여행과 특별한 경험Travel and Special Experiences
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Talk about things you have done using the experience pattern -아/어 본 적이 있다.
- Ask other people about their past experiences and respond naturally, including saying you have never done something.
- Express a wish to do something using -고 싶다.
- Express intention or a plan in progress using -(으)려고 하다.
- Organize a personal story into a connected narrative paragraph with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
- Use travel and experience vocabulary to describe a trip, an activity, and a reaction to it.
- Maintain consistent everyday polite -아요/어요 speech level and accurate Hangeul spelling across a longer piece of connected writing.
This chapter opens Unit IV, 경험, 의견, 그리고 프로젝트 (Experiences, Opinions, and Projects). It introduces experience, desire, and intention as productive systems and expands narrative writing beyond single sentences into connected paragraphs.
Communication Scenario
Since 민수's visit in Chapter 15, 라일라 and 지영 have been talking about travel. 지영's brother 민수 lives abroad, and hearing about his trips has made 라일라 curious about her own travel plans. In this chapter, 라일라 and 지영 talk about places they have already been, a place 라일라 has always wanted to visit, and a trip 지영 is now planning. Their conversation moves from past experience to present desire to future intention — and by the end of the chapter, 라일라 turns her own travel story into a short written narrative.
- This chapter recycles description, comparison, feelings, and scheduling language from Unit III (Chapters 11-15).
- This chapter introduces the experience pattern -아/어 본 적이 있다, the desire pattern -고 싶다, and the intention pattern -(으)려고 하다 as new productive systems.
- This chapter also introduces narrative paragraph organization: sequencing events, expressing a reaction, and closing a short personal story.
Unit IV Overview
Unit IV, 경험, 의견, 그리고 프로젝트, is the final unit of Volume II. It moves learners from recounting personal experience toward expressing opinions, discussing culture and media, stating goals, giving advice, and finally producing a connected B1-oriented portfolio in Chapter 20. Chapter 16 begins this unit by activating experience, desire, and intention as productive systems and by expanding writing into full narrative paragraphs.
| Chapter | Focus | Principal New Systems |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Travel and Special Experiences | experience -아/어 본 적이 있다, desire -고 싶다, intention -(으)려고 하다, narrative paragraphs |
| 17 | Culture, Leisure, and Media | opinions, contrast, media vocabulary, register awareness |
| 18 | Future Goals | -(으)려고 하다 expansion, -기로 하다 expansion, goal statements |
| 19 | Explaining Problems and Giving Advice | advice, softening, indirect requests, -는데 intro |
| 20 | Final B1 Portfolio | integrated B1-oriented portfolio and presentation |
Chapter 16 introduces three major systems: experience, desire, and intention. This is within the two-major-system guideline when narrative organization is treated as an integrated writing skill rather than a separate grammar system.
Core Vocabulary
The following productive vocabulary supports this chapter's communication goals: describing travel, activities, and reactions to new experiences.
| Korean | Meaning | Category / Pattern | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 여행(을) 가다 | to go on a trip | action verb; 을 여행을 가요 | destination usually takes 에 |
| 여행지 | travel destination | noun | Sino-Korean compound |
| 경험 | experience | noun | often paired with 있다/없다 |
| 외국 | a foreign country | noun | 외국에 가다, 외국에서 살다 |
| 비행기 | airplane | noun | counter: 대 |
| 공항 | airport | noun | |
| 여권 | passport | noun | |
| 사진(을) 찍다 | to take a photo | action verb; 을 | past: 찍었어요 |
| 등산(을) 하다 | to go hiking | action verb; 을 | 등산하다 also used directly |
| 바다 | sea, ocean | noun | |
| 산 | mountain | noun | counter for peaks: 개 |
| 섬 | island | noun | |
| 계획을 세우다 | to make a plan | action verb; 을 | irregular: 세우다 regular -어 conj. |
| 준비하다 | to prepare | action verb; 을/를 | |
| 떠나다 | to depart, leave | action verb; 에서 | past: 떠났어요 |
| 도착하다 | to arrive | action verb; 에 | |
| 숙소 | lodging, accommodation | noun | |
| 특별하다 | to be special | descriptive verb | 특별한 경험 |
| 놀랍다 | to be surprising | descriptive verb (ㅂ irregular) | 놀라워요 |
| 잊을 수 없다 | to be unforgettable | phrase | 잊다 + -을 수 없다 |
| 태어나서 처음 | for the first time in my life | fixed expression | formulaic; often opens a narrative |
| 언젠가 | someday | adverb | often with -고 싶다 |
| 한 번도 | not even once | adverb | used with negative: 한 번도 안 가 봤어요 |
| 먼저 | first (of all) | adverb | narrative sequencing |
| 그다음에 | next, after that | adverb | narrative sequencing |
| 마지막으로 | lastly | adverb | narrative sequencing |
| 결국 | in the end, eventually | adverb | narrative closing |
| 기억에 남다 | to remain in one's memory | phrase | 기억에 남아요 |
| 문화 | culture | noun | Sino-Korean |
| 언어 | language | noun | |
| 현지 음식 | local food | noun phrase |
Approximately 30 productive items are listed here as a representative core set; instructors may supplement with additional travel vocabulary at their discretion, provided new items remain within the -고 싶다, -아/어 본 적이 있다, and -(으)려고 하다 patterns.
Receptive Vocabulary
The following items appear in this chapter's reading and listening materials for recognition only. They are not assessed productively.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 국내 여행 | domestic travel |
| 배낭여행 | backpacking trip |
| 시차 | time difference (jet lag context) |
Pronunciation Focus
This chapter recycles previously introduced sound changes and adds no new sound-change rule. Two items deserve attention because they appear frequently in this chapter's new grammar patterns.
The experience pattern -아/어 본 적이 있어요 is usually produced as a single connected breath group rather than four separate words. The batchim in 적이 liaises smoothly into the following syllable: 저기 is pronounced closer to jeo-gi-like flow than as two separated blocks. Practice saying the whole phrase quickly and smoothly before breaking it into parts for analysis.
Statements with -고 싶어요 typically fall gently at the end, similar to other everyday polite statements. Statements with -(으)려고 해요 also fall, but speakers often place slightly more stress on the verb stem before -(으)려고 when the intention is new or notable information, as in 저는 이번 여름에 제주도에 가려고 해요.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter introduces three connected systems for talking about time relative to now: what you have experienced, what you want, and what you plan to do — plus how to organize these into a connected narrative.
1. Experience: -아/어 본 적이 있다/없다
Form: verb stem + -아/어 보다 (in its past connective form -아/어 봐) + 본 적이 있다/없다. In practice, learners attach -아/어 본 적이 있어요 (or 없어요) directly to the verb stem, following the same vowel-harmony pattern used for -아/어요.
Meaning: this pattern expresses whether the speaker has ever had the experience of doing something, not simply whether an action happened in the past. It answers "have you ever...?" rather than "did you...?"
Use: use this pattern to ask about or share life experiences, especially travel, food, and activities that are notable because they happened at least once, not because of when they happened.
| Dictionary Form | Stem Type | -아/어 본 적이 있어요 Form |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | ㅏ-final | 가 본 적이 있어요 |
| 먹다 | consonant-final, dark vowel | 먹어 본 적이 있어요 |
| 타다 | ㅏ-final | 타 본 적이 있어요 |
| 살다 | ㅏ-final, ㄹ stem | 살아 본 적이 있어요 |
- 제주도에 가 본 적이 있어요. I have been to Jeju Island before. 가다 stem + 아 본 적이 있어요
- 외국에서 살아 본 적이 없어요. I have never lived abroad. 살다 stem + 아 본 적이 없어요
- 한 번도 등산해 본 적이 없어요. I've never gone hiking, not even once. 한 번도 + 등산하다 stem + 여 본 적이 없어요
Error: Using simple past 갔어요 when the intended meaning is "have you ever been," producing an ambiguous or incomplete question such as 제주도에 갔어요? when a specific past visit is not what is being asked.
Correction: Use the experience pattern when asking about life experience in general: 제주도에 가 본 적이 있어요?
2. Desire: -고 싶다
Form: verb stem + -고 싶다. In everyday polite speech, this becomes -고 싶어요. This pattern is only used with action verbs, since descriptive verbs already express states directly.
Meaning: expresses the speaker's own wish or desire to do something. Using -고 싶다 to describe someone else's wish (rather than asking about it as a question) requires an evidential ending not yet active in this volume; this chapter limits productive use to first-person statements and second-person questions.
Use: use -고 싶어요 to express personal goals, travel wishes, and preferences about future activities.
- 언젠가 유럽에 가고 싶어요. I want to go to Europe someday. 가다 stem + 고 싶어요
- 라일라 씨는 어디에 가고 싶어요? Where do you want to go, Laila? second-person question with -고 싶어요
3. Intention: -(으)려고 하다
Form: vowel-final stem + -려고 하다; consonant-final stem + -으려고 하다. In everyday polite speech: -(으)려고 해요.
Meaning: expresses a plan or intention that is more concrete than a simple wish but not yet a firm commitment. It signals that the speaker has decided to try to do something.
Use: use -(으)려고 해요 for stating plans that are underway or fairly settled, distinct from -고 싶어요 (a wish) and from -기로 하다 (a firm decision, scheduled for Chapter 18).
| Dictionary Form | Stem Type | -(으)려고 해요 Form |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | vowel-final | 가려고 해요 |
| 먹다 | consonant-final | 먹으려고 해요 |
| 준비하다 | vowel-final | 준비하려고 해요 |
- 저는 이번 여름에 제주도에 가려고 해요. I'm planning to go to Jeju Island this summer. 가다 stem + 려고 해요
- 여행 가기 전에 계획을 세우려고 해요. I'm planning to make a plan before I go on the trip. 세우다 stem + 려고 해요
[experience -아/어 본 적이 있다/없다] + [desire -고 싶다] + [intention -(으)려고 하다]
A natural travel conversation often moves through all three systems in sequence: first establishing what has already happened, then what the speaker wants, then what the speaker plans to actually do about it.
저는 제주도에 가 본 적이 없어요. 그래서 언젠가 가고 싶어요. 사실 이번 여름에 가려고 해요.
I've never been to Jeju Island. So I want to go someday. Actually, I'm planning to go this summer.
4. Narrative Paragraph Organization
A narrative paragraph in this chapter should use sequencing adverbs to organize events clearly: 먼저 (first), 그다음에 (next), and 마지막으로 (lastly), often closing with 결국 (in the end) or a reaction using 기억에 남아요 (it remains in my memory) or 잊을 수 없어요 (I can't forget it). This is the first chapter in which learners are expected to connect more than two or three sentences into a single organized paragraph rather than a list of separate sentences.
Practice — Combining the new systems
- Write one sentence about a place you have been, using -아/어 본 적이 있어요.
- Write one sentence about a place you have never been, using -아/어 본 적이 없어요.
- Write one sentence expressing a travel wish using -고 싶어요.
- Write one sentence expressing a travel plan using -(으)려고 해요.
Model Dialogue
Setting: 라일라 and 지영 are talking about travel after hearing about 민수's trips abroad.
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- Has 라일라 ever been to Jeju Island? Has 지영?
- What does 라일라 say she wants to do, and what is she actually planning to do?
- What does 지영 offer to do at the end of the conversation?
Guided Practice
- Ask a partner (or yourself, in writing) whether they have ever done three different activities from the vocabulary list, using -아/어 본 적이 있어요?.
- For each activity you have never done, write a response using -아/어 본 적이 없어요.
- Choose one place you would like to visit and write a sentence with -고 싶어요, then a sentence with -(으)려고 해요 describing an actual plan connected to that wish.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a language partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud. Listen twice without reading, then complete the tasks below.
민수의 여행 이야기
민수 씨는 외국에서 여러 번 여행해 봤어요. 작년에는 처음으로 산에 올라가 봤어요. 정말 힘들었지만 정상에서 본 경치는 잊을 수 없어요. 민수 씨는 바다도 좋아해서 섬 여행도 자주 가요. 그런데 아직 아프리카에는 가 본 적이 없어요. 그래서 언젠가 아프리카를 여행하고 싶어요. 사실 내년에 준비하려고 해요.
듣기 과제 — Listening task: Listen and answer in English.
| 질문 | 답 |
|---|---|
| What experience did 민수 have for the first time last year? | ______ |
| Where has 민수 never been, and what does he want to do about it? | ______ |
| What is 민수 planning to do next year? | ______ |
Reading Practice
Below is a short narrative that 라일라 wrote about a memorable day from a past trip. Read it and answer the questions below. No romanization is provided.
잊을 수 없는 하루
작년 여름에 친구들과 함께 바다에 가 봤어요. 태어나서 처음으로 배를 타 봤어요. 먼저 아침 일찍 숙소에서 나와서 항구로 갔어요. 그다음에 배를 타고 작은 섬에 도착했어요. 섬에서 사진도 많이 찍고 현지 음식도 먹어 봤어요. 마지막으로 저녁에 바다 근처에서 노을을 봤어요. 정말 특별한 하루였어요. 결국 그날은 제 기억에 오래 남았어요. 저는 다시 그 섬에 가고 싶어요.
This passage recycles vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1 through 15 and introduces no structures beyond this chapter's scheduled systems.
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- What did 라일라 do for the first time in her life on this trip?
- Put the events of the day in order using the sequencing words the passage uses.
- How does 라일라 feel about this day now, and what does she want to do?
Writing Workshop
This chapter's writing task is a short narrative paragraph: 특별한 경험 ("A Special Experience").
- Choose an experience. Think of a real or imagined trip or activity you have done. State that you have done it using -아/어 본 적이 있어요.
- Sequence the events. Describe at least three things that happened, using 먼저, 그다음에, and 마지막으로 to organize them in order.
- Add a reaction. Describe how the experience felt, using vocabulary such as 특별하다, 놀랍다, or 기억에 남다.
- Close with a wish or plan. End the paragraph with a sentence using -고 싶어요 or -(으)려고 해요 that connects the past experience to the future.
- Revise. Check your draft against the checklist below.
체크리스트 — Editing checklist:
- An experience is described using -아/어 본 적이 있어요.
- At least three events are sequenced using 먼저, 그다음에, and 마지막으로.
- A reaction to the experience is included.
- The paragraph closes with -고 싶어요 or -(으)려고 해요.
- Speech level is consistent everyday polite -아요/어요 throughout.
- Only Hangeul is used; no romanization appears in the final draft.
- No grammar or vocabulary beyond Chapters 1 through 16 appears productively.
Speaking Practice
통제 연습 — Controlled practice: 경험 묻고 답하기
Practice asking and answering, in order: whether you have done an activity, what you want to do, and what you are actually planning to do, until the sequence feels natural.
의사소통 과제 — Communicative task: 여행 이야기
With a partner, interview each other about a memorable trip or activity. Ask about experiences using -아/어 본 적이 있어요?, then ask about future wishes and plans, as in the Model Dialogue.
혼자 하는 연습 — Solo alternative
Record yourself narrating a real or imagined special experience, moving through the sequence: what you have done, how you felt, and what you want or plan to do next.
Culture and Communication
Jeju Island is one of the most commonly discussed domestic travel destinations in South Korea, known for its volcanic landscape, coastline, and distinct regional character. Many South Koreans have visited Jeju at some point, which is part of why it appears so naturally in everyday conversations about travel experience and future plans.
In casual South Korean conversation, sharing a travel story often moves quickly from what happened to how the listener reacts and what the listener might want to do themselves, as in this chapter's dialogue. Responding to someone's travel story with a reaction such as 와, 좋았겠어요! ("Wow, that must have been nice!") is a common and expected part of maintaining the conversation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Using -고 싶어요 to describe another person's plan as if it were a directly known personal wish, such as 지영 씨는 제주도에 가고 싶어요. stated as a flat fact rather than a question or reported information.
Correction: Ask the person directly with -고 싶어요? or report what they said using a quotation pattern introduced in a later chapter: 지영 씨는 제주도에 가고 싶어요?
Error: Using -(으)려고 해요 to express a vague wish that is not actually a concrete plan, such as saying 아프리카에 가려고 해요. when the speaker has no real plan yet, only a wish.
Correction: Use -고 싶어요 for a wish without a concrete plan, and reserve -(으)려고 해요 for an actual intended plan: 아프리카에 가고 싶어요.
Error: Listing several events as disconnected sentences with no sequencing words, making the order of events unclear, such as 항구에 갔어요. 배를 탔어요. 섬에 도착했어요. with no connective structure.
Correction: Use 먼저, 그다음에, and 마지막으로 to make the sequence explicit: 먼저 항구에 갔어요. 그다음에 배를 탔어요. 마지막으로 섬에 도착했어요.
Chapter Review
Section A — 어휘 (Vocabulary)
1. List three travel-related vocabulary items from this chapter, with their meanings.
Section B — 문법 (Grammar)
1. Write one sentence using -아/어 본 적이 있어요.
2. Write one sentence using -고 싶어요.
3. Write one sentence using -(으)려고 해요.
Section C — 독해 이해 (Reading Comprehension)
1. According to 라일라's narrative, describe what she did for the first time, how the events were sequenced, and how she feels about the day now.
Section D — 쓰기 (Writing)
1. Write your "A Special Experience" paragraph following the Writing Workshop steps and checklist.
Section E — 말하기 (Speaking)
1. Role-play or record an interview about a past experience, a wish, and a plan.
누적 복습 — Cumulative review
This chapter recycles description, comparison, feelings, and scheduling language from Unit III (Chapters 11-15) while introducing the experience pattern -아/어 본 적이 있다, the desire pattern -고 싶다, the intention pattern -(으)려고 하다, and narrative paragraph organization. These systems will be developed further and reinforced throughout the rest of Unit IV, including the goal-setting language of Chapter 18.
Practical Performance Task
수행 과제
특별한 경험 — A Special Experience
You will describe a special experience in both written and spoken form, moving from past experience to present wish to future plan.
- Written: Write your "A Special Experience" narrative paragraph from the Writing Workshop.
- Spoken: Present the same story aloud or role-play an interview about it with a partner, including at least one experience statement, one wish, and one plan.
- Reflection: Write one English sentence identifying which system — experience, desire, or intention — you feel most confident using now.
| Criterion | What is evaluated |
|---|---|
| Experience | An experience is described correctly using -아/어 본 적이 있다/없다 |
| Sequencing | At least three events are ordered using 먼저, 그다음에, and 마지막으로 |
| Desire | A wish is expressed correctly using -고 싶다 |
| Intention | A plan is expressed correctly using -(으)려고 하다 |
| Narrative cohesion | The paragraph reads as a connected story, not a list of disconnected sentences |
| Speech-level consistency | Everyday polite -아요/어요 maintained throughout |
| Hangeul and spacing accuracy | Accurate spelling and level-appropriate spacing throughout, no romanization |
| Scope discipline | No structures used productively beyond Chapter 16 |
Answer Key
Grammar Practice — New Systems
1. Sample answer: 저는 제주도에 가 본 적이 있어요.
2. Sample answer: 저는 유럽에 가고 싶어요.
3. Sample answer: 저는 이번 여름에 여행을 가려고 해요.
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- 라일라 has never been to Jeju Island; 지영 went there last year.
- 라일라 says she wants to go to Jeju Island someday, and she is actually planning to travel somewhere this summer, though she has not yet decided where.
- 지영 offers to recommend a few travel destinations.
Listening comprehension
- 민수 climbed a mountain for the first time last year.
- 민수 has never been to Africa, and he wants to travel there someday; he is planning to prepare for the trip next year.
- 민수 is planning to prepare for a trip to Africa next year.
Reading comprehension
- 라일라 rode a boat for the first time in her life.
- She first left the lodging early in the morning and went to the harbor; next she took the boat and arrived at a small island; lastly she watched the sunset near the sea in the evening.
- She feels that the day was special and remains in her memory; she wants to go back to that island.
Chapter Review — Section B
1. Sample answer: 저는 산에 올라가 본 적이 있어요.
2. Sample answer: 저는 섬 여행을 하고 싶어요.
3. Sample answer: 다음 달에 계획을 세우려고 해요.
Section D — Sample "A Special Experience" paragraph
작년 겨울에 친구와 함께 산에 가 봤어요. 태어나서 처음으로 등산해 봤어요. 먼저 아침 일찍 숙소에서 나왔어요. 그다음에 산을 올라가면서 사진을 많이 찍었어요. 마지막으로 정상에서 정말 놀라운 경치를 봤어요. 힘들었지만 특별한 하루였어요. 결국 그 경험은 제 기억에 오래 남았어요. 저는 다른 산에도 또 가고 싶어요.
Check that: an experience is described with -아/어 본 적이 있어요, events are sequenced with 먼저/그다음에/마지막으로, a reaction is included, the paragraph closes with -고 싶어요 or -(으)려고 해요, and no structures beyond Chapter 16 appear productively.
Looking Ahead
지금 할 수 있는 것 — What you can do now
You can talk about experiences you have and have not had, express wishes and concrete plans, and organize a personal story into a connected narrative paragraph, all in consistent everyday polite speech level. This opens Unit IV, 경험, 의견, 그리고 프로젝트 (Experiences, Opinions, and Projects).