Vocabulary
전망
noun
Beginner
view; outlook (from a window or high place)
community
이 카페는 전망이 정말 좋아.
This café has a really nice view.
방음
noun
Beginner
soundproofing
finance
이 건물은 방음이 잘 돼 있어?
Is the soundproofing good in this building?
채광
noun
Beginner
natural lighting; the amount of sunlight a space receives
finance
남향 집은 채광이 좋아서 따뜻해.
South-facing homes are warm because they get good natural light.
계약
noun
Beginner
contract; agreement
finance
오늘 드디어 계약했어.
I finally signed the contract today.
외지인
noun
Beginner
outsider; person from outside the local area
community
작은 마을에서 외지인은 금방 눈에 띄어.
In a small village, an outsider stands out right away.
임차인
noun
Beginner
tenant; lessee
finance
임차인은 월세를 제때 내야 해.
The tenant has to pay rent on time.
풍수지리
noun
Intermediate
feng shui; the Korean/East Asian practice of reading the landscape to determine auspicious locations
community
옛날 사람들은 집 지을 때 풍수지리를 따졌어.
People in the old days considered feng shui when building a house.
배산임수
noun
Intermediate
the ideal geomantic layout: mountains behind and water in front of a dwelling
community
이 마을은 배산임수 지형이라 살기 좋다고 해.
They say this village is great to live in because of its mountain-behind, water-in-front layout.
꼼꼼하다
adjective
Intermediate
meticulous; thorough; detail-oriented
work
걔는 꼼꼼한 성격이라 실수가 거의 없어.
She's so meticulous that she almost never makes mistakes.
옵션
noun
Intermediate
optional included item(s) in a rental (e.g. appliances provided by the landlord)
finance
이 원룸은 에어컨이랑 냉장고가 다 옵션이야.
This studio has an air conditioner and fridge all included as options.
시세
noun
Intermediate
market price; going rate
finance
요즘 이 동네 월세 시세가 많이 올랐어.
The going rent rate in this neighborhood has gone up a lot lately.
대승적
adjective
Intermediate
magnanimous; for the greater good; big-picture (literally 'Mahayana-level')
community
대승적 차원에서 그냥 양보하는 게 어때?
How about just conceding for the greater good?
통장
noun
Intermediate
tong-jang; a government-appointed neighborhood unit leader responsible for community administration
community work
통장은 동네 주민들 사이에서 연락책 역할을 해.
The tong-jang acts as a liaison among neighborhood residents.
이체
noun
Intermediate
bank transfer; wire transfer
finance
현금 없으면 이체해 줄게.
If you don't have cash, I'll transfer it to you.
짤짤이
noun
Advanced
small change; fiddly coins; petty cash (colloquial)
finance
짤짤이 주고받기 귀찮으면 그냥 계좌로 보내 줘.
If dealing in small change is a pain, just send it to my account.
신분증
noun
Advanced
ID card; proof of identity — used here metaphorically: 'your face is your ID'
community
이 동네는 얼굴이 신분증이라 다들 서로 알아.
In this neighborhood your face is your ID — everyone knows everyone.
임대인
noun
Advanced
landlord; lessor (formal legal term)
finance
계약서에 임대인과 임차인의 권리가 다 나와 있어.
The contract lays out all the rights of the landlord and the tenant.
Key Expressions
Dismissing or setting aside a point
~는 그렇다 치고
"letting ~ be as it is / granted that ~ / setting ~ aside"
Used to acknowledge one point quickly and move on to what the speaker actually wants to raise. Often signals mild concession before a bigger objection.
가격은 그렇다 치고 품질은 어때?
Setting the price aside, how is the quality?
Pushing back / questioning motives
짜고 치는 거 아니죠?
"You're not rigging this together, are you?"
~는 거 아니죠? is used to voice suspicion or seek reassurance that something questionable is NOT happening. The tag 아니죠? softens it into a question rather than a direct accusation.
혹시 나만 빼고 계획 세우는 거 아니죠?
You're not planning things without me, are you?
이거 달랑 하나 보여 주는 거라고?
"You're saying you're showing just this one measly thing?"
~는 거라고? is an incredulous echo question that demands confirmation of something the speaker finds absurd. The adverb 달랑 ('just one, and that's all') intensifies the disbelief.
선물이 이게 달랑 하나인 거라고?
Are you seriously saying this one thing is the entire gift?
Reassuring about community transparency
얼굴이 신분증인 사람들이야
"We're people whose faces are our ID cards."
A culturally loaded expression meaning the community is so small and interconnected that everyone is known by sight — anonymity is impossible, so dishonesty is self-defeating.
이 동네는 다 알아, 얼굴이 신분증인 사람들이야.
Everyone knows each other here — we're the kind of people whose faces are our IDs.
Talking about included rental features
~까지 옵션이다
"even ~ is included as an option"
In Korean real-estate talk, 옵션 means appliances or furnishings included in the rent. Adding ~까지 ('even') signals that the item is a pleasant bonus beyond expectations.
이 집은 식기세척기까지 옵션이야.
This place even includes a dishwasher.
평균 시세보다 싸게 주는 거
"giving it cheaper than the average market rate"
시세 is the standard market/going rate. Saying 시세보다 싸게 주다 frames the deal as a genuine favor, useful in any negotiation or rental context.
여기 월세가 시세보다 훨씬 싸게 나온 거야.
The monthly rent here came out way below the market rate.
Grammar Patterns
~다 치고
Concessive 'granted that / setting X aside'
Attaches to a verb or adjective stem in declarative form (-다) to temporarily grant a premise and pivot to the main point. It signals 'OK, let's accept X for the sake of argument — but what about Y?' It is common in spoken Korean when the speaker wants to skip over a weaker point.
Practice sentences
가격은 싸다 치고, 품질은 믿을 수 있어?
Granted the price is cheap, can the quality be trusted?
늦은 거 이해한다 치고, 연락은 해야 했잖아.
Setting aside that you were late, you still should have called.
💡 Don't confuse with -다고 치다 (same meaning but subordinated); in fast speech -다 치고 can sound like -다치고 — keep the pause before 치고 clear.
-(으)ㄹ 텐데
Presumptive concession 'I'd expect that… / it probably…'
Combines the presumptive future/modal -(으)ㄹ 것이다 with the background-contrast ending -ㄴ데 to express the speaker's reasonable expectation while opening space for a but-clause or a soft suggestion. It carries a tone of empathetic reasoning.
Practice sentences
월세 시세보다 쌀 텐데, 한번 계약해 볼 만하잖아.
The rent is probably below market rate, so it's worth trying to sign a contract.
작은 동네라 불편할 텐데 금방 적응할 거야.
It's probably inconvenient because it's a small town, but you'll adapt quickly.
💡 -(으)ㄹ 텐데 often trails off with rising intonation as an implicit suggestion or soft complaint; avoid pronouncing it with the same flat tone as a plain statement.
-아/어서
Sequential / causal connector 'so / because / and then'
The connector -아/어서 links two clauses where the first is either the cause or the immediate prior action of the second. Unlike -니까, it cannot be used with imperatives or proposals when expressing pure reason, making it softer and more narrative in feel.
Practice sentences
월세가 시세보다 싸서 바로 계약했어.
The rent was cheaper than market rate, so I signed right away.
동네가 작아서 다 서로 알아.
The town is small, so everyone knows each other.
💡 Do not use -아/어서 when the second clause is a command or suggestion (use -니까 instead); this is the single most common error learners make with this pattern.
Cultural Notes
통장 (Tong-jang) and 반장 — Korea's neighborhood administration system
South Korea has a hierarchical grassroots administration: 통 (tong) is a cluster of households, and 통장 is its elected or appointed leader. Below that is 반, led by a 반장. These volunteers handle local government notices, welfare checks, and community liaison work. They receive a small government stipend (Hwa-jeong mentions 30만 원/month and 2만 원 per meeting), which is why she jokes she 'eats government rice' (나랏밥) despite also running a seafood restaurant.
배산임수 — Geomantic ideal in Korean real estate
배산임수 (背山臨水) is a core concept in Korean and broader East Asian geomancy (풍수지리): the ideal home site has a mountain at the back for protection and water in front for prosperity and energy flow. The idea persists today in how Koreans evaluate neighborhood and property desirability, and Dusik humorously stretches the concept to include a market hill as the 'mountain.'
옵션 in Korean apartment rentals
When Koreans rent an apartment (전세 or 월세), landlords often include appliances and fixtures as 옵션 — items that come with the unit. Common options include air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, and increasingly dryers. Knowing what is 옵션 vs. what you must supply yourself is a key part of apartment hunting in Korea.
Small-town transparency as social contract
Hwa-jeong's line '얼굴이 신분증인 사람들' captures a real dynamic in small Korean communities: because everyone knows everyone, social reputation functions as accountability. Strangers (외지인) are immediately visible, but this same visibility means locals cannot easily exploit newcomers without consequences — the community's gaze works both ways.