Learn Korean With Spring Songs! Song 1 - Spring Breeze By Wanna One!
Hey all! I thought I’d do something a bit different with my vocab posts. I wanted to practice my Korean penmanship and increase my vocabulary at the same time. So I thought what better than to create a moodboard based off the vocab found in the song ‘Spring Breeze’
As I am not 100% fluent in Korean, there may be some mistakes. Also for the verbs I have looked them up and kept them in their unconjugated dictionary format.
This roughly translates to: My Thoughts on the book: It is a story about love and friendship and a life-long dedication to the written word. I loved this book!
I made a slight mistake here - It should be ‘카펜터’ not '카펜터스’
16/04/22
책 불렛저널
4번 책: The Great Passage By Shion Miura (Translated into English By Juliet Winters Carpenter
와! 와! 와! 저는 이 책이 매우, 매우 훈훈하다고 생각했어요! ❤⭐
Wow! Wow! Wow! I thought this book was very, very heart-warming!
Oh this book was just too cute! It was so beautifully told and how the writer described the importance of language, words and dictionaries was simply incredible! Also the translation into English was so elegantly done, it didn’t sound awkward or unusual, it just flowed.
5/5 stars. OUTSTANDING! 100% MUST READ!
(As I am not 100% fluent in Korean there could be a few mistakes!)
메모: 이 블로그는 최근의 게 아니다. 1월에는 이 블로그를 썼는데 여기에도 올리고 싶었다. 잘 읽어 봐줘라 ~~
안녕! 캐나다에서 온 금희주이다. 지난 일주일간 어떻게 지내냐?
난 우리 할머니의 댁에 기차를 타고 가서 새해를 함께 보냈다. 내 16번째 생일에, 할머니와 나는 함께 기차를 탔던 경험이 있다. 그 이후로 나는 기차 타는 걸 좋아하게 됐다. 18살 때 우리 할머니는 대학교에 다니는 나한테 소포를 자주 보내셨다. 그 이후로 우리는 펜팔을 했다. 할머니는 내 말을 항상 진심으로 들어주신다. 코로나 바이러스 때문에 2년이 지나도록 못 만났다. 난 우리 할머니가 너무 보고 싶었다. 내가 사랑하는 사람들 특히 우리 할머니가 코로나 바이러스와 같은 것들로 인해 아프실까 걱정된다. 요즘 여러분의 가족들은 잘 지내니?
처음에 우리 조부모님은 내가 한국어를 공부하는 게 이상하다고 생각하셨다. 조부모님은 나한테 “우리는 독일계 캐나다 사람인데 왜 한국어를 배우고 있니?”라고 물어보셨다. 그 질문은 나를 죽일 것이다.
난 조부모님께 내가 언제나 언어를 사랑한다고 말했다. 진실이다. 언어학이 내 전공이었다. 그렇지만 모든 언어를 통틀어 제일 생각나는 언어는 한국어였다.
9월에 (7개월 동안) 한국어 수업을 듣기 시작해서 나는 한국어 말하기와 듣기가 중급수준으로 빠르게 올랐다. 한국어 수업을 듣기 전에는 한국말로 못 할 것 같았다. 매일 한국어를 공부한다고 해도 한국어 실력을 향상시키지 못했다. 왜 그랬을까?
왜냐하면 한국 사람들과 한국어로 말하지 않았기 때문이다. 난 항상 내가 한국에 가기 위해서 한국어 공부를 열심히 해야 된다고 생각했지만 한국어를 사용하는 나라에 살지 않기 때문에 한국어를 배우기 어렵다. 16살때부터 한국어를 배우기 시작했는데 22살인 지금까지 왜 난 한국어로 편하게 말할 수 없을까?
한국 사람들과 한국어로 말한 이후로 한국어를 쉽고 편하게 배우기 시작했다. 100년 동안 한국어를 공부해 봤자 한국말로 대화하지 않으면 한국어를 배우는 외국인은 한국어가 유창하지 않을 것이다.
일주일 전에는 왜 한국어를 배우고 있는지 생각해보는 시간을 보냈다. 올해 한국에 가려고 하는데 한국에 영원히 살고 싶지는 않다. 캐나다는 좋지 않지만 나쁘지도 않다. 완벽하진 않다. 그렇지만 나는 한국 사람들이 캐나다를 사랑하는 이유를 알 것 같다. 캐나다는 많은 다른 나라에서 이민을 온 사람들로 이루어져 있다. 그래서 캐나다는 많은 나라의 문화가 섞여 있다. 또 우리는 특정한 종류의 문화가 있다. 이 문화는 한국과 조금 비슷하다.
난 어렸을 때 태권도 수업을 들어서 어린 나이에 한국에 대해 조금 알았다.
한국과 캐나다는 너무 좋은 관계를 가지고 있다. 나는 캐나다를 싫어하는 한국인을 한 명 밖에 못 봤다. 하지만 미국을 싫어하는 많은 한국인과 캐나다인을 많이 봤다. 캐나다에 많은 한국인이 살고 있기 때문에 한국의 문화가 캐나다를 영향을 미쳤다. 토론토에는 한인 타운 두 개 있다. 밴쿠버에서 한국인만 사는 한국 이웃집들이 많다. 그래서 캐나다가 한국인들이 친숙하다. 한국인이들은 다른 문화를 잘 받아들이는 캐나다를 좋아하는 데다가 캐나다 사람들의 친절한 성격을 좋아한다.
외국인은 한국에 쉽게 사랑에 빠진다. 한국인은 캐나다에 쉽게 사랑에 빠진다. 내가 아는 한국 오빠는 한국과 캐나다는 너무 다르다고 했다. 왜냐하면 한국에는 한 개의 문화가 있다고 했거든. 다른 나라에 태어난 한국인은 한국이 아니라고 하는 거 같다. 다른 나라에서 태어난 한국인도 그 나라 사람이 아니라는 것 같다. 그럼, 그 한국인들은 누구니?
오빠가 한 말에 동의하다. 대부분 캐나다에서 온 문화를 한국에서 온 것이랑 비슷하는데 많이 중요한 건 다르다. 캐나다의 문화는 물처럼 곧잘 변한다.
한국의 문화는 고정된 튼튼한 바위 같다. 계곡에서 물은 바위를 따라 흐르고, 바위는 물에 움직이지 않다. 하지만 물이 흐르면 바위가 매끄러워질 것이다. 어려운 문제 같다.
한국인들은 캐나다에서도 여전히 한국인의 정체성을 가지고 있기 때문에 한국인들이 캐나다를 매우 좋아한다.
안녕! 난 희주고 오늘은 내 방을 자세히 묘사할 것이다! 난 Lindie Botes의 웹사이트에서 이 주제를 받았다. 시작하자~
먼저, 내 방은 넓고 보통 깨끗하다. 더러우면 공부하는 게 어려워지니까 일주일에 내 방을 한 번 청소한다. 내 방의 벽은 하얗고 벽에는 사진 한 개밖에 없다. 사진은 내가 대학교 입학 전 나와 여동생이 함께 찍은 사진이다. 사진 옆에는 외할머니께서 주신 달력이 있다. 달마다 다른 동물의 사진이 있다. 이번 달 사진은 퉁퉁한 회색 고양이다. 달력 아래에 내 책상하고 노트북이 있다. 집에서 할 일이 많이 있으니까 모니터 두 개나 있다. 나는 학생이면서 영어 선생님이다—그래서 할 일이 많다.
책상 옆 검정 책장에는 책들이 많이 놓여있다. 판타지하고 로맨틱소설 읽는 걸 좋아한다. 난 어렸을 때부터 항상 책을 읽고 있었다. 책 읽는 걸 너무 좋아하기 때문에 내 생일마다 가족은 나에게 많은 책을 준다. 선물을 고르기 쉬울 거 같다.
책장 위에는 식물이 있다. 내 방 안에 식물 3 개나 있다. 식물을 더 구하고 싶은데 곧 한국에 갈 거기 때문에 키울 수 없다. 캐나다에 다시 들어올 때 더 구할 것이다~~! 내 침대는 내 책장의 왼쪽에 있다. 내 이불은 올리브 그린이다! 베개 커버 두 개의 색깔이 똑같다. 침대 위에 더 편한 베개들은 회색 커버가 있다. 침대 위에 노란색 담요도 놨다. 이 담요는 엄마께서 주신 선물이다.
anon asked: what’s the difference between -는 동안 and -(으)면서? I’m so confused
This is a great question! I am assuming you’re asking because they can be translated as the same thing into English. I understand why there will be confusion because, under context, these grammar points aren’t really distinguishable in English as they are in Korean.
You’re not talking about the same doer of the action [엄마가 설거지를 하는 동안 아빠는 화장실을 청소했어요 - Mom cleaned the dishes while dad cleaned the bathroom]
You are talking about the same doer of the action [어제 공부하는 동안 문제가 생겼어요 - I found a problem while studying yesterday]
The doer of the action is inanimate [비가 많이 오는 동안 구름이 어두워졌어요 - the clouds darkened while it poured]
Try to remember that 동안 is used for a period of time; “-는 동안”은 일정 기간 동안 사용되다. Consider the example in the first rule. Think of the context of this sentence as: during the time it took for my mom to do the dishes, my dad cleaned the bathroom. Yes, you can switch it around because contextually it means the same thing, “아빠가 화장실을 청소하는 동안 엄마는 설거지를 했어요.”
NOTE:Because “-는” attaches to the dependent clause [엄마가 설거지를 하는 동안], the verb before it does not take tense and underlyingly takes the tense of the independent clause’s verb [아빠는 화장실을 청소했어요]. I used the past tense [과거] in my examples, but you can use the present tense [현재] or future tense [미래], obviously, depending on what you want to say.
More Examples:
한국에서 사는 동안 한국어를 빨리 배웠어요 - While I lived in Korea, I learned Korean quickly.
대학교 디니는 동안 어디에서 살 거예요? - Where are you going to live while attending University?
아빠가 저녁을 준비하는 동안 저는 보통 숙제를 해요 - I usually do my homework while my dad makes dinner.
희주가 세수하는 동안 혜민은 이를 닦았어요 - While Heeju washed her face, Hyemin brushed her teeth.
제가 자는 동안 고양이는 제 식물을 먹었어요 - While I slept, my cat ate my plants.
-(으)면서; while
Use this when:
The doer of the action is the same [희주는 먹으면서 유튜브를 봐요 - Heeju watches YouTube while eating]
The action is happening simultaneously [지하철을 기다리면서 친구하고 전화했어요 - I waited for the metro while I called my friend]
Contrasting two actions [대현은 한국에서 일하고 싶다고 하면서 한국어를 못해요 - Daehyun said they wanted to work in Korea, but they don’t speak Korean]
NOTE: You can only use -(으)면서 when talking about the same doer of the action or state. For example, 희주는 일하는 동안 음악을 들었어요 and 희주는 일하면서 음악을 들었어요. BOTH work and are grammatically correct. The working and listening to music is being done by 희주, whether at the same time, or during work. However, a sentence like “희주는 일하면서 혜민은 음악을 들었어요” is grammatically incorrect. Even if 희주 and 혜민 are doing this at the same time, you must use -는 동안.
More Examples:
샤워하면서 노래를 불렀어요 - While showering, I sang
요리하면서 요리법을 봐요 - While cooking, I read a recipe
수업을 들으면서 메모를 해요 - I take notes while in class
운전하면서 문자를 보내지 마세요 - Don’t text while driving
희주는 숙제를 하면서 음악을 들어요 - While Heeju does her homework, she listens to music
Differences between the two:
You can use 동안 with nouns [명사], you cannot use (으)면서 with nouns. However, you can use (이)면서 with nouns in conjunction with 이다 [저는 대학생이면서 선생님이에요 - I am a university student and a teacher]. This expresses two states of being that happen at the same time.
You can not use -는 동안 to contrast actions
You MUST use the same doer of action with (으)면서
-는 동안 expresses an action that occurs during a period of time; -(으)면서 does not necessarily take place at a specific time
Similarities between the two:
You attach tense at the end of the sentence, you cannot attach tense to the dependent verb
They are, most of the time, interchangeable; just remember the rules above
BONUS! -(을/ㄹ) 때; when
The closest origin of “때” I could find in 한자 is “時”. “때” refers to an event/time/period of action (another translation of 時 can be 시).
Things to remember:
You can use -때 with nouns and -(을/ㄹ) 때 with verbs.
Because it refers to a specific moment, you can attach tense to -(을/ㄹ) 때
You can use this with adjectives!
Can be used with -까지 and -부터! [때 + 부터 = since// 때 + 까지 = until]
Examples:
비행기를 도착할 때 엄마하고 전화할게요 - When my plane lands, I’ll call my mom
대학생[이였을] 때 돈이 없었잖아요 - When I was a uni student, I didn’t have money, as you know
한국 친구에게 한국말로 하기 시작했을 때 마이클은 깜짝 놀랐어요 - When I started speaking Korean to my Korean friend, Michael was surprised!
공부할 때 음악을 들어요 - When I study, I listen to music
시간이 있을 때 알려주세요 - Let me know when you have time
16살 때부터 한국어를 배웠어요 - I’ve been learning Korean since I was 16
이렇게 될 때까지 더 씻어야 해요 - You have to wash it more until it’s like this
한국에 갈 때 홍대하고 제주도 방문하고 싶어요 - When I go Korea, I want to visit Jeju and Hongdae
혜민 언니는 한국에 들어갔을 때 제가 너무 슬펐어요 - I was so sad when Hyemin when back to Korea
어렸을 때 그림을 그리기 시작했어요 - I started drawing when I was a kid
Hope this helps! If there’s any more confusion, please, don’t hesitate to send another message or ask!
anon asked: what’s the difference between 먹다 and 드시겠습니다. You say they both mean eat but i am confused? Help!
@femaletype asked: next do (으)시 vs -세요 vs -ㅂ/습니다 Bc honorific vs deferential is the bane of my existence
First, I will give a list of honorific verbs and nouns, then explain the honorific ending! It’s important to note an “elevation” of formality; who is being elevated! In this case, there are three types:
verbs that elevate* the subject
verbs that elevate the object
verbs that elevate the recipient of the action (usually used with the honorific particle 께)
*elevate = who are talking about in an honorific way?
높임말 동사; Honorific Verbs
(2) 만나다 / 보다; 뵙다 [to see, to meet]
(1) 먹다; 드시다 / 식사하다 / 잡수시다 [to eat]
(1) 마시다; 드시다 [to drink]
(3) 주다;드리다 [to give]
(1) 있다; 계시다 [to stay]
(1) 죽다; 들어가시다 [to die]
(1) 아프다; 편찮으시다 [to be hurt/in pain]
(1) 말하다; 말씁하시다 [to speak]
(1) 자다; 주무시다 [to sleep]
(3) 묻다; 여쭈다 [to ask]
(1) 배고프다; 시장하시다 [to be hungry]
(2) 데리다; 모시다 [to accompany]^
^ the plain form 데리다 is more commonly used as a compound verb with 오다 or 가다, but that can be it’s own separate post if people are interested.
높임말 명사; Honorific Nouns
이름; 성함 [name]
나이; 연세 [age]
집; 댁 [house]
생일; 생신 [birthday]
밥; 진지 / 식사 [food, meal]
병; 병환 [disease, illness]
술; 약주 [alcohol]
아이; 자제분 [child]
이; 치아 [tooth]
말; 말씀 [word]
It’s important to note, that outside of these specific verbs, you can realistically elevate anyverb in Korean using (으)시.
-(으)시 vs. (스)ㅂ니다; Deferential Honorific
At this point, you should be familiar with plain style conjugation patterns (-어/아요). The deferential style is the infamous -(스)ㅂ니다 that gives the statements their formal ending. Of course, as we know, -(스)ㅂ니다 is more formal than -어/아요. If at any point, you are unsure as to which formality to use, always use the deferential style.
Honorifics can attach to both the deferential and polite styles, but are used in different contexts illustrated below:
[polite]집에 가요 - I’m going home
[deferential]집에 갑니다 - I go home
[polite + (으)시] 집에 가세요 - Go home, (hon. subject)
[deferential + (으)시] 집에 가십니다 - (hon. subject) goes home
Remember, you cannot, ever, at any point, ever, use (으)시 for yourself.
-(으)세요
When (으)시 is attached to the polite style conjugation, there are two usages; (1) to show respect, (2) to create an imperative.
The use of -(으)시 elevates the subject, object, or any recipient of the action who is older, in a higher position, or placed above you in respect. Of course, you will hear some Koreans complain about this politeness hierarchy, however, that is not an excuse to speak in an intimate way to a doctor, professor, or an elder–this is not about being close, this is about being respectful.
The biggest difference between the deferential -(스)ㅂ니다 and the honorific -(으)시 is that one acknowledges the elevation of the subject/object/recipient of action [-(으)시] while the other acknowledges the formality of the environment around them [-(스)ㅂ니다].
When talking to someone closer to your age (seemingly), you are able to use [polite + (으)시] to express politeness without being overtly formal. This is why, in restaurants, you will use phrases like:
순두부찌개 하나 좀* 주세요 - please give me tofu stew
물 좀 주세요 - please give me water
아아 한잔 좀 주세요 - please give me an iced americano
*좀 softens the request
Where the server will use an honorific term:
[드시다] 뭐 드시겠습니까? - what will you eat/drink?
[드리다] 영수증을 드릴까요? - do you want me to give you a receipt?
Note that the -까 creates an interrogative phrase.
All that said…
You can add (으)시 to any verb in order to create it’s honorific counterpart. This goes for literally any verb. If you are truly lost and cannot remember how to use the honorific form of 먹다 then you can use some form of 먹으시다. Examples:
[to answer/reply] 대답하다 + (으)시 = 대답하시다
[to sing] 노래부르다 + (으)시 = 노래부르시다
[to listen] 듣다 + (으)시 = 들으시다
Hope this helps! Honorifics are honestly difficult. So difficult, that even switching formality without honorifics is still considered rude (from intimate to plain to deferential). You’ll hear people say it’s okay to not use the proper formality because you’re a foreigner, but I think that’s a lazy solution to learning. If you want to learn properly, do it properly.
Example Sentences:
무슨 책을 읽으세요? - what book are you reading?
한국 분이세요? - are you Korean?
한국어를 가르칠 사람은 김 선생님이세요 - Mx. Kim will teach Korean
엄마가 전화하셨어요 - My mom called
부모님께서 은행에 가셨어요 - My parents went to the bank
That being said, it’s okay to mess up formalities so long as you catch the mistake and correct yourself. The listener (older Korean or friend) will greatly appreciate the self-assessment.
If there’s still some confusion, let me know!! Happy Learning :)
anon asked: what’s the difference between 끊다 and 자르다?
Great question! Hopefully my answer helps! Both can mean “to cut” but here’s a better explanation:
One is used abstractly, while the other is used for more concrete situations. When you want to cut something for a recipe, or cut a piece of paper, you use 자르다. When you want to hang up the phone, or quit smoking, you use 끊다.
끊다 - cut (something abstract); not a literal cutting of something
이만 끊을게요 - I’ll hang up (on the phone)
앞으로 담배를 끊을 거예요 - From now on, I’m going to quit smoking.
자르다 - cut (something concrete); a literal cutting of something
종이를 반으로 자르세요 - cut the paper in half
이렇게 잘라야 해요 - you should cut it like this
머리 잘라서 머리가 짧아졌어요 - my hair got shorter because I cut it
you may have already been in that situation where you’re trying to communicate with a native korean via texts but somehow aren’t able to distinguish some words because they’re written a certain way. well as well as in english or any other languages korean also has its lazy way of using it. we’ll see some words in their correct form and then in their “lazy/text” form.
i’m planning on starting kind of a serie of posts with no specific subjects ; i’ll just be discussing random things i discover or learn such as words, expressions, grammar points etc.. when i feel like i have stuff to share with u and that could be useful!hope you’ll like it!^^
helloooooo. so in this post i will be explaining you all how to use multiple verbs in the same sentence.
before learning this, make sure you already kinda master how to conjugate verbs in past, present and future tenses and also know how to use basic sentence structure:)
it will look like Verb stem+고+Verb
-고 is added to verbs you want to link together in order to form your sentence
a simple way to say “and” is using the word “그리고” :
I finally made it through to taking the 81st TOPIK 2 exam in London and wanted to offer some tips to anyone else who will be taking the advice. Looking back on things, the TOPIK has a very particular structure, and one of the things that I wish I’d done more is review content specific to this structure to better use my time, and to be more prepared. Here are some tips for anyone wanting to take the exam. This advice is based on the TOPIK 2 in London, so other test centres or other exams may work differently.
Procedure
The TOPIK 1 participants were asked to arrive at Westminster Kingsway College Victoria Centre at 8:30am-9pm, whereas the TOPIK 2 was later in the day, so we were asked to arrive between 11:40am-12:10pm. There were a lot of participants gathered outside, and when the doors were opened, we all showed our test ID slip and personal ID, did a temperature check, and were let inside. We were split into 5 different rooms and the room listings were on a board as you walked in.
Leading up to the test, the invigilators started giving out instructions in Korean, which were a little hard to follow. We had to put our IDs on the desk, switch off and hand in all phones and other devices, and were briefed on the exam rules. These were actually surprisingly strict. If you continue writing after time, or if your phone goes off in the invigilators’ box, then your results are nullified, and having electronics on you whilst taking the exam results in a 2 year ban.
The test itself has 3 parts: listening and writing, a break, and then the reading portion. For the listening portion, the tape will only play questions once, so you have to be extremely careful to pay attention, or you’ll miss points. The writing is cut into 3 sections: completing 4 sentences with correct grammar, describe a set of data, and writing an essay on your thoughts about a text. We were then allowed a short break to go to the bathroom before beginning the reading section. Once you finish the exam, your papers are collected, your devices are returned to you, and you are free to go. Our invigilators even gave us pepero after the exam!
Review and Advice
Listening: I definitely made a lot of mistakes with this test, which I want to avoid if I take it next time, and which I hope I can help you to avoid. Starting with the listening exam, I didn’t realise that the tape would only play once. I’ve taken a lot of Korean classes as well as listening tests for other languages and since things are usually repeated, I assumed they would be in the exam. I wrote down whatever words I heard to give myself a basis for answering the question, thinking that I would answer it after the second time. Nope. The next question started and I had to hurriedly guess the last answer based on my notes, which meant I missed the next question. This is what the listening and reading answer sheets look like. All of these answers are multiple choice, so don’t make the mistake of putting your answers in the wrong row, which I thankfully didn’t do.
Writing: Right before the exam started, as I was waiting outside, I thought that I should do a quick check to see how the writing is graded to make sure that what I write is going to get good marks. I watched this video and I’m so glad that I did. I had thought that for writing, I would get a question, I’d write my response. Simple. But this part of the test actually has a very particular layout with questions which require a specific way of answering. In the first questions, you are given a short sample text with two missing blanks, which you need to fill in. Any answer is accepted as long as it’s grammatically correct. The only thing to pay attention to is matching the formality of the text, but otherwise, this part is easy. The next part was much harder. You are given a graph as well as some background information and need to describe the data. It looks something like this:
The video which I mentioned has a really good suggestion of learning sample sentences to put the data directly into so that you don’t struggle to word the information during the exam. Honestly, this is a really good idea, especially since it saves time for the essay question next. This question requires 200-300 characters including spaces, but I don’t think it’s difficult to stay within the limit, and you can always shorten words. For me, I took way too much time on this question and didn’t have enough time to answer the essay question with enough characters for it to be accepted, so I probably lost a lot of marks just with timekeeping. The essay question is an opinion piece, which is 600-700 characters.Like I mentioned, you must leave enough time to write at least 600 words or your answer will be nullified.
Reading: I’m sure everyone is familiar with the reading paper, as example reading papers are the most common way to revise for the exam. My only advice for this is that you have so much less time than you think. I was working my way through questions as fast as I could, and even then when they called 10 minutes left, I’d only answered half. I went through one more question before choosing random answers for the rest. I could see a lot of other people had to do this too, so it seems to be a very common mistake that people make. There are 70 minutes to complete 50 questions, so theoretically, you have 1.4 minutes to answer each question. The best thing to do would either be to practise and practise until you can do this, or do what I did and work through the questions at your own pace and fill in random answers for the rest. This choice, as well as the risks that come with it, are completely up to you.
I hope that this is helpful to anyone planning to take the TOPIK, and I wish you all luck. 여러분 화이팅!
There’s only one week until I take the TOPIK II exam and now that I’m almost done, I figured I would stop in, let you know that I haven’t died studying, and talk about how the process has been so far.
I’ll make a couple of posts including free resources and textbooks which I’ve personally found helpful, my feelings leading up to the exam, and finally a little bit on what happens when you actually take the TOPIK exam. If there’s anything that you’d like to know, drop me an ask, and don’t forget to request some dramas for when I start posting again!
The TOPIK exam that I’m doing takes place on the 9th, and from then I’ll be taking a break to visit London and Paris until the 22nd. I’ll resume posting Studying Korean with K-Drama posts from then, unless I decide that I can’t wait. I also have a few surprise announcements to make too! I’ve really missed posting my usual content and interacting with you guys. See you all soon
You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a while, and the reason for that is that I’m studying for the TOPIK II exam!
I’m really not ready if I’m honest, but I decided to just go for it since I’d really love to be able to move out there in September, and having the certificate to say that I can speak Korean well would definitely help me out in my work search. Since the exam is on April 9th, there’s not a lot of time to get everything down, so I’m having to study 2 grammar rules everyday whilst stuffing as much vocab into my brain as my one tiny brain cell can handle. I have my roommate’s cat Tamaki and tiny Jimin to support me along, so hopefully I can make it!
Unfortunately, this means that I don’t really have time to be looking through dramas, since I have to spend all my time on textbooks. I’ll have to take a break for now, but I’ll be back right after my exam, and I’ll be able to give you a little insight into what it’s like and how it went for me!
Until then, please wish me luck. I’m definitely going to need it
This form is the combination of the verb 따르다 (to follow) and the simple clause connecting form 아/어(서) which we covered a little while ago. As you may remember, when a word ends in the vowel 으, the following conjugation depends on the preceding vowel. If the preceding vowel is 아, then the 아(서) conjugation is used. For any other preceding vowel, 어(서) is used. Given that 따르다 has the preceding vowel 아, it is conjugated to 따라(서).
This form can be used in a sentence to connect 따르다 to another verb, for example, 따라 가다 (to follow someone who is going somewhere).
에 따라(서)
When 에 is added to this form, the meaning changes. The typical formulation of this form in a sentence is N + 에 따라(서) + A, and it’s used to say that in accordance with N, V happens. Here are some examples of how this may be used:
According to the directions, we should go that way. 길안내에 따라서 우리는 저 쪽으로 가 야 돼요.
People should act in accordance with the culture of a country. 사람들은 그 나라의 문화에 따라 행동을 해 야 돼요.
If we understand 에 따라(서) to mean ‘in accordance with,’ we can then figure out the meaning of the Game Administrator’s statement, 여러분의 뜻에 따라 게임의 중단 여부를 투표하겠습니다. He is saying ‘in accordance with your wishes (뜻에 따라), we will take a vote to decide whether or not the game will end.
We can also understand the Game Administrator’s next statement. He says ‘참가자 한 명당 걸려 있는 상금 액수 1억 따라서 255억의 상금이 돼지 저금통에 적립되었습니다’. The first clause means ‘for every player, the amount of money at stake was 1억,’ and the second means ‘225억 has been collected into the piggy bank’. If 따르다 connects these two clauses, then we can come to the conclusion that the full sentence must translate to ‘Following (the rule) that for every player, the amount of money at stake was 1억, 255억 has been accumulated in the piggy bank’.
Some of you may remember that not too long ago, we looked at the verb 시키다, which means ‘to order’ in the sense of ordering food or ordering something online. When used as a grammar form, 시키다 is added onto the verb or adjective stem to indicate that someone is being forced to do that action.
The grammar form 게 하다 which we’ll be looking at today has an identical meaning to 시키다, but also has some further usages. Sometimes, the words can be switched out for each other, although in other circumstances there needs to be a slight alteration to ensure that they’re naturalised into a sentence, given that technically 시키다 is a verb, whereas 게 하다 is solely a grammar form. Let’s take these two sentences:
The teacher made the students study during the afterschool class. 선생님은 삭생들을 방과후 수업 시간 동안 공부시켰어요. 선생님은 삭생들을 방과후 수업 시간 동안 공부하게 했어요.
My mom made me clean my room. 엄마가 나에게 방 청소를 시켰어. 엄마가 날 방 청소하게 했어.
In the first sentence, the two forms are interchangeable, however, since the second form uses a verb which is directed at someone, it uses 에게 in this circumstance. Think of it as ‘my mom made me clean my room’ (게 하다) and ‘my mom said to me that I need to clean my room’ (시키다).
게 하다 and 게 해 주다
Aside from the meaning of making something happen, 게 하다 also carries the meaning of letting something happen. When using this grammar, there is no clear distinction between which meaning is being used, so you need to be aware of context within a situation to determine whether the speaker means ‘make’ or ‘let’. Here are some examples:
My parents won’t let me go outside late at night. 부모님은 제가 밤늦게 못 나가게 하셨어요.
I will let him sleep. 저는 그를 자게 할 거예요.
If the action that is taking place is also beneficial for the person who is being allowed or made to do something, 주다 can be added to the form.
My mom made my dad give up smoking. 엄마가 아빠에게 담배를 끊게 하졌어요.
I let the students study. 저는 학생들을 공부하게 해 주었어요.
This is the usage that is being used in the example by Sang-Woo. By adding 게 하다 to the verb 투표를 하다, he is asking them to let the players vote. There are a number of nuances added to this phrase: 주다 shows that the players would benefit from it, 시 is added for formality, and 죠 indicates that since it’s within the contract that they can vote to leave, the Game Administrator knows that he has to allow it.
