As in all things *nix, there are many ways ...
Maybe the easiest is to right-click on the K button
and choose "Menu Editor".
Navigate to the program for which you wish to
set a shortcut key (perhaps System->Terminal->konsole,
for your purposes).
Click on the shortcut key field, then press a key.
Voila! Instant shortcut.
Helpful Hint:
A nice touch is the set the "Print Scrn" key to be
the shortcut for ksnapshot.