Korean · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 6 of 12
Public life
정치와 제도Jeongchiwa jedo
Report what officials said in Korean: full indirect speech, 달라고 vs 주라고, reporting verbs like 밝히다 and 주장하다, and the language of the news.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Report statements, questions and requests with full indirect speech
- Choose between -아 / -어 달라고 and -아 / -어 주라고
- Use reporting verbs: announce, state, claim, emphasise, deny
- Recognise news language: headlines and Sino-Korean verbs
Listen
In a newsroom in Gwangju, editor Choi Jeongho asks reporter Kim Seoa what the mayor said about free buses for teenagers. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Editor Choi
서아 씨, 시청 기자 회견 어땠어? 청소년 무료 버스 이야기 나왔지?
Seoa ssi, sicheong gija hoegyeon eottaesseo? Cheongsonyeon muryo beoseu iyagi nawatji?
Seoa, how was the press conference at City Hall? Did the free buses for teenagers come up?
Seoa
네, 나왔어요. 시장님이 내년부터 광주에 사는 청소년의 시내버스 요금을 시에서 전부 지원하겠다고 발표하셨어요.
Ne, nawasseoyo. Sijangnimi naenyeonbuteo Gwangjue saneun cheongsonyeonui sinaebeoseu yogeumeul sieseo jeonbu jiwonhagetdago balpyohasyeosseoyo.
Yes, they did. The mayor announced that from next year the city will pay the full bus fare for all teenagers living in Gwangju.
Editor Choi
그거 선거 때 공약이었잖아. 예산은 어떻게 한대?
Geugeo seongeo ttae gongyagieotjana. Yesaneun eotteoke handae?
That was one of his election promises, wasn't it? What does he say about the budget?
Seoa
시 예산을 확대해서 매년 약 이백억 원을 쓸 계획이라고 하셨어요. 그리고 이 정책이 가정의 교통비 부담을 줄이는 데 도움이 될 거라고 강조하셨어요.
Si yesaneul hwakdaehaeseo maenyeon yak ibaegeok woneul sseul gyehoegirago hasyeosseoyo. Geurigo i jeongchaegi gajeongui gyotongbi budameul jurineun de doumi doel georago gangjohasyeosseoyo.
He said they plan to increase the city budget and spend about twenty billion won a year. And he stressed that the policy will help families with the cost of transport.
Editor Choi
야당 쪽 반응은 어땠어?
Yadang jjok baneungeun eottaesseo?
How did the opposition react?
Seoa
야당은 시 예산이 부족한데 이렇게 큰돈을 쓰는 건 무리라고 비판했어요. 버스를 무료로 하는 것보다 버스가 더 자주 다니게 하는 게 중요하다고 주장했고요.
Yadangeun si yesani bujokhande ireoke keundoneul sseuneun geon murirago bipanhaesseoyo. Beoseureul muryoro haneun geotboda beoseuga deo jaju danige haneun ge jungyohadago jujanghaetgoyo.
The opposition criticised the plan, saying it was too much to spend such a large sum when the city budget is already short. They argued that more frequent buses matter more than free ones.
Editor Choi
그럼 시장은 거기에 대해 뭐라고 했어? 분명히 그 질문도 나왔을 텐데.
Geureom sijangeun geogie daehae mworago haesseo? Bunmyeonghi geu jilmundo nawasseul tende.
So what did the mayor say to that? That question must have come up.
Seoa
네, 제가 직접 물어봤어요. 예산이 부족한데 정말 가능하냐고요. 그랬더니 시장님은 다른 사업 예산을 조금씩 줄이면 충분하다고 대답하셨어요. 예산이 부족하다는 야당 주장은 사실이 아니라고 부인하셨고요.
Ne, jega jikjeop mureobwasseoyo. Yesani bujokhande jeongmal ganeunghanyagoyo. Geuraetdeoni sijangnimeun dareun saeop yesaneul jogeumssik jurimyeon chungbunhadago daedaphasyeosseoyo. Yesani bujokhadaneun yadang jujangeun sasiri anirago buinhasyeotgoyo.
Yes, I asked him myself whether it was really possible with the budget so tight. He answered that cutting the budgets of other projects a little would be enough. And he denied the opposition's claim that the budget is short.
Editor Choi
좋아. 시민 반응도 좀 넣자. 인터뷰는 했어?
Joa. Simin baneungdo jom neocha. Inteobyuneun haesseo?
Good. Let's put in some reactions from local people too. Did you do any interviews?
Seoa
네, 두 명 했어요. 고등학생 한 명은 버스비가 아까워서 학원까지 걸어 다녔는데 이제는 편하게 다닐 수 있겠다고 했어요. 반면에 한 택시 기사님은 세금을 더 필요한 곳에 써 달라고 하셨어요.
Ne, du myeong haesseoyo. Godeunghaksaeng han myeongeun beoseubiga akkawoseo hagwonkkaji georeo danyeonneunde ijeneun pyeonhage danil su itgetdago haesseoyo. Banmyeone han taeksi gisanimeun segeumeul deo piryohan gose sseo dallago hasyeosseoyo.
Yes, two. A high-school student said he used to walk to his cram school to save the bus fare, and now he'll be able to get there easily. On the other hand, a taxi driver asked the city to spend taxes where they're needed more.
Editor Choi
좋네. 제목은 ‘광주시, 내년부터 청소년 버스비 없앤다’로 하자. 야당 비판도 꼭 같이 넣고. 기사는 세 시까지 보내 줘.
Jonne. Jemogeun ‘Gwangjusi, naenyeonbuteo cheongsonyeon beoseubi eopsaenda’ro haja. Yadang bipando kkok gachi neoko. Gisaneun se sikkaji bonae jwo.
Nice. Let's go with the headline “Gwangju to scrap bus fares for teenagers from next year”. And make sure you include the opposition's criticism. Send me the article by three.
Seoa
네, 알겠습니다. 시장님 말씀은 직접 인용으로 넣을게요. 사실 확인도 한 번 더 하고요.
Ne, algetseumnida. Sijangnim malsseumeun jikjeop inyongeuro neoeulgeyo. Sasil hwagindo han beon deo hagoyo.
Yes, of course. I'll quote the mayor's words directly. And I'll check the facts once more.
Understand
Reporting speech in full
You know the plain-style endings for indirect speech from B1. In a report, the quoted sentence keeps its own tense; only the reporting verb is in the past. So (beoseu yogeumeul jiwonhagetseumnida), we will pay the bus fares, becomes (jiwonhagetdago balpyohaesseoyo), he announced that they would pay. Questions end in -냐고 (-nyago): (ganeunghanyago mureosseoyo), I asked whether it was possible. In formal writing you'll also see -느냐고 (-neunyago).
People change as in English: (jeo) and (jega) in the original become (jagi), himself, herself: (jagiga chaegimjigetdago haesseoyo), he said he'd take responsibility. Requests need care. If the speaker asks for something for themselves, use -아 / -어 달라고 (-a / -eo dallago): (segeumeul piryohan gose sseo dallago haesseoyo), he asked them to spend taxes where needed. If it's for someone else, use -아 / -어 주라고 (-a / -eo jurago): (dongsaenghante jurago haesseoyo), she told me to give it to my brother.
| Original | Reported | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (Muryoimnida.) | (muryorago haesseoyo) | said it was free |
| (Hwakdaehagetseumnida.) | (hwakdaehagetdago haesseoyo) | said they would increase it |
| (Ganeunghamnikka?) | (ganeunghanyago mureosseoyo) | asked whether it was possible |
| (Gachi hapsida.) | (gachi hajago haesseoyo) | suggested doing it together |
| (Gidariseyo.) | (gidarirago haesseoyo) | told them to wait |
| (Gidaryeo juseyo.) | (gidaryeo dallago haesseoyo) | asked them to wait (for him) |
Reporting verbs
Instead of repeating (haesseoyo), reports choose a verb that shows how something was said. They all take the same -다고 (-dago) endings: (sasiri anirago buinhaesseoyo), he denied it was true.
In conversation, Seoa honours the mayor with -시- (-si-): (sijangnimi balpyohasyeosseoyo). News reports use no honorifics at all, just the title: (sijangeun … balkyeotda), the mayor stated.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (balpyohada) | to announce | (jiwonhagetdago balpyohaetda) |
| (balkida) | to state, to make clear (news) | (gyehoegirago balkyeotda) |
| (yaksokhada) | to promise | (beoseureul neulligetdago yaksokhaetda) |
| (jujanghada) | to claim, to argue | (yesani bujokhadago jujanghaetda) |
| (gangjohada) | to stress, to emphasise | (doumi doel georago gangjohaetda) |
| (buinhada) | to deny | (sasiri anirago buinhaetda) |
| (bipanhada) | to criticise | (murirago bipanhaetda) |
The language of the news
Headlines are short. The subject is followed by a comma instead of a particle, and the verb is in the plain present: (Gwangjusi, cheongsonyeon beoseubi eopsaenda), Gwangju to scrap bus fares for teenagers. Articles are written in the plain style, (handache), with past tense verbs: (balkyeotda), (malhaetda).
News also prefers Sino-Korean verbs where everyday speech uses native ones. You'll understand the news much better if you know the pairs.
| Everyday | News and formal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (allida) | (balpyohada) | to let know, to announce |
| (dopda) | (jiwonhada) | to help, to support |
| (neullida) | (hwakdaehada) | to increase, to expand |
| (jurida) | (chuksohada) | to reduce, to cut |
| (eopsaeda) | (pyejihada) | to get rid of, to abolish |
| (malhada) | (balkida) | to say, to state |
More in the grammar: Reporting speech: -다고, -냐고, -자고, -(으)라고 · Formal and written Korean
New words
- 시청sicheongcity hall · (cheongsonyeon), teenager; (godeunghaksaeng), high-school student; (sinaebeoseu), city bus
- 기자 회견gija hoegyeonpress conference · (gija), reporter; (jilmun), question; (daedaphada), to answer
- 시장sijangmayor · the same word as (sijang), market, but a different Chinese character
- 지원하다jiwonhadato support, to fund · the formal word for (dopda); also “to apply” for a job
- 발표balpyoannouncement; presentation · (balpyohada), to announce
- 공약gongyakelection pledge · (seongeo gongyak), election promise
- 예산yesanbudget · (maenyeon), every year; (segeum), tax; (saeop), project, business
- 확대하다hwakdaehadato expand, to increase · the formal word for (neullida)
- 강조하다gangjohadato stress, to emphasise · (gajeongui budameul jurindago gangjohaesseoyo), he stressed it would ease the burden on households (, gajeong)
- 반응baneungreaction, response · (simin baneung), people's reactions; (baneungi eottaesseoyo?), how did they react?
- 야당yadangopposition party · the governing party is (yeodang)
- 비판하다bipanhadato criticise · (keundoneul sseuneun geon murirago bipanhaesseoyo), they said spending a large sum () was too much ()
- 주장하다jujanghadato claim, to argue · (jujang), claim, argument; (chungbunhada), to be enough
- 시민simincitizen, resident (of a city)
Practise
1.The mayor said (beoseureul neulligetseumnida). How do you report it?
2.Your mother said (igeo dongsaenghante jwo). How do you report it?
3.Write the news sentence. Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The mayor said he would increase the budget.
4.Match the Korean with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.Which word would a news report use instead of (neullida)?
6.Seoa says (sijangnimeun … sasiri anirago buinhasyeotgoyo). What did the mayor do?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
시장님이 내년부터 버스 요금을 지원하겠다고 하셨어요.
Sijangnimi naenyeonbuteo beoseu yogeumeul jiwonhagetdago hasyeosseoyo.
The mayor said they'd pay the bus fares from next year.
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.