LESSON NOTES

Upper Intermediate S2 #2
Sink Your Teeth into This Korean
Lesson!

CONTENTS
2 Korean Hangul
2 English
3 Vocabulary
4 Sample Sentences
5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
6 Grammar
8 Cultural Insight

# 2
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 KOREAN HANGUL

1. (집에서)

2. 경진: 음, 이 고기 딱딱하잖아. 또 고기 싼 걸로 산 거야?

3. 부인: 어머, 진짜네. 이빨이 잘 안 들어갈 정도로 질긴 데다가 맛있지도 않

잖아.

4. 경진: 그렇지? 질긴 데다가 맛도 없네 이거. 잠깐 텔레비전이나 좀 봐볼까?

5. (텔레비전 켜는 소리)

6. TV아나운서: 이탈리아 축구 리그에서 크게 활약하던 이동진 선수가 돌연 은퇴를

선언했습니다. 기자회견을 보시겠습니다.

7. 경진: 뭐! 이동진 선수가 은퇴를? 말도 안돼! 딱 반년 전에 축구의 본 고장

인 이탈리아에서 자기 능력을 시험해보겠다고 이탈리아 팀에 이적한
지 얼마 안 됐잖아.

8. 부인: 이를 악 물고 가봤지만 결국 자기 실력으로는 이길 도리가 없다고 생

각한 거 아닐까?

9. 경진: 그런 말도 안 되는 이유로 그만 두었을리가?! 남자라면 이가 덜덜 떨

릴 정도로 두려운 게 있어도 이를 악 물고 더 열심히 노력해야지! 게
다가 뭐야 이 기자회견! 뭐가 진짜 이유인지 제대로 설명도 안 해주
고 있잖아. 저렇게 변명만 하면 어떻게 하자는 거야?

10. 부인: 진짜 그렇네. 평소 그 사람 답지 않은걸.. 한국에 있을 때는 이빨이

센 선수 중에 한 명이어서 여러가지 자신 있게 잘 이야기하던 사람이
었는데.. 무슨 일이 있었던 걸까?

ENGLISH
CONT'D OVER

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1. (At home)

2. KYEONGJIN: Hm...this meat is tough. You went and bought cheap meat again,
didn't you?!

3. WIFE: Oh...that's true. It's so hard to chew that I can't bite my teeth into it.

4. KYEONGJIN: You think? It's just tough with no flavor! I'm putting the TV on for a bit.

5. (Sound of TV being turned on)

6. ANNOUNCER: Soccer player Lee Dongjin, who had been playing in the Italian
league, has announced his sudden retirement. For further details,
please watch the following press conference.

7. KYEONGJIN: What?! DongJin, retiring? No way! Only six months ago he was
saying he wanted to "test himself" in Italy, "the home of soccer," and
he has literally just been transferred to that Italian team!

8. WIFE: Even though he went there with a strong will, surely when he got
there and gave it a try he simply found that he just couldn't compete?

9. KYEONGJIN: Would he really quit for such a pathetic reason?! If you're a man,
then you have to try harder even if you are feeling afraid. Besides,
what is this press conference supposed to be? He doesn't give any
reasons, does he? What is he trying to say with these excuses?

10. WIFE: You're right. That's not like him. When he was in Korea, he was one
of the players that spoke very well and he gave a clear speech that
time, so...what happened there?

VOCABULARY

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 Hangul R omanization English C lass

the home of
본고장 bonjogang something, birthplace noun

to be active, to
활약하다 hwalyakada perform well verb

retirement,
은퇴 euntoe resignation

to be scared of

이가 덜덜 떨리다 iga deoldeol tteollida something. (lit. one's idiom

teeth chatter.)

to speak very well.

이빨이 세다 ippali seda (lit. someone has idiom

strong tooth.)

그만두다 geumanduda to quit, to stop

이를 악 물다 ireul ak mulda to clench the teeth idiom

The food is tough.

이빨이 안 들어가다 ippali an deulogada (lit. the teeth couldn’t idiom

go through)

transfer, changing
이적 ijeok household registry noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

피자의 본고장인 이탈리아에서 피자를 만드 해외 축구 리그에서 활약하는 한국인 축구

는 법을 공부하고 싶다.
pija-ui bongojangin itallia-eseo pijareul
mandeuneun beobeul gongbuhago sipda.
"I want to learn how to make pizza in Italy,
the home of pizza."
선수의 숫자가 점점 늘고 있다.
hae-eo chukgu rigeueseo hwaryakhaneun
hangugin chukgu seonsu-ui sutjaga jeomjeom
neulgo itta.
"The number of Korean soccer players
who are active abroad in soccer league is
increasing more and more."

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그 선수는 작년에 은퇴했어요. 큰 괴물을 보자 그는 이가 덜덜 떨렸다.
geu seonsu-neun jaknyeon-e euntoehaesseoyo. keun gweomureul boja geuneun iga deoldeol
tteolryeotta.
"That player retired last year."
"He was so scared at seeing the big
monster."

이빨이 센 변호사를 조심해야 돼! 이렇게 스트레스를 많이 받을바에야 회사

ippari sen byeonhosareul josimhaeya dwae!
"You should watch out for a lawyer who
speaks very well!"
를 그만 둘거야!
ireoke seuteureseureul mani badeulba-eya
heosareul geuman dulgeoya!
"Instead of getting a lot of stress in that
way, I'll quit this company."

그 사람은 이를 악 물고 열심히 공부해서 서 그 스테이크는 이빨이 안 들어갈 정도로 매

울대학교에 입학했다.
geu sarameun ireul ak mulgo yeolsimi
gongbuheseo seouldaehakkyoe iphakhaetta.
"He finally entered Seoul National
University after studying hard with
우 질겨서 아무도 먹지 않았다.
geu seuteikeuneun ippari an deureogal
jeongdoro mae-u jilgyeoseo amudo meokji
anatta.
"The steak was so tough that no one ate it

clenched teeth." at all."

박지성 선수는 더 좋은 조건으로 새로운 팀으로 이적했다.

bakjseong seonsuneun deo joeun jogeuneuro saeroun timeuro ijeokhaetta.

"Player Park Jiseong was transferred to a new team with better conditions."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

은퇴 (euntoi) "retirement, retire"

The word 은퇴 can be used only when you're retired AND you're not going to work in the same
field anymore. For example, when a soccer player announces that he's going to stop playing
soccer, the news media will use this word in the news articles. When you simply quit the
company but will keep working in the same field, you can sue the word 퇴사. 퇴 is the word
meaning "to get out" and 사 is the word meaning "company," so it literally means "to get out of
a company." When you're fired by a company, you can use the word 해고. For example, you
can sya 우리 부장이 해고 되었다 to mean "My manager has been fired." Make sure to use the

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verb 되다 to convert the sentence in a passive form.

이적 (i-jeok) "transfer of a person's name in the register"

The word 이 means "to move" and 적 means "to register." The word 적 comes from the word 국
적 meaning "Nationality." 국적 literally means "the country that you're registered." You may
hear the word 이적 in the sports news when a player moves to another team. It literally means
"to move the place where you're registered." But it can be used only when you're talking about
sportpeople. When you're moving to another company, you can use the word 전직. 전 means
"to transfer" and 직 means "title" or "work." So it means "to transfer your work to somewhere
else."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Idiomatic Expressions That Use the Word 이 or 이빨, Meaning
"tooth."
이빨이 잘 안 들어갈 정도로 질긴 고기였지만 이를 악 물고 요리해서 맛있게 만들었다.
"Although the meat was tough, I've clenched my teeth and cooked very hard and finally
made it delicious. "

Point 1: Using "Tooth" to Show A Strong Will

이를 악 물다 (ireul ak mulda) "to clench someone's teeth."

악 means "firmly" so this expression literally means "to clench one's teeth firmly." When you're
working hard on something, you might see yourself clenching your teeth and focusing on it.
That's the case when Korean people use this expression to describe someone (or
themselves) working hard. When you use this expression, you can emphasize that someone
was working so hard to achieve the goal, without worrying about anything else. Make sure not
to use the word 이빨, because this can be used generally for any animate objects, not only the
human beings. Since this expression is about strong will, it sounds natural to use the word 이
which can be only used for human beings.

For Example:

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1. 시험에서 좋은 성적을 받기 위해서 이를 악 물고 공부했다.
"To get a good score, I clenched my teeth and studied hard."

Point 2: Using the Word "teeth" to Talk about Someone's Ability to Talk in A Negative Way

이빨이 세다. (ibbari seda) "to speak well"

When someone is speaking well but you have a negative feeling about it, you can use this
expression to describe that person's ability. For example, when you see someone who
speaks very well, but you're jealous of their abillity or looking down them, this expression will
work better than the phrase 말을 잘 하다 which means "to speak well." Also, people often use
this expression when giving advice to someone else, for example 그 사람은 이빨이 세니까 조심
해야돼 ("Be careful; he's good at talking about something.") It has a hidden meaning that
implies he's going to use his ability to gain an advantage over you.

For Example:

1. 상대편 변호사가 이빨이 센 사람이라 이빨이 덜덜 떨릴 정도로 두려웠지만 이를 악 물고 법정에

들어갔다.
"I came into the court with my teeth clenched, although I was scared of the lawyer on
the other side, who's very good at speaking."

Examples from This Dialogue

1. 이빨이 잘 안 들어갈 정도로 질긴 데다가 맛있지도 않잖아.

"It's so hard to chew that I cannot put my teeth into it."

2. 이를 악 물고 가봤지만 결국 자기 실력으로는 이길 도리가 없다고 생각한 거 아닐까?

"Even though he went there with a strong will, surely when he got there and gave it a
try he simply found that he just couldn't compete?"

3. 이가 덜덜 떨릴 정도로 두려운 게 있어도 이를 악 물고 더 열심히 노력해야지!

"If you're a man, then you have to try harder even if you have some fears in your
mind."

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4. 한국에 있을 때는 이빨이 센 선수 중에 한 명이어서 여러가지 자신 있게 잘 이야기하던 사람이었
는데.. 무슨 일이 있었던 걸까?
"When he was in Korea, he was one of the players speaking very well and he gave a
clear speech that time...what happened there? "

CULTURAL INSIGHT

The Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002

If you're talking about soccer with Korean people, you might hear them start to talk about the
Korea-Japan World Cup game in 2002. It was the first World Cup match held in an Asian
country, and also the first game that Korea made the four-team stage. When there were
games involving the Korean team, people wore red t-shirts, and gathered in a public place—
like a park, and also restaurants or bars—where they could watch the game together on a big-
screen TV. This spurred a soccer boom in Korea, and since then soccer has become the most
popular sport in Korea. If you get the chance to see a soccer match in Korea, make sure to
wear a red t-shirt. It's best to wear one with that has the words "Red Devils" on it, because
that's the name of the official cheer squad for the Korean team.

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