This study aims to investigate the extent to which Korean EFL learners make use of formulaic language in comparison with that of English L1 speakers. With reference to the PHRASE List proposed by Martinez and Schmitt (2012), the corpora of speaking and writing samples of English L1 speakers and Korean EFL learners from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English were analysed. The results show that Korean students use a comparatively small number of formulaic expressions, and use them far less frequently than L1 speakers in all the three categories examined: verb groups, modalization, and connectives. They also tend to use a few items overly frequently for an extended range of functions. These imply that formulaic language is an important factor in the variation and development of L2 communicative competence and therefore raising students’ awareness of its forms and functions should be an integral part of instruction.