Prescribed Themes and Topics: Units 1–4 Areas of Study
What this domain asks of you
The four units move from personal worlds to public ones. Expect themes such as personal identity and family, school and community life, relationships and youth culture, and then societal issues - technology and media, environment, migration and multiculturalism, work and leisure, and Korean identity in a global context. You are not tested on facts about Korea; you are tested on your ability to argue about these themes in Korean, using accurate register and evidence.
Concepts you must control
First, topic-specific vocabulary fields: for each theme, build a bank of nouns, verbs and collocations (e.g. 환경 문제를 해결하다, 세대 간 갈등이 심화되다, 문화적 정체성을 확립하다). Second, abstract reasoning language: 원인과 결과, 찬성과 반대, 장단점, 우선순위 - the connectors that turn opinion into argument (따라서, 반면에, 그럼에도 불구하고, 이와 같이). Third, register: plain form for essays and reports (∼한다, ∼이다), polite form for letters and speeches (∼합니다, ∼습니다), and 해요체 for informal dialogue. Fourth, text-type conventions, since the same theme is often examined through a specific text type.
Traps that cost marks
- Answering the theme but ignoring the text type: a 편지 that reads like a 논설문 loses format marks.
- Overgeneralising: 쓰레기 문제는 모두 시민의 책임이다 - examiners reward qualification (대부분의, 일부, ∼라고 볼 수 있다).
- Register drift mid-piece, especially slipping from ∼한다 into ∼해요.
- Listing opinions without support: every claim needs a reason, example or consequence.
- Misreading a prompt that asks for both sides (찬성과 반대) when you argue only one.
Worked example
Prompt: 청소년의 스마트폰 사용 시간을 제한해야 하는가? A weak opening states an opinion only. A strong one frames the issue, concedes, then argues:
청소년의 스마트폰 과다 사용은 학습 집중력 저하와 수면 부족이라는 문제를 낳는다. 물론 자율성을 존중해야 한다는 의견도 타당하다. 그러나 자기 조절 능력이 아직 충분히 형성되지 않은 시기라는 점을 고려하면, 최소한의 규제는 필요하다고 볼 수 있다.
Rule of thumb: 주장 → 근거 → 반론 인정 → 재반박 in four sentences gives you a reliable paragraph skeleton for any theme.