HSC Korean Continuers cheat sheet

HSC Korean Continuers listening texts are played twice; the first pass is for global meaning (topic, relationship, setting), the second for specific detail such as numbers, times and places.

Question stems in Korean signal what to extract: 무엇을/어디서/언제/왜/어떻게 ask for thing, place, time, reason, method respectively; match the interrogative to the detail you note.

Register markers identify the relationship: 합니다체/하십시오체 signals formal or public speech; 해요체 signals polite informal; 반말 signals close friends, family or children.

Honorific infix -시- and words like 드리다, 뵙다, 계시다 indicate the speaker is talking about or to a superior; note who receives the honorific to identify the referent.

Discourse connectors carry the answer: 그러나/하지만/그런데 introduce contrast, 그래서/따라서 introduce result, 사실은/실은 introduce a correction that often overrides the earlier statement.

Numbers appear in two systems: native Korean (하나, 둘, 셋) for counting items and age, Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) for money, dates, minutes and phone numbers; write both forms when heard.

Indirect speech (∼다고 하다, ∼냐고 하다, ∼자고 하다, ∼라고 하다) reports what another person said; the reported clause, not the reporting verb, usually holds the answer.

Negative forms change meaning: 안/못 + verb is simple negation, but ∼지 않다/∼지 못하다 and double negatives like ∼지 않을 수 없다 (must) require careful interpretation.

Skim the text type first: 안내문 (notice), 광고 (advertisement), 편지/이메일 (letter/email), 기사 (article), 대화 (dialogue) and 일기 (diary) each have predictable layout and purpose.

Locate the main idea in the first and last sentences of a paragraph; Korean expository writing often states the topic in the opening sentence and restates it at the end.

Cohesive devices (그러나, 따라서, 예를 들어, 즉, 반면에) mark logical relations; 즉/다시 말하면 signals paraphrase, 예를 들어 signals example that supports the preceding claim.

Pronouns and ellipsis are frequent: 그/그녀, 이것/그것/저것 and omitted subjects refer back to the most recent plausible noun; track referents sentence by sentence.

Honorific and humble verbs (모시다, 드리다, 뵙다, 여쭙다) plus titles (선생님, 사장님, 어르신) reveal social roles and who does what to whom in a passage.

Connective endings carry clause relations: ∼아서/어서 (cause or sequence), ∼지만 (contrast), ∼면 (condition), ∼려고 (intention), ∼는데 (background or contrast).

Inference questions ask what is implied, not stated; the answer must follow from the text but cannot be a sentence copied verbatim from it.

Numbers, dates and prices in notices are distractors as often as answers; check whether a stated condition (마감일, 할인, 대상) applies to the question asked.

The writing task specifies a text type and purpose; match the format: informal letter/email uses ∼에게 and 해요체/반말 with greeting 안녕하세요, while a formal notice uses ∼께/여러분 and 합니다체.

Korean sentence order is Subject–Object–Verb; the verb or adjective must end the clause, and the polite ending (∼습니다/∼어요) closes the sentence.

Particles mark grammatical roles and must be correct: 은/는 (topic), 이/가 (subject), 을/를 (object), 에/에서 (location, time vs action), 에게/한테 (recipient), (으)로 (direction/means).

Particle choice after a consonant or vowel follows 받침: 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 과/와, 으로/로; check the final consonant of the preceding syllable.

Tense is marked on the final verb: ∼았/었/였 for past, ∼겠/∼ㄹ 것이다 for future, and ∼고 있다 for progressive; keep tense consistent within a paragraph.

Connect ideas with clause-linking endings (∼고 and, ∼지만 but, ∼아서/어서 so, ∼면 if, ∼기 때문에 because) rather than starting every sentence with a new subject.

Word count and task requirements are part of the mark: address every bullet of the prompt (for example purpose, details, request) and stay within the prescribed length range.

Formal written registers use 한다체 or 합니다체; mixing 반말 into a formal notice, or 합니다체 into a letter to a close friend, is a register error that costs marks.