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Vocabulary
Nouns:
한창 = the height of, the peak of
Examples:
지금은 꽃이 한창 피어나는 계절이에요
= It’s the height of the season when flowers are in full bloom
선생님이 한창일 때의 열정을 직접 보고서야 왜 사람들이 그 선생님을 존경했는지 알겠더라고요
= Only after seeing that teacher’s passion at its peak did I understand why people respected him
미모 = good looks
Common Usages:
미모가 물이 올랐다 = beauty has blossomed
Examples:
그 여자의 뛰어난 미모는 실제로 마주보고서야 실감이 났어요
= That girl’s stunning beauty only truly hit me after seeing her in person
그녀의 미모는 뛰어나서 눈을 뗄수가 없었어요
= Her beauty was so striking that I couldn’t take my eyes off her
명칭 = name of something
Common Usages:
고유 명칭 = proper name
Examples:
그 건물의 명칭은 설립자의 이름에서 따왔어요
= The building’s name was derived from its founder
이 지역의 지명을 하나하나 살펴보고서야 명칭의 유래를 이해할 수 있었어요
= Only after examining each place name in the area could I understand the origins of their names
지명 = name of a place
Common Usages:
고유 지명 = native place name
Examples:
‘서울’이라는 지명은 오래전 한강 주변의 고유 명칭에서 유래했어요
= The place name “Seoul” originated from an old term referring to the Han River area
유래 = origin
Examples:
이 이름의 유래는 100년전을 거슬러 올라가요
= The origin of this name goes back 100 years
이 지역의 지명을 하나하나 살펴보고서야 명칭의 유래를 이해할 수 있었어요
= Only after examining each place name in the area could I understand the origins of their names
수화 = sign language
Examples:
상대방과 대화를 수화로 해보고서야 그 복잡함을 느낄 수 있었어요
= Only after communicating through sign language did I realize how complex it is
청각 장애인을 위해 수화 통역사가 함께 무대에 섰어요
= A sign language interpreter stood on stage for the hearing-impaired audience
사정 = situation, circumstances
Common Usages:
개인사정 = personal circumstances
사정을 봐주다 = to take someone’s circumstances into account, to cut someone slack
Examples:
개인 사정으로 인해 우리 가게가 내일까지 쉽니다
= Due to personal circumstances, our store will be closed until tomorrow
학생이 왜 그렇게 침울했는지는 사정을 듣고서야 이해가 됐어요
= Only after hearing the students’ situation did I understand why she was so gloomy
엉터리 = nonsense, rubbish
Common Usages:
엉터리로 처리하다 = to handle sloppily, to mess up
Examples:
그의 말은 근거 없는 엉터리 주장에 불과했어요
= His statement was nothing but a baseless, nonsensical claim
그 사람의 주장이 엉터리라는 것은 자료를 비교해보고서야 알 수 있었어요
= That fact that that person’s argument was nonsense could only be realized after comparing the data
전일제 = full time
Common Usages:
전일제 근무 = full-time work
Examples:
전일제 근무는 안정적이지만 개인 시간이 부족하다
= Full-time work is stable, but it leaves little personal time
전일제로 몇 달 일해보고서야 그 고됨이 얼마나 큰지 깨달았어요
= Only after working full-time for several months did I realize how exhausting it is
경주로 = race track
Examples:
직접 경주로를 걸어보고서야 거리가 얼마나 긴지 느껴졌어요
= Only after walking on the racetrack did I realize how overwhelming the distance is
경주로에서말들이 빠른 속도로 달리며 관중들의 환호를 받았어요
= Horses raced down the track at high speed to the cheers of the crowd
임직원 = executives and staff members
Common Usages:
임직원 혜택 = employee benefits
임직원가 = employee price
임직원 회의 = employee meeting
Examples:
임직원 모두와 면담해보고서야 조직 내의 진짜 분위기를 알게 됐어요
= Only after meeting with all the executives and staff did I understand the real atmosphere of the organization
회사는 임직원을 대상으로 새로운 복지 제도를 도입했어요
= The company introduced a new welfare program for its executives and staff
Verbs:
고되다 = to be hard, to be difficult
Common Usages:
일이 고되다 = the work is tough
Examples:
전일제로 일해 보고서 그 고됨을 알게 됐어요
= I worked full-time and then realized how exhausting it is
그 일은 생각보다 훨씬 고되고 육체적으로 힘들었어요
= The job was much harder and more physically demanding than expected
마주하다 = to face a person
Common Usages:
진실을 마주하다 = to face the truth
현실을 마주하다 = to face reality
Examples:
진정한 의지력은 힘들 시간을 마주했을 때 발휘돼요
= True willpower is demonstrated when facing challenges
요즘 왜 그렇게 울적한지 얼굴을 마주하고서야 느낄 수 있었어요
= Only after seeing his face in person could I feel just how down he was
마주보다 = to be face to face
Examples:
그 여자의 뛰어난 미모는 실제로 마주보고서야 실감이 났어요
= That girl’s stunning beauty only truly hit me after seeing her in person
서로를 마주보다가 결국 웃음을 터뜨렸어요
= They looked at each other and eventually burst into laughter
지휘하다 = to conduct/command
Examples:
선생님이 지휘하고서야 합창단이 제대로 움직이기 시작했어요
= Only after the teacher conducted did the choir start moving properly
직접 부대를 지휘해보고서야 그 책임감의 무게를 알 수 있었어요
= Only after directly commanding the unit did I understand the weight of that responsibility
오인하다 = to mistake a person for another
Examples:
경찰은 그를 다른 사람으로 오인하여 체포했어요
= The police mistakenly arrested him, thinking he was someone else
그를 실제로 만나보고서야 제가 완전히 오인하고 있었다는 것을 깨달았어요
= Only after meeting him in person did I realize I had completely mistaken him for someone else
Adjectives:
근사하다 = to be wonderful/fabulous/splendid
Examples:
오늘 저녁 노을이 정말 근사하게 물들었어요
= The sunset this evening was simply magnificent
사진으로 볼 땐 그저 그랬지만 실제로 보고서야 얼마나 근사한지 알게 됐어요
= It looked average in pictures, but only after seeing it in person did I realize how splendid it was
침울하다 = to be depressed/gloomy
Examples:
그는 요즘 일이 잘 풀리지 않아 침울한 표정으로 지내요
= He’s been looking gloomy lately because things haven’t been going well
학생이 왜 그렇게 침울했는지는 사정을 듣고서야 이해가 됐어요
= Only after hearing the students’ situation did I understand why she was so gloomy
울적하다 = to be gloomy
Examples:
가끔 이유도 없이 울적한 기분이 들 때가 있어요
= Sometimes I feel gloomy for no particular reason
요즘 왜 그렇게 울적한지 얼굴을 마주하고서야 느낄 수 있었어요
= Only after seeing his face in person could I feel just how down he was
Adverbs and Other Words:
그저 = only, just
Examples:
제가 할 수 있는 일은 그저 기다리는 것 뿐이에요
= The only thing I can do is wait
사진으로 볼 땐 그저 그랬지만 실제로 보고서야 얼마나 근사한지 알게 됐어요
= It looked average in pictures, but only after seeing it in person did I realize how splendid it was
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn another way to indicate that one action happened after another one in time. While this grammatical principle may look similar to what was taught in the previous lesson, it carries a distinct meaning. Let’s get started.
~고서야: Only After
In the previous lesson, you saw how you can attach ~고서 to verbs to indicate either a sequential or causal relationship. For example:
우리 부장은 엉터리 정보를 믿고서 큰 손해를 입었어요
= Our boss believed false information and ended up suffering a big loss
전일제로 일해 보고서 그 고됨을 알게 됐어요
= I worked full-time and then realized how exhausting it is
It is also possible to add ~야 to ~고서, but the combined grammatical principle has slightly different meaning. The use of ~고서 in ~고서야 still makes it that the second clause happens after the first clause. However, the use of ~야 adds some nuance to it.
By adding ~야, the speaker indicates that the first clause must happen before the second clause. More specifically, the second clause can only happen if the first clause has happened and completed. A common translation for this is “only after.” This is the same function of ~야 as shown in ~아/어야 하다 (Lesson 46). In both ~고서야 and ~아/어야 하다, the ~야 functions to emphasize the condition or prerequisite nature of the first clause. For example, here is a nice simple sentence:
선생님이 지휘하고서야 합창단이 제대로 움직이기 시작했어요
= Only after the teacher conducted did the choir start moving properly
Here, the second clause cannot happen unless the first clause is taken as a premise. ~고서야 emphasizes the necessity of the first action to occur. The use of ~고서야 is quite literary, and it would sound may sound formal or dramatic if used in casual speech.
I find it interesting comparing the meaning of two sentences – one using ~고서 and the other using ~고서야. There are times where a sentence can make sense using ~고서 but sounds unnatural with ~고서야, and vice versa. For example, here is a sentence that works with ~고서 but would usually be weird with ~고서야.
문을 잠그고서 나왔어요
= I locked the door and then left
Here, of course, you can lock the door and then leave. This is a normal sequential relationship. However, changing ~고서 to ~고서야 would sounds weird logically. Of course, one does not need to lock the door in order to leave. This could be fine given the correct situation, but you would typically want to use ~고서 here, not ~고서야.
직접 해 보고서야 얼마나 힘든지 알아요
= You only know how hard it is after doing it yourself
Here, using just ~고서 would be weird. I guess it is possible to do it yourself, and then later know how hard it is. However, the speaker likely wants to tie the two clauses together better. The use of ~고서야 ties them together because the second clause “only happens” if the first clause happens. Let’s look at many more examples:
직접 경주로를 걸어보고서야 거리가 얼마나 긴지 느껴졌어요
= Only after walking on the racetrack did I realize how overwhelming the distance is
그 여자의 뛰어난 미모는 실제로 마주보고서야 실감이 났어요
= That girl’s stunning beauty only truly hit me after seeing her in person
학생이 왜 그렇게 침울했는지는 사정을 듣고서야 이해가 됐어요
= Only after hearing the students’ situation did I understand why she was so gloomy
직접 부대를 지휘해보고서야 그 책임감의 무게를 알 수 있었어요
= Only after directly commanding the unit did I understand the weight of that responsibility
전일제로 몇 달 일해보고서야 그 고됨이 얼마나 큰지 깨달았어요
= Only after working full-time for several months did I realize how exhausting it is
요즘 왜 그렇게 울적한지 얼굴을 마주하고서야 느낄 수 있었어요
= Only after seeing his face in person could I feel just how down he was
상대방과 대화를 수화로 해보고서야 그 복잡함을 느낄 수 있었어요
= Only after communicating through sign language did I realize how complex it is
임직원 모두와 면담해보고서야 조직 내의 진짜 분위기를 알게 됐어요
= Only after meeting with all the executives and staff did I understand the real atmosphere of the organization
그 사람의 주장이 엉터리라는 것은 자료를 비교해보고서야 알 수 있었어요
= That fact that that person’s argument was nonsense could only be realized after comparing the data
그를 실제로 만나보고서야 제가 완전히 오인하고 있었다는 것을 깨달았어요
= Only after meeting him in person did I realize I had completely mistaken him for someone else
이 지역의 지명을 하나하나 살펴보고서야 명칭의 유래를 이해할 수 있었어요
= Only after examining each place name in the area could I understand the origins of their names
사진으로 볼 땐 그저 그랬지만 실제로 보고서야 얼마나 근사한지 알게 됐어요
= It looked average in pictures, but only after seeing it in person did I realize how splendid it was
선생님이 한창일 때의 열정을 직접 보고서야 왜 사람들이 그 선생님을 존경했는지 알겠더라고요
= Only after seeing that teacher’s passion at its peak did I understand why people respected him
That’s it for this lesson!