Reading a noticeboard flyer for a school club
Minji, a Year 11 student in Sydney, sees a Korean-language flyer on the school noticeboard. The flyer reads: '동아리 모임은 매주 수요일 오후 3시 30분에 도서관 2층에서 합니다. 이번 주에는 한국 음식을 만들어 봅니다. 재료비는 5천 원입니다. 참가하고 싶은 학생은 목요일까지 3학년 민지 선생님께 이메일을 보내세요.' Minji knows 수요일 means Wednesday and 목요일 means Thursday, but she is unsure whether she must pay before or after the meeting, and whether the email deadline is before or after the cooking session. She also wonders if '이번 주' refers to this week's meeting or next week's.
1. Explain what Minji must do and by when, and identify the one detail the flyer does not state clearly.
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The flyer says meetings are every Wednesday at 3:30 pm on the second floor of the library (매주 수요일 오후 3시 30분, 도서관 2층). This week's activity is making Korean food (한국 음식을 만들어 봅니다). The material fee is 5,000 won (재료비 5천 원).
Students who want to join must email Teacher Minji in Year 3 by Thursday (목요일까지 … 이메일을 보내세요).
So the sequence is: email by Thursday, then attend the Wednesday meeting. The flyer does not say whether the 5,000 won is collected before the session or on the day. Minji should ask in her email rather than assume.
2. Minji misreads '3학년 민지 선생님' as 'Minji, a Year 3 student'. Using the text, correct her reading and explain the grammar clue.
Read the worked answer
The phrase is 3학년 민지 선생님, which means Teacher Minji who teaches Year 3, not a Year 3 student.
The clue is word order and the honorific noun. In Korean, a title follows the name: 민지 선생님 = 'Teacher Minji'. If it meant a student, it would use 학생 (민지 학생) or a year label attached to the person, e.g. 3학년 민지 without 선생님.
Also 께 in 선생님께 이메일을 보내세요 is an honorific particle used for a person of higher status, confirming the recipient is a teacher.