Korean · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 3 of 12
Film, books and media
영화와 책Yeonghwawa chaek
Talk about films and books in Korean: summarise a plot in the plain present, use -던, -다가 and -으면서, and give opinions with nuance.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Summarise a plot in the plain present (한다체)
- Describe past and interrupted actions with -던 and -다가
- Say what happens at the same time with -(으)면서
- Give a nuanced opinion: rather slow, not as good as I expected, worth seeing
Listen
During the film festival in Busan, friends Seo Yujin and Ahn Taeho come out of a (fictional) Korean film based on a novel and don't agree about it. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Yujin
태호야, 영화 어땠어? 나는 마지막 장면에서 눈물이 계속 났어.
Taehoya, yeonghwa eottaesseo? Naneun majimak jangmyeoneseo nunmuri gyesok nasseo.
Taeho, what did you think of the film? I couldn't stop crying in the last scene.
Taeho
음, 난 솔직히 좀 지루했어. 배우들 연기는 좋았는데, 이야기가 기대만큼 재미있지는 않더라.
Eum, nan soljiki jom jiruhaesseo. Baeudeul yeongineun joanneunde, iyagiga gidaemankeum jaemiitjineun anteora.
Hmm, to be honest I found it a bit boring. The acting was good, but the story wasn't as interesting as I'd expected.
Yujin
진짜? 난 원작 소설을 먼저 읽어서 그런지 더 감동적이었어. 주인공이 엄마가 살던 집에 돌아가는 장면 기억나?
Jinjja? Nan wonjak soseoreul meonjeo ilgeoseo geureonji deo gamdongjeogieosseo. Juingongi eommaga saldeon jibe doraganeun jangmyeon gieongna?
Really? Maybe because I'd read the novel first, I found it even more moving. Do you remember the scene where the main character goes back to the house her mother used to live in?
Taeho
응, 그 장면은 괜찮았어. 그런데 줄거리를 한마디로 하면, 서울에서 일하던 여자가 엄마가 돌아가신 후에 고향에 돌아와서 엄마 일기를 읽는 게 다잖아.
Eung, geu jangmyeoneun gwaenchanasseo. Geureonde julgeorireul hanmadiro hamyeon, Seoureseo ilhadeon yeojaga eommaga doragasin hue gohyange dorawaseo eomma ilgireul ingneun ge dajana.
Yes, that scene was all right. But if you sum up the plot in one sentence, a woman who was working in Seoul goes back to her home town after her mother dies and reads her mother's diary. That's it.
Yujin
그게 다가 아니지. 일기를 읽다가 엄마에게 몰랐던 과거가 있었다는 걸 알게 되잖아. 거기서부터 이야기가 완전히 달라지고.
Geuge daga aniji. Ilgireul ikdaga eommaege mollatdeon gwageoga isseotdaneun geol alge doejana. Geogiseobuteo iyagiga wanjeonhi dallajigo.
That's not all. While she's reading the diary, she finds out that her mother had a past she knew nothing about. From there the story changes completely.
Taeho
그건 맞아. 그 부분부터는 볼 만했어. 주인공이 바닷가를 걸으면서 우는 장면도 좋았고. 그래도 전체적으로 너무 길었어. 두 시간 반은 좀 심하지 않아?
Geugeon maja. Geu bubunbuteoneun bol manhaesseo. Juingongi badatgareul georeumyeonseo uneun jangmyeondo joatgo. Geuraedo jeonchejeogeuro neomu gireosseo. Du sigan baneun jom simhaji ana?
That's true. From that part on it was worth watching. And the scene where she cries as she walks along the beach was good too. Still, overall it was far too long. Two and a half hours is a bit much, isn't it?
Yujin
길기는 했지. 그런데 이 감독 영화는 원래 느린 편이야. 조용하게 감정을 보여 주는 게 이 감독 스타일이야.
Gilgineun haetji. Geureonde i gamdok yeonghwaneun wollae neurin pyeoniya. Joyonghage gamjeongeul boyeo juneun ge i gamdok seutairiya.
It was long, I'll give you that. But this director's films are always on the slow side. Showing feelings quietly is his style.
Taeho
그렇구나. 그래도 결말은 그저 그랬어. 어떻게 끝날지 중간쯤부터 다 알 것 같았어.
Geureokuna. Geuraedo gyeolmareun geujeo geuraesseo. Eotteoke kkeunnalji jungganjjeumbuteo da al geot gatasseo.
I see. Even so, the ending was just so-so. From about halfway through, I felt I knew exactly how it would end.
Yujin
난 오히려 그 결말이 좋았어. 소설에서는 엄마가 주인공한테 쓴 편지를 끝까지 안 보여 주는데, 영화에서는 마지막에 편지를 읽으면서 끝나잖아.
Nan ohiryeo geu gyeolmari joasseo. Soseoreseoneun eommaga juingonghante sseun pyeonjireul kkeutkkaji an boyeo juneunde, yeonghwaeseoneun majimage pyeonjireul ilgeumyeonseo kkeunnajana.
I actually liked that ending. In the novel, they never show you the letter her mother wrote to her, but the film ends with her reading it.
Taeho
아, 그건 원작이랑 다른 거구나. 몰랐네. 그럼 나도 소설을 한번 읽어 볼까? 아, 그런데 은지한테는 결말 이야기하지 마. 은지는 스포일러를 정말 싫어하잖아.
A, geugeon wonjagirang dareun geoguna. Mollanne. Geureom nado soseoreul hanbeon ilgeo bolkka? A, geureonde Eunjihanteneun gyeolmal iyagihaji ma. Eunjineun seupoilleoreul jeongmal sireohajana.
Oh, so that's different from the book. I didn't know that. Maybe I should read the novel too, then. Oh, but don't tell Eunji about the ending. You know how much she hates spoilers.
Yujin
알았어. 소설은 내가 읽던 거 빌려줄게. 영화보다 훨씬 자세하고, 한 번 잡으면 끝까지 읽게 돼.
Arasseo. Soseoreun naega ikdeon geo billyeojulge. Yeonghwaboda hwolssin jasehago, han beon jabeumyeon kkeutkkaji ilge dwae.
OK. I'll lend you my copy of the novel. It's much more detailed than the film, and once you pick it up, you can't put it down.
Taeho
좋아. 대신 다음 영화는 내가 고를게. 이번에는 좀 신나는 액션 영화로 보자.
Joa. Daesin daeum yeonghwaneun naega goreulge. Ibeoneneun jom sinnaneun aeksyeon yeonghwaro boja.
Great. But I get to choose the next film. This time let's see an exciting action film.
Understand
Telling the plot: the plain present
Written plot summaries, reviews and book blurbs in Korean use the plain style, (handache), which you know from B1, in the present tense: verbs take -ㄴ다 / -는다 (-nda / -neunda), adjectives -다 (-da), and nouns (이)다 ((i)da). The present makes the story feel as if it is happening now: (juingongi gohyange doraonda), the main character returns to her home town.
When you tell a friend about a film, you usually switch back to (banmal) or (haeyoche) and to the past: (juingongi gohyange dorawasseo). But when you sum up the whole story, as Taeho does, the present feels natural in speech too: (eomma ilgireul ingneun ge dajana), that's all she does, read her mother's diary.
- 서울에서 일하던 수진은 엄마가 돌아가신 후에 고향 통영으로 돌아온다.Seoureseo ilhadeon Sujineun eommaga doragasin hue gohyang Tongyeongeuro doraonda.Sujin, who was working in Seoul, returns to her home town of Tongyeong after her mother dies.
- 엄마가 살던 집을 정리하다가 오래된 일기장을 발견한다.Eommaga saldeon jibeul jeongnihadaga oraedoen ilgijangeul balgyeonhanda.While she is clearing out the house where her mother lived, she finds an old diary.
- 일기를 읽으면서 수진은 엄마의 과거를 알게 된다.Ilgireul ilgeumyeonseo Sujineun eommaui gwageoreul alge doenda.As she reads the diary, Sujin learns about her mother's past.
-던, -다가 and -(으)면서
-던 (-deon) describes a noun with an action that went on or was repeated in the past, often without being finished: (eommaga saldeon jip), the house where Mum used to live; (naega ikdeon chaek), the book I was reading. Compare (naega ilgeun chaek), a book I read (finished). -았 / -었던 (-at / -eotdeon) is for something done once and over: (gatdeon got), a place I went to.
-다가 (-daga) means that you were doing one thing when something else happened or you switched to something else: (ilgireul ikdaga alge doenda), while reading the diary, she finds out. -(으)면서 (-(eu)myeonseo) means two things happen at the same time: (georeumyeonseo unda), she cries as she walks. With both, the subject of the two parts is the same person.
| Ending | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -던 (-deon) | used to, was …ing (unfinished) | (saldeon jip), (ilhadeon hoesa) |
| -았 / -었던 (-at / -eotdeon) | did once (finished) | (bwatdeon yeonghwa), a film I saw |
| -다가 (-daga) | was doing …, and then | (geotdaga neomeojyeosseo), I tripped while walking |
| -(으)면서 (-(eu)myeonseo) | while, at the same time | (eumageul deureumyeonseo gongbuhae) |
Opinions with nuance
Few people say a film is simply good or bad. -(으)ㄴ / -는 편이다 (-(eu)n / -neun pyeonida) means “tends to be, is on the … side”: (neurin pyeoniya), it's rather slow; (yeonghwareul jaju boneun pyeonieyo), I watch films quite often. … -지 않다 (gidaemankeum … -ji anta), not as … as I expected, and (saenggakboda), than I thought, compare the film with your expectations.
-(으)ㄹ 만하다 (-(eu)l manhada) means “worth doing”: (bol manhaeyo), it's worth seeing; (ilgeul manhaeyo), it's worth reading. (geujeo geuraeyo), it's so-so, is a polite way of saying you didn't love something.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (Jeongmal gamdongjeogieosseoyo.) | It was really moving. |
| (Saenggakboda jaemiisseosseoyo.) | It was better than I thought. |
| (Gidaemankeum jaemiitjineun anasseoyo.) | It wasn't as good as I'd expected. |
| (Bol manhaesseoyo.) | It was worth seeing. |
| (Jom neurin pyeonieyo.) | It's rather slow. |
| (Geujeo geuraesseoyo.) | It was so-so. |
| (Jom jiruhaesseoyo.) | It was a bit boring. |
More in the grammar: Linking actions: -고, -아서/-어서, -(으)면서, -다가 · Describing nouns: -는, -(으)ㄴ, -(으)ㄹ, -던
New words
- 장면jangmyeonscene · (majimak jangmyeon), the last scene; (nunmuri nasseoyo), I cried (, nunmul, tears; , ulda, to cry)
- 배우baeuactor, actress
- 연기yeongiacting · (yeongireul jalhada), to act well
- 지루하다jiruhadato be boring
- 기대gidaeexpectation · (gidaehada), to look forward to; (gidaemankeum), as much as expected
- 원작wonjakthe original (book a film is based on)
- 소설soseolnovel · (soseoreul billyeojulge), I'll lend (, billyeojuda) you the novel; (hwolssin), much (more)
- 감동적gamdongjeokmoving, touching · (gamdongjeogida); (gamdongjeogin yeonghwa), a moving film
- 주인공juingongmain character, hero, heroine
- 줄거리julgeoriplot, storyline · In this one a woman (, yeoja) reads her mother's diary (, ilgi) and learns about her past (, gwageo).
- 볼 만하다bol manhadato be worth seeing · from -(으)ㄹ 만하다 (-(eu)l manhada), to be worth doing
- 감독gamdokdirector (of a film) · (i gamdok yeonghwaneun wollae neuryeoyo), this director's films are slow by nature (, wollae)
- 결말gyeolmalending (of a story) · (jungganjjeumbuteo), from about the middle (); (pyeonji), letter
- 스포일러seupoilleospoiler
Practise
1.How do you say “the house where Mum used to live”?
2.Yujin defends the director. Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.This director's films are always on the slow side.
3.Match the Korean with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.How do you say “I was walking and then I fell over”?
5.Which sentence would you find in a written plot summary?
6.Taeho says (gidaemankeum jaemiitjineun anteora). What does he mean?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
생각보다 재미있었어요.
Saenggakboda jaemiisseosseoyo.
It was better than I thought.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.