HSC Korean in Context (NSW) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

오빠 vs 형

Both mean older brother. A female speaker says 오빠; a male speaker says 형. Choosing the wrong term signals the speaker's gender and is a common error in family descriptions.

호칭 (address terms)

Terms used to address people, such as 씨, 님, 선배, and kin titles. Using a name alone to an older person is impolite; add a title or 씨 for equals.

핵가족 and 대가족

핵가족 means a nuclear family of parents and children. 대가족 means an extended family including grandparents or relatives. These terms often appear in Korean demographic texts.

맞벌이 부부

A dual-income married couple where both partners work. It commonly appears in discussions of childcare, housework sharing, and work-life balance in contemporary Korean society.

자기소개 register

Self-introduction uses 저는 ...입니다 in formal settings and 나는 ...이야 in casual peer speech. Mixing humble 저 with casual 이야 is a register error.

훈민정음 (1446)

The original name of the Korean alphabet, promulgated in 1446 under King Sejong. The accompanying Haerye explains the shapes of the letters by articulation organ.

판소리

A Korean narrative vocal art performed by one singer (소리꾼) with a drummer (고수), combining song, speech, and gesture. UNESCO inscribed it as intangible heritage in 2003.

설날 and 추석

Korea's two major lunar holidays. 설날 is the first day of the first lunar month; 추석 is the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, a harvest festival.

품앗이 and 두레

Traditional community labour systems. 품앗이 is reciprocal exchange of labour between households; 두레 is village-wide cooperative farming. Both reflect collective village culture.

한복 components

Traditional Korean dress. Women wear 저고리 (jacket) with 치마 (skirt); men wear 저고리 with 바지 (trousers). 두루마기 is an outer overcoat worn for formal occasions.

경로당

A community centre for older residents in a neighbourhood, used for socialising and leisure. It illustrates how Korean communities organise support for seniors.

수시 and 정시

The two main routes of Korean university admission. 수시 selects students before the national exam using school records and essays; 정시 relies mainly on 수능 scores.

수능 areas

The national university entrance exam covers 국어, 수학, 영어, 한국사 (compulsory), and 탐구 (social or science subjects), with a second foreign language or 한문 as an optional area.

특성화고

A vocational high school that trains students for employment in specific industries such as technology, commerce, or agriculture. It is an alternative to the academic 일반계고.

자기소개서 structure

A Korean cover letter typically covers 성장 과정 (growth background), 성격의 장단점 (strengths and weaknesses), 지원 동기 (motivation), and 입사 후 포부 (plans after joining).

직급 hierarchy

The Korean workplace rank order runs 사원, 대리, 과장, 차장, 부장, then 임원. Juniors address seniors by title plus 님 rather than by first name.

진로 (career path)

A person's chosen course of study or work. Common collocations are 진로를 정하다 (decide a path) and 진로 상담 (career counselling), often discussed in school contexts.

저출산 and 고령화

Low birth rate and population ageing. Together they describe Korea's demographic crisis, leading to a shrinking working-age population and rising welfare costs.

초고령사회

A society where people aged 65 or over make up 20 percent or more of the population. The earlier stages are 고령화사회 at 7 percent and 고령사회 at 14 percent.

다문화 가정

A family formed through international marriage or migration, often with a Korean spouse and a foreign-born spouse. The term appears in debates about integration and education support.

경력 단절

A break in a person's career, most often caused by childcare or family duties. It is a central issue in Korean debates about women's employment and re-entry to work.

탄소 중립

A policy goal of balancing emitted carbon with absorbed or offset carbon, reaching net-zero emissions. It appears with terms such as 재활용 and 기후 위기 in environmental texts.

악성 댓글

Malicious online comments that insult or harass others. Related issues include 사이버 폭력 and 가짜 뉴스, often discussed in texts about internet regulation and free speech.

사교육비

Money spent on private tutoring and cram schools (학원) outside public education. High 사교육비 is linked to exam competition and the education gap in Korea.

해요체 and 합니다체

Two polite speech styles. 해요체 is informal polite, used in everyday conversation; 합니다체 is formal polite, used in presentations, news, and official settings.

비음화 (nasalisation)

A sound change where ㄱ, ㄷ, or ㅂ becomes ㅇ, ㄴ, or ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ. For example, 국물 is pronounced 궁물 and 감사합니다 as 감사함니다.

유음화 (lateralisation)

A sound change where ㄴ becomes ㄹ before or after ㄹ. Examples include 신라 pronounced 실라 and 연락 pronounced 열락, which listeners must decode.

그런데 vs 그래서

Discourse markers. 그래서 introduces a result or consequence; 그런데 introduces a contrast or a shift to a new topic. Recognising them helps follow a listening passage.

Sino-Korean numbers

Numbers derived from Chinese, used for dates, money, phone numbers, and minutes. Native Korean numbers are used with counters such as 개, 명, and 시 for hours.

주제 and 요지

Reading question types. 주제 is the overall topic of a passage; 요지 is the writer's central claim or message. Both are usually stated in the first or last sentence.

지시어 (reference words)

Words such as 이것, 그것, 그, and 이러한 that point back to an earlier noun phrase. Tracking what they refer to is essential for comprehension and sentence-ordering items.

-데 vs -대

-데 presents background or contrast in the speaker's own statement. -대 marks reported speech, short for -다고 해. Confusing them is a frequent writing error.