반상회와 소문 소동 — Community Meeting and Gossip About the Couple

Vocabulary

간직하다 verb

Beginner

to keep, to cherish, to hold onto (something precious)

romance community

그 편지를 아직도 간직하고 있어?

Are you still keeping that letter?

합의 noun

Beginner

agreement, settlement (especially to resolve a dispute)

community

두 사람이 합의를 봤으니까 이제 괜찮아.

The two of them reached an agreement, so it's fine now.

소박하다 adjective

Beginner

simple, modest, unpretentious

community family

밥상이 소박하지만 맛있어.

The meal is simple but delicious.

정겹다 adjective

Beginner

warm, affectionate, endearing (evokes a cozy, familiar feeling)

community family

이 동네는 작지만 진짜 정겨운 것 같아.

This village is small but it really feels warm and endearing.

놀래키다 verb

Beginner

to startle, to give someone a fright (colloquial form of 놀라게 하다)

community

갑자기 뒤에서 나타나서 나 완전 놀래켰잖아.

You suddenly appeared behind me and totally startled me.

맛집 noun

Beginner

a restaurant or eatery famous for its food; a 'must-eat' spot

food community

이 골목에 유명한 맛집이 생겼대.

I heard a famous food spot opened up in this alley.

공문 noun

Intermediate

official document, formal correspondence (from an institution)

community

학교에서 공문이 왔는데 확인해 봤어?

An official document came from the school — did you check it?

주거 침입 noun

Intermediate

breaking and entering, unlawful entry into a residence

community

주거 침입은 엄연히 범죄야.

Breaking and entering is clearly a crime.

쌍방 과실 noun

Intermediate

mutual fault, shared liability (both parties at fault)

community

사고 원인을 따지면 쌍방 과실이라고 봐야 해.

If we look into the cause of the accident, we have to call it mutual fault.

엄밀히 따지다 expression

Intermediate

to examine strictly, to be precise about something

community

엄밀히 따지면 네 잘못도 있어.

Strictly speaking, you're also at fault.

원인 제공 noun

Intermediate

providing the cause (of a problem); being the one who triggered a situation

community

사실 원인 제공을 한 쪽이 먼저 사과해야 하지 않아?

Shouldn't the one who caused it apologize first?

칠칠치 못하다 expression

Intermediate

to be clumsy, slovenly, careless; lacking in tidiness or coordination

community

밥 먹을 때마다 흘리네, 진짜 칠칠치 못하게.

You spill food every time you eat — you're really so clumsy.

복덕방 noun

Intermediate

a small traditional real estate office; an old-fashioned term for 부동산

community

우리 동네에 복덕방이 몇 개 있어.

There are a few old real estate offices in our neighborhood.

먹방 noun

Intermediate

mukbang; an online broadcast format in which someone eats food while interacting with viewers

food community

요즘 먹방 유튜버들이 엄청 많잖아.

There are so many mukbang YouTubers these days, right?

Key Expressions

Speculating about someone's feelings or motives

~다는 건 도대체 무슨 뜻일까? "What on earth does it mean that [something]?"

Used to voice aloud a puzzling behavior and invite others to interpret it, often when the speaker already has an opinion. 도대체 adds rhetorical exasperation or emphasis.

매일 그 사진을 꺼내 본다는 건 도대체 무슨 뜻일까?

What on earth does it mean that he looks at that photo every single day?

Mediating and defusing conflict

합의의 의미로 ~기로 했어 "As a gesture of settlement, [it was decided that someone] would [do something]"

A practical formula for proposing or announcing a resolution to a dispute, framing a concession as mutual goodwill rather than punishment.

합의의 의미로 서로 사과하기로 했어.

As a gesture of settlement, they agreed to apologize to each other.

Giving directions (casual)

거기서 다시 물어봐 "Ask again from there"

A realistic Korean strategy for giving directions in small towns — rather than over-explaining, the speaker passes responsibility to a local landmark contact point.

버스 정류장 지나면 잘 모르겠으니까 거기서 다시 물어봐.

I'm not sure past the bus stop, so ask again from there.

지금 얘기해 줘도 어차피 못 찾아가잖아 "Even if I tell you now, you won't be able to find it anyway"

Blunt but affectionate reasoning used between people with some familiarity; 어차피 signals inevitability and softens what could otherwise sound rude.

설명해 줘도 어차피 못 알아들을 거잖아.

Even if I explain it to you, you won't understand anyway.

Expressing mild self-deprecation or deflection

별로 유명한 거 같지는 않아 "Doesn't seem like [they're] particularly famous"

A gentle hedging expression that downplays something without fully dismissing it; -것 같지는 않다 is common for expressing moderate skepticism politely.

그 가게, 별로 맛있는 거 같지는 않아.

That restaurant doesn't seem particularly good.

Grammar Patterns

~다는 건 / ~다라는 건

Nominalizing a reported fact for comment

Intermediate

The pattern ~다는 것 (or colloquially ~다라는 건) takes a statement and turns it into a noun clause meaning 'the fact that [someone] does/did [X].' It is then used as the subject or topic for commentary, analysis, or questioning. It is extremely common in conversational Korean when discussing behavior or situations.

Practice sentences

아직도 연락한다는 건 아직 마음이 있다는 거 아니야?

Doesn't the fact that they're still in contact mean they still have feelings?

매일 온다는 건 그냥 좋아하는 거지.

The fact that they come every day just means they like it.

💡 Don't confuse ~다는 건 (reported fact turned into topic) with ~다는 말이야 (clarification). The key is that ~다는 건 sets up a noun clause as subject, so a predicate must follow.

~든가 (뭐, 그런 거 말이야)

Casually citing an example with ~든가

Int–Advanced

~든가 introduces an illustrative or hypothetical example in a deliberately vague, non-committal way, roughly equivalent to 'like, for instance...' or '...or something.' When paired with 뭐, 그런 거 말이야, the speaker further softens the example, creating an air of casualness even when steering a conversation purposefully.

Practice sentences

같이 밥을 먹는다든가 뭐, 그런 거면 사귀는 거 아니야?

Like, if they're eating together and stuff like that, doesn't that mean they're dating?

💡 ~든가 follows a verb or adjective stem in the same way as ~거나, but carries a more casual, hedging tone. Avoid using it in formal written Korean.

지나칠 수가 없었어요 / 못 찾아가잖아

Expressing impossibility or inability with 수가 없다 / 못 ~잖아

Intermediate

Korean uses two main structures to express inability: ~(으)ㄹ 수가 없다 (stressing that something is impossible or one simply cannot help doing/not doing it) and 못 ~잖아 (asserting a known inability in a slightly exasperated or matter-of-fact tone, seeking the listener's agreement). Both appear in this scene and are essential for natural intermediate speech.

Practice sentences

냄새가 너무 좋아서 그냥 지나칠 수가 없었어.

It smelled so good I just couldn't walk past.

설명해 줘도 어차피 이해 못 하잖아.

Even if I explain it, you won't understand anyway.

💡 ~ㄹ 수가 없다 often implies emotional or physical compulsion ('I simply couldn't help it'), while 못 ~잖아 is more factual and seeks agreement from the listener. Don't swap them carelessly.

Vocabulary

Key Expressions

Speculating about someone's feelings or motives

Mediating and defusing conflict

Giving directions (casual)

Expressing mild self-deprecation or deflection

Grammar Patterns

Cultural Notes