Vocabulary
취하다
verb
Beginner
to get drunk, to become intoxicated
emotions daily life
오랜만에 마셨더니 금방 취했어.
I got drunk quickly because I hadn't drunk in a while.
연락
noun
Beginner
contact, communication (calling or messaging someone)
daily life relationships
하루 종일 연락이 없으면 걱정되잖아.
If there's no contact all day, it makes you worry.
병실
noun
Beginner
hospital room, ward
family daily life
엄마 병실에 매일 찾아갔어.
I visited mom's hospital room every day.
쓰러지다
verb
Beginner
to collapse, to fall down (from illness or exhaustion)
family emotions
갑자기 엄마가 쓰러졌을 때 얼마나 무서웠는지 몰라.
You have no idea how scared I was when mom suddenly collapsed.
통증
noun
Beginner
pain, ache (physical)
family emotions
통증 때문에 밤새 잠을 못 잤어.
I couldn't sleep all night because of the pain.
퇴근하다
verb
Beginner
to get off work, to finish one's shift
daily life romance
퇴근하고 바로 달려왔어.
I came straight here after getting off work.
알딸딸하다
adjective
Intermediate
tipsy, pleasantly buzzed (not fully drunk)
emotions daily life
한 잔만 마셨는데 알딸딸하네.
I only had one glass but I'm already feeling tipsy.
청승
noun
Intermediate
self-pitying, pitiable behavior; acting pathetically alone
emotions romance
혼자 그러고 있으면 청승이지, 연락이나 해.
Moping around alone like that is just pathetic — just call me.
자작하다
verb
Intermediate
to pour drinks for oneself (considered bad luck or lonely)
daily life emotions
자작하지 말고 나한테 따라 줘.
Don't pour for yourself — let me pour for you.
미련
noun
Intermediate
lingering attachment, inability to let go (of a person or situation)
romance emotions
헤어지고 나서도 미련이 남아 있어.
Even after breaking up, I still have lingering feelings.
건사하다
verb
Intermediate
to take care of someone, to look after (often with devotion)
romance family
나 힘들 때 옆에서 건사해 줘서 고마워.
Thank you for looking after me when I was struggling.
주저앉히다
verb
Intermediate
to make someone settle down or stay (often by emotional means); to plant someone by one's side
romance emotions
그 사람을 내 옆에 주저앉힌 건 나였어.
It was me who made that person stay by my side.
자격지심
noun
Intermediate
inferiority complex, feeling of being unworthy or inadequate
emotions romance
자격지심 때문에 괜히 상처받은 거 아니야?
Didn't you get hurt for no reason because of your inferiority complex?
미화하다
verb
Intermediate
to glorify, to romanticize, to paint something in an overly positive light
emotions romance
지난 일을 너무 미화하지 마.
Don't romanticize the past too much.
뒤탈
noun
Advanced
aftereffects, belated trouble or consequences (especially emotional or physical aftermath)
emotions daily life
억지로 참고 살다 보면 마음에 뒤탈이 나.
If you keep forcing yourself to endure, your heart will eventually suffer the consequences.
곪다
verb
Advanced
to fester, to suppurate (of a wound); metaphorically, for pain or problems to build up unaddressed
emotions romance
말 안 하고 참으면 속이 곪아.
If you stay silent and endure, things fester inside you.
흥건하다
adjective
Advanced
to be soaking, to be drenched or flooded (can be used metaphorically for overwhelming emotion)
emotions romance
눈물이 흥건하게 고여 있더라.
Tears were pooling up all over the place.
아등바등
adverb
Advanced
struggling desperately, straining with great effort (often with futility implied)
emotions daily life
혼자서 아등바등 버티지 말고 도움을 요청해.
Don't desperately struggle alone — ask for help.
Key Expressions
Expressing lingering emotional pain
미련이 흘러넘쳐서 흥건하다
"lingering feelings overflow and are soaking"
A vivid, hyperbolic expression for being completely consumed by unresolved attachment to someone. Used to lovingly tease or confront a friend.
헤어지고도 미련이 흘러넘쳐서 흥건하면 솔직하게 말해봐.
If you're completely flooded with lingering feelings even after breaking up, just say so honestly.
속이 물렁하다
"the inside is soft/mushy"
Describes feeling emotionally vulnerable or fragile — the heart feeling tender and unguarded. Often used with a slightly self-deprecating nuance.
오늘따라 왜 이렇게 속이 물렁하지?
Why am I feeling so emotionally soft today of all days?
Calling out self-deception or denial
속에도 없는 말을 하다
"to say words that aren't even inside (you)"
Means to say something you don't truly mean — to give an answer that doesn't reflect your real feelings. Calls out insincere or self-protective responses.
왜 자꾸 속에도 없는 말을 해? 솔직하게 얘기해봐.
Why do you keep saying things you don't mean? Just be honest.
Justifying or explaining one's past actions
그거 사랑 아닌 거 알면서도 내가 붙잡은 거야
"Even knowing it wasn't love, it was me who held on"
A pattern for taking ownership of a past choice made with full awareness — '알면서도' signals conscious decision despite knowing better, adding emotional weight and self-accountability.
잘못된 거 알면서도 놓지 못했어.
Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn't let go.
살다 보니까 그 이상을 바랐나 봐
"As I lived on, it seems I wanted more than that"
'살다 보니까' expresses gradual realization or change that happened over the course of living — used to explain how feelings evolved without a specific turning point. Adds a sense of unintentional drift.
살다 보니까 내가 원하는 게 뭔지 알겠더라.
As I lived on, I gradually came to understand what I really wanted.
Expressing emotional burden of daily life
사는 게 너무 무거워서
"because living was too heavy"
A powerful, colloquial way to describe feeling crushed by the weight of life's responsibilities and hardships. Often precedes a confession of having wanted to run away.
사는 게 너무 무거워서 그냥 다 놓아 버리고 싶었어.
Living felt so heavy that I just wanted to drop everything.
하루에도 몇 번씩 도망치고 싶다
"several times a day I want to run away"
Expresses the frequency of an overwhelming urge to escape — 'several times a day' intensifies the feeling of being trapped. Common way to describe emotional exhaustion.
요즘 힘들어서 하루에도 몇 번씩 도망치고 싶어.
Things have been so hard lately that I feel like running away several times a day.
Grammar Patterns
-았/었더니
Past action leading to a (often surprising) result
Attaches to a past action by the speaker to introduce a result or change that followed — often something unexpected or emotionally significant. It implies a causal or temporal link: 'I did X, and then (as a result) Y happened.' Common in storytelling and recounting personal memories.
Practice sentences
그 사람한테 솔직하게 말했더니 다 이해해 주더라고.
When I was honest with that person, they ended up understanding everything.
매일 연락했더니 이제 먼저 연락이 오더라.
After I contacted them every day, they started reaching out first.
💡 Don't confuse -았/었더니 (result of speaker's own past action) with -았/었는데 (general background contrast). The subject of the first clause with -더니 is almost always the speaker.
-아/어 놓고
Did X, yet (contradictory behavior follow-up)
Used when someone does one thing and then acts contrary to it — 'having done X, they turn around and do Y.' Carries a tone of reproach, disbelief, or irony. Very common in emotional confrontations and complaints between close people.
Practice sentences
맞선 보겠다고 해 놓고 왜 안 나간 거야?
You said you'd go to the blind date — so why didn't you go?
다 괜찮다고 해 놓고 혼자 울고 있었어?
You said everything was fine, and yet here you were crying alone?
💡 The reproachful tone of -아/어 놓고 is crucial — it's not just 'after doing X.' If you use it without the implied contradiction or blame, it sounds unnatural.
-(으)ㄹ 자격
Deserving the right / being qualified to do something
The noun '자격' means 'qualification' or 'right,' and combined with a verb in -(으)ㄹ form it creates the meaning 'the right/standing to do [verb].' Often used in emotional scenes to challenge or assert whether someone deserves to act a certain way — especially in romantic conflict.
Practice sentences
이제 와서 미안하다고 할 자격이 있어?
Do you even have the right to say sorry now, after all this time?
나한테 그런 말 할 자격 없어.
You have no standing to say that to me.
💡 자격 (qualification/right) combines with the future modifier -(으)ㄹ — not the past. Don't say 자격했다; it must be [verb]-(으)ㄹ 자격이 있다/없다.
Cultural Notes
자작 (Pouring your own drink) as social taboo
In Korean drinking culture, pouring your own drink ('자작') is considered bad form and is even associated with bad luck ('재수 털린다'). Drinks are traditionally poured for one another as an act of care and social bonding. Hwa-jeong pouring for herself signals to Nam-suk that she is emotionally isolated and in a bad state — which is exactly what prompts Nam-suk's concern.
청승 — the cultural concept of pitiable self-pity
'청승' refers to behavior that is seen as pathetically self-pitying or melodramatically sorrowful — moping alone, wallowing in sadness without reaching out. In Korean interpersonal culture, expressing distress alone rather than leaning on your social network is often viewed as unnecessarily tragic and even slightly shameful. Nam-suk's teasing use of '청승은' is affectionate but also a genuine nudge to not suffer alone.
병실 카가버로기 — Informal caregiving in Korean hospitals
In Korea, hospital patients have traditionally relied heavily on family members or close friends to provide basic personal care such as washing, feeding, and keeping company — especially in older hospital systems. Yeong-guk washing Hwa-jeong's mother's face in the hospital room reflects this cultural expectation, and his doing so voluntarily as a boyfriend makes it an exceptionally meaningful gesture of devotion and family integration.
양아치 — a charged insult with complicated affection
'양아치' literally means a low-life, punk, or scoundrel — someone with no manners or moral backbone. When Hwa-jeong later calls Yeong-guk a '양아치 who is 15 years too late,' it functions simultaneously as a genuine accusation (he failed her) and a tearful term of endearment — only someone you deeply love can be called such a thing while being embraced. This kind of insult-wrapped-in-love is a common feature of intimate Korean emotional expression.