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이야기 글말 — telling a tale — once upon a time … and they lived happily ever after

Telling a tale — once upon a time … and they lived happily ever after. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 8: 옛날이야기와 신화 (Folk tales and myths — telling a story in written Korean).

What it means

Korean folk tales follow a familiar shape, and a few fixed pieces of language carry it. They open with 옛날 옛적에 'once upon a time' (or just 옛날에), say where and who, and finish the first sentence with 살았다 'there lived'. In writing, the whole tale is told in the -았/었다 style you learned for newspapers in Lesson 3B-10: 옛날 옛적에 어느 마을에 흥부와 놀부가 살았다. The quiet beginning is broken by 그러던 어느 날 'then one day', and the story moves on through time with N 만에, which says how long after a starting point something happened: 새는 열흘 만에 다시 날 수 있었다 'ten days later the bird could fly again' — the same as 열흘이 지나서. You also hear it in everyday life: 정말 오랜만이에요! 이게 몇 년 만이에요? 'how many years has it been?', 한국에 온 지 다섯 달 만에 이사했어요. The turn of the story often uses -더니 (Lesson 3A-7) for what followed from someone's behaviour and -고 말았다 (Lesson 3B-9) for an unwanted ending: 놀부는 욕심을 부리더니 결국 벌을 받고 말았다. Finally, storytellers close with -았/었답니다, a shortened -았/었다고 합니다 'so it is said': the teller passes on what has been handed down — 그 뒤로 두 형제는 행복하게 살았답니다. When the tale is told aloud, the middle is usually in -았/었어요, and -답니다 comes back at the key moments and at the end.

Forms

Key points

• Four steps — 시작: 옛날 옛적에 + where + who 살았다 · 사건: 그러던 어느 날 …, N 만에 (= after so much time had passed) · 반전: -더니 · -고 말았다 · 끝: -았/었답니다 (-았/었다고 합니다 — 'so the story goes').
• Written tales use -았/었다 (Lesson 3B-10); told aloud, the same tale uses -았/었어요 and ends with -았/었답니다. N 만에 counts from a starting point and is followed by what happened: 십 년 만에 고향에 돌아왔다 · 이게 몇 년 만이에요?

Examples

• 옛날이야기는 「옛날 옛적에」로 시작해요: 옛날 옛적에 어느 마을에 흥부와 놀부가 살았다.
• 글로 쓸 때는 -았/었다로 끝내요(3B 10과): 살았다 · 떨어졌다 · 날아갔다.
• N 만에는 시간이 얼마나 지나서 그 일이 생겼는지 말해요: 열흘 만에 · 십 년 만에.
• 반전에는 -더니(3A 7과)와 -고 말았다(3B 9과)를 자주 써요: 욕심을 부리더니 벌을 받고 말았다.
• 끝은 「-았/었답니다」(= -았/었다고 합니다): 그 뒤로 행복하게 살았답니다.

Where university textbooks teach it

This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 10; Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 18; Sogang University Korean 5B, lesson 2; Yonsei University Korean 3-2, lesson 12.

Also in this lesson

• N(이)며 N(이)며 — A and B and all the rest — listing examples, with feeling
• V-아/어 대다 — keep on … (too much) — doing something over and over, and being annoyed by it
• A/V-거니와 — and besides … · not only … but also — adding a second point in written Korean

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