbye.

Minjun is leaving the library while Jieun remains to study.

민준 Min-jun

지은 씨, 저 이제 갈게요.
Jieun ssi, jeo ije galgeyo.
Jieun, I am leaving now.
지은 Ji-eun

네, 민준 씨, 안녕히 가세요.
Ne, Minjun ssi, annyeonghi gaseyo.
Okay, Minjun, goodbye (go well).
민준 Min-jun

안녕히 계세요.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
Goodbye (stay well).
지은 Ji-eun

내일 만나요.
naeil mannayo.
See you tomorrow.

Sources

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