Vocabulary
참석하다
verb
Beginner
to attend, to be present at (an event)
work community
너도 오늘 모임에 참석해?
Are you attending the gathering today too?
후배
noun
Beginner
junior (someone who entered a school, job, or organization after you)
work community
걔는 나보다 2년 후배야.
He's two years my junior.
모임
noun
Beginner
gathering, meeting, get-together
community work
이번 주말에 친구들이랑 모임 있어.
I have a get-together with friends this weekend.
소문
noun
Beginner
rumor, word going around
community emotions
그 소문 진짜야?
Is that rumor actually true?
철면피
noun
Intermediate
someone utterly shameless, brazen-faced; thick-skinned nerve
emotions community
그 친구는 진짜 철면피야, 어떻게 그런 말을 할 수 있어?
That friend of mine is truly shameless — how can he say something like that?
밀착 감시하다
verb
Intermediate
to keep under close surveillance, to monitor closely
work
그 용의자를 계속 밀착 감시해.
Keep the suspect under close surveillance.
동참하다
verb
Intermediate
to join in, to take part in (especially a cause or movement)
work community
우리 계획에 동참할 생각 있어?
Are you interested in joining our plan?
가당치도 않다
expression
Intermediate
to be utterly unacceptable, preposterous, out of the question
emotions
그 조건은 가당치도 않아.
Those conditions are absolutely unacceptable.
변수
noun
Intermediate
variable, wildcard, unpredictable factor
work emotions
걔가 오면 상황이 달라질 수 있어, 완전 변수거든.
If he shows up, things could change — he's a total wildcard.
본때를 보이다
expression
Intermediate
to make a show of strength or authority, to teach someone a lesson
emotions work
오늘은 걔한테 본때를 제대로 보여줘야 해.
Today you need to properly show that guy who's boss.
선창하다
verb
Intermediate
to lead a chant or toast, to call out first for others to follow
community work
제가 선창할게요, 다들 따라 하세요.
I'll lead the chant — everyone follow along.
번영
noun
Intermediate
prosperity, flourishing
community work
우리 회사의 번영을 위해 건배해.
Let's toast to our company's prosperity.
요물단지
noun
Advanced
a bewitching, infuriating person who gets under your skin; literally 'a jar of evil spirits'
emotions
그 사람은 진짜 요물단지야, 항상 내 속을 뒤집어 놔.
That person is a real schemer — they always turn my insides upside down.
창립
noun
Advanced
founding, establishment (of an organization)
work community
우리 회사 창립 10주년 기념행사가 이번 달에 있어.
Our company's 10th founding anniversary event is this month.
전입
noun
Advanced
transfer in (to a new post or department); incoming (predecessor)
work
전입 부장이 오고 나서 분위기가 많이 달라졌어.
The atmosphere changed a lot after the incoming director arrived.
Key Expressions
Expressing something being utterly outrageous
철면피야
"iron-faced person / shameless"
A strong rebuke calling someone utterly brazen and shameless, often said out of exasperated disbelief.
그런 짓을 하고도 아무렇지 않다니, 진짜 철면피야.
To do something like that and feel nothing — truly shameless.
Asserting dominance / warning someone
본때를 제대로 봬 주다
"properly show one's true form/power"
Used when urging someone to assert authority or make their power undeniably clear to others, especially rivals.
이번엔 그 팀한테 본때를 제대로 봬 줘야 해.
This time you need to properly show that team who's boss.
Performing loyalty and toasting
~을/를 위해!
"For the sake of ~!"
Classic toast formula used in formal group settings; attaching the purpose or honoree of the toast, often in ceremonial or political contexts.
우리 팀의 승리를 위해!
For our team's victory!
Talking about someone as a threat or wildcard
변수인데
"but he's a variable / wildcard"
Used when identifying a person or factor that could unpredictably change the outcome of a situation; implies concern or caution.
걔가 변수인데, 어떻게 될지 모르겠어.
He's the wildcard — hard to say how things will turn out.
내 속을 들어왔다 나갔다 한다
"comes in and out of my insides"
A colorful expression for someone who constantly meddles with your emotions or gets under your skin in an infuriating way.
그 사람은 내 속을 들어왔다 나갔다 해서 미치겠어.
That person drives me crazy — always messing with my feelings.
Grammar Patterns
-지도 않은 (사람이)
Not even having done X (and yet...)
The pattern '-지도 않은' attaches to a verb stem to mean 'someone who didn't even do [X],' expressing disbelief or indignation. It typically sets up a contrast: this person didn't even do the baseline thing, yet they have the nerve to claim something. The following noun (사람, 놈, etc.) carries the charge of the critique.
Practice sentences
한 번도 연습하지도 않은 사람이 우승을 바란다고?
Someone who didn't even practice once is expecting to win?
회의에 참석하지도 않은 사람이 의견을 낸다고?
Someone who didn't even attend the meeting is putting forward opinions?
💡 Don't confuse with '-지 않다' (simple negation) — '-지도 않은' adds the nuance of 'not even,' implying the bar was so low they still failed to clear it.
아무리 [A]이래도/라도 [B]
No matter how much [A], still [B]
This pattern concedes a fact (A) while insisting the conclusion (B) still holds. '아무리' means 'no matter how' and is always paired with -아도/어도 or -이래도/-라도. It is commonly used to push back against someone's status or excuse by asserting that it doesn't justify a certain outcome.
Practice sentences
아무리 바빠도 밥은 먹어야 해.
No matter how busy you are, you have to eat.
아무리 선배래도 그건 너무한 거 아니야?
No matter that he's your senior, isn't that going too far?
💡 Make sure 아무리 is followed by an adjective or noun+이래도 — dropping 아무리 weakens the concessive force of the sentence entirely.
Formal -습니다 / -으십시오 vs. casual -야/-지
Speech level switching for hierarchy
In this scene, characters shift abruptly between formal speech (-습니다, -겠습니다) when addressing superiors or performing public loyalty, and casual banmal (-야, -지, -해) when speaking among peers or to subordinates. This contrast is a key dramatic device that reveals social hierarchy — who has power over whom — in every exchange.
Practice sentences
부장님께는 항상 경어를 써야 해.
You always have to use formal speech with the department head.
후배한테는 그냥 반말로 얘기해.
Just speak casually to juniors.
💡 Watch for the same speaker switching levels within seconds — it's not inconsistency, it's deliberate hierarchy marking. Beginners often forget to lower speech to subordinates entirely.
Cultural Notes
동심회 (Dongsim Association) and political fraternities
The 동심회 is a fictional alumni-style fraternity of intelligence and military men who share a bond through past revolutionary activity — a common feature of South Korea's authoritarian era of the 1980s. Membership signals ideological loyalty and access to power. Being excluded from such a group (as Chang-su is accused of deserving) was a serious social and professional death sentence in that world.
각하 (Your Excellency) — addressing the dictator
'각하' is the honorific used to address a head of state or supreme commander, equivalent to 'Your Excellency.' Its use in this scene immediately signals the political era: this is language of authoritarian deference, normalized through ceremony and ritual. The dramatic toasts and military salutes (충성!) performed for '코드 원' (Code One) reflect the cult of personality around real historical figures like Chun Doo-hwan.
세배 as a power metaphor
세배 is traditionally a deep New Year's bow made by juniors to elders. Ae-ra's use of it metaphorically — worrying her husband 'goes around to bow' to a junior — reframes a cultural ritual of respect as humiliation. In hierarchical Korean culture, bowing to someone lower than you in rank is a profound loss of face.
안기부 (Agency for National Security Planning)
The 안기부 (국가안전기획부) was South Korea's powerful domestic and foreign intelligence agency during the authoritarian period, notorious for surveillance, torture, and political suppression. The competition between agents in this scene reflects real historical power struggles within that institution, adding a layer of historical weight to what appears to be personal rivalry.