Korean has 6 formal speech forms that show different levels of respect in the language, but there are three levels of politeness that are most frequently used. When deciding which level of politeness to use, you must consider the person's age, social status, and how close you are to them. The first and more polite level is Honorific Speech. Honorific speech is used when speaking to superiors, to customers, or to strangers. The second level is Polite Speech. Polite speech (common polite) is used when at work or when speaking to someone that you don't know very well. The third level is Informal Speech and it is used when talking to close friends, someone younger than you, or with children.
Example" Sit Down"
1. Honorific: 앉으십시오
2. Polite: 앉으세요
3. Informal: 앉아
Comments
Thanks for your summary! I was kind of confused by the 6 formal speech forms within the formal language system in Korean before. I figured out that they mainly have three levels of language in use as you concluded above. It is very similar to the language system in Japanese, as they also adopt different speech forms while talking to different people. I wonder how the speech forms change when speaking different Korean dialects. Will they change in the same way as the standard Korean language form changes?