기술과 온라인 생활Technology and Online Life
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Use everyday digital and technology vocabulary to describe devices, apps, connectivity problems, and online activity.
- Recognize how loanwords are adapted into Korean spelling and pronunciation, and use common technology loanwords accurately.
- Distinguish everyday polite -아요/어요 messaging from more clipped or informal online writing conventions, without adopting the latter as your own default style.
- Continue developing formal -습니다/-습니까 recognition and controlled use, now applied to app instructions, error messages, and formal digital notices.
- Continue developing source-framing patterns (에 따르면, -다고 보도했다, -라고 밝히다) and recognized passive-form verbs, now applied to technology-related reporting.
- Read a short technology notice, app description, or online article and identify its main point and register.
- Write a short message or short online post appropriately matched to its intended audience and setting.
- Discuss technology habits and online life using -아요/어요 style while correctly labeling casual online forms you encounter as receptive only.
This chapter continues developing the formal style, source-framing, and passive-recognition systems introduced in Chapter 6, now in a technology and online-life domain. It also introduces new productive vocabulary for devices, connectivity, and digital communication, along with receptive recognition of common online abbreviations and casual internet-register forms, which remain labeled and non-productive.
Opening Scenario
지영's discussion group meets again, and this week 민준 arrives frustrated: his phone froze during an important video call, and he could not find the right words to explain the problem to the building's IT help desk. 수아 shows the group a message from a class group chat that is full of abbreviations she does not fully understand, and 라일라 has found a short online article about a new public Wi-Fi service that just launched in her neighborhood. The group agrees to spend this session learning to talk about technology clearly — and to recognize, without imitating, the more casual shorthand that appears in group chats and online posts.
- You will build vocabulary for devices, apps, connectivity, and common technical problems, so that you can explain and request help clearly.
- You will notice how Korean online writing sometimes shortens or reshapes ordinary polite forms, and you will learn to recognize this without adopting it as your own default style.
- You will continue practicing the formal and source-framing systems from Chapter 6, now applied to app instructions, error messages, and short technology reports.
Core Vocabulary
The following items support this chapter's technology and online-life domain. Most are productive; a smaller receptive set for online abbreviations and casual internet forms appears at the end, clearly labeled as recognition only.
| Korean | Meaning | Category / Note |
|---|---|---|
| 스마트폰 | smartphone | noun (loanword) |
| 애플리케이션 / 앱 | application / app | noun (loanword); 앱 is the common short form |
| 설치하다 | to install | action verb |
| 업데이트하다 | to update | action verb (loanword base) |
| 다운로드하다 | to download | action verb (loanword base) |
| 와이파이 | Wi-Fi | noun (loanword) |
| 연결되다 | to be connected | passive-form verb; dictionary form 연결되다 |
| 끊기다 | to be cut off, to disconnect | verb; dictionary form 끊기다 |
| 멈추다 | to stop, to freeze (of a device) | action verb |
| 오류 | error | noun |
| 발생하다 | to occur (of a problem) | action verb; recycled from Ch. 6 |
| 화면 | screen | noun |
| 배터리 | battery | noun (loanword) |
| 충전하다 | to charge (a device) | action verb |
| 저장하다 | to save (a file) | action verb |
| 삭제하다 | to delete | action verb |
| 클릭하다 | to click | action verb (loanword base) |
| 누르다 | to press (a button) | action verb; 르 irregular |
| 로그인하다 | to log in | action verb (loanword base) |
| 비밀번호 | password | noun |
| 계정 | account | noun |
| 알림 | notification | noun |
| 댓글 | comment (online) | noun |
| 게시글 | post (online) | noun |
| 올리다 | to upload, to post | action verb |
| 공유하다 | to share | action verb |
| 검색하다 | to search | action verb |
| 고객센터 | customer service center | noun; formal register |
| 문의하다 | to inquire | action verb; recycled from Ch. 6 |
| 해결되다 | to be resolved | passive-form verb; dictionary form 해결되다 |
| 복구되다 | to be restored | passive-form verb; recycled from Ch. 6 |
| 이용자 | user | noun; formal register |
| 서비스 | service | noun (loanword) |
| 공공와이파이 | public Wi-Fi | noun (compound loanword) |
| 개인정보 | personal information | noun; formal/institutional register |
Productive lexical load: approximately 34 items above, within the Volume III range of 35–60 once recycled cumulative items are included.
| Korean | Meaning | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ㅇㅋ | okay (abbreviation of 오케이) | receptive; casual online only |
| ㄱㅅ | thanks (abbreviation of 감사) | receptive; casual online only |
| ㅋㅋㅋ | laughter marker (repeated ㅋ) | receptive; casual online only |
| 셀카 | selfie | receptive; casual/general loanword blend |
| 인싸 | a socially popular or "in" person | receptive; youth/online slang |
This receptive set supports reading and listening comprehension for casual online contexts only. These forms must not appear in your own productive writing or speech in this chapter's tasks, and they are not assessed for independent production.
Pronunciation Focus
Technology loanwords such as 스마트폰, 와이파이, and 업데이트 follow Korean syllable structure rather than their original English pronunciation. Consonant clusters that are not permitted in a single Korean syllable are broken apart with an inserted vowel, and word-final consonants that Korean batchim cannot represent are replaced with an appropriate syllable, most often built on 으 or 이.
Practice reading these words with their Korean syllable timing rather than reaching back toward the English original: 스마트폰 (seu-ma-teu-pon), 업데이트 (eop-de-i-teu), 다운로드 (da-un-lo-deu). Read each word aloud evenly, syllable by syllable, before increasing speed.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter develops three systems introduced in Chapter 6 — formal -습니다/-습니까 style, source framing, and recognized passive-form verbs — by applying them to technology notices and short reports. It also introduces a new receptive-only system: recognizing where online writing departs from standard spacing, punctuation, and speech-level conventions, so that you can read casual messages without adopting their shortcuts yourself.
1. Formal Style in App Instructions and Error Messages
Korean apps, websites, and devices routinely use formal -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style for instructions, confirmations, and error messages, since this language is addressed to an unspecified general user rather than to one known person. This is the same speech level you recognized in Chapter 6's news and public-notice texts, now appearing in a new domain.
| Dictionary form | -아요/어요 (everyday polite) | -습니다/-ㅂ니다 (formal, in-app) |
|---|---|---|
| 저장하다 | 저장해요 | 저장됩니다 / 저장하십시오 |
| 연결되다 | 연결돼요 | 연결됩니다 |
| 발생하다 | 발생해요 | 발생했습니다 |
| 해결되다 | 해결돼요 | 해결되었습니다 |
- 오류가 발생했습니다. 다시 시도해 주십시오. An error has occurred. Please try again. 발생하다 + -았습니다 (past formal); 시도하다 + -아 주십시오 (formal polite request)
- 현재 서버에 연결되어 있지 않습니다. You are not currently connected to the server. 연결되다 (passive-form verb) + -어 있지 않습니다 (formal negative state)
As in Chapter 6, you are not expected to produce -습니다/-습니까 as your everyday default. Recognize it fluently in app and device language, and use it in the controlled writing task later in this chapter.
2. Source Framing in Technology Reporting
The same source-framing patterns from Chapter 6 appear constantly in technology news: companies announce updates, officials explain outages, and users report problems. Continue watching for these three patterns, now inside a technology domain:
- 에 따르면 — "according to ~"
- -다고 보도했다/보도되었다 — "(a news outlet) reported that ~"
- -라고 밝혔다 — "(someone) stated/revealed that ~"
- 회사 관계자에 따르면, 이번 업데이트는 이달 말에 배포될 예정입니다. According to a company official, this update is scheduled to be distributed at the end of this month. 에 따르면 (source marker) + -(으)ㄹ 예정입니다 (formal scheduled future)
- 한 매체는 서비스 장애의 원인이 아직 밝혀지지 않았다고 보도했습니다. One media outlet reported that the cause of the service outage had not yet been revealed. -다고 보도했습니다 (news-report attribution, formal)
- 고객센터 담당자는 "문제는 곧 해결됩니다"라고 밝혔습니다. The customer service representative stated, "The problem will be resolved soon." -라고 밝혔습니다 (direct-quote attribution, formal)
3. Recognized Passive-Form Verbs in Technology Contexts
As in Chapter 6, these passive-form verbs remain a small recognized set, now expanded with two technology-relevant items. Full production of the passive and causative systems remains scheduled for Chapter 8.
- 연결되다 — to be connected (vs. 연결하다, to connect)
- 끊기다 — to be cut off / disconnected (vs. 끊다, to cut/disconnect something)
- 해결되다 — to be resolved (vs. 해결하다, to resolve)
- 복구되다 — to be restored (recycled from Ch. 6)
4. Recognizing Online Register Boundaries
Casual Korean online writing — in group chats, comments, and social posts among friends — often shortens words, drops spacing, uses consonant-only abbreviations such as ㅇㅋ or ㄱㅅ, and marks laughter with repeated ㅋ. These are real, common patterns, but they belong to a specific casual register among people who already know each other well.
This chapter asks you only to recognize these forms in context, glossed where necessary. Your own productive writing in this chapter — messages, notices, and posts — should remain in accurate, properly spaced everyday polite -아요/어요 style or, where scheduled, formal -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style. Do not imitate consonant-abbreviation forms or drop spacing in your own writing tasks.
[source marker: 에 따르면 / 관계자는] + [reported content with -다고/-라고 + 하다/보도하다/밝히다, in formal -습니다 past or present] + [optional passive-form verb: 연결되다 / 해결되다 / 복구되다]
This is the same news-sentence frame from Chapter 6, now applied to app updates, outages, and public technology announcements.
Practice — Recognizing formal, source-framed, and casual online forms
- Read the Model Dialogue and the technology notice below and underline every formal -습니다/-ㅂ니다 ending.
- Circle each source-framing expression and note what it attributes and to whom.
- Find the group-chat excerpt and identify which forms are casual/online-only, glossing each one in English.
Model Dialogue
Setting: 민준 calls a technology customer service center about his frozen phone screen. The representative uses formal style; 민준 uses everyday polite style, as is typical when a customer speaks to a service representative by phone.
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- What speech level does the representative use, and what speech level does 민준 use? What does this difference reflect about their roles in the conversation?
- What does the representative say the development team stated, and which pattern introduces that statement?
- What passive-form verb tells you the problem is expected to be fixed?
- What two steps does the representative recommend if pressing the power button does not work?
Guided Practice
- Rewrite three of the representative's sentences from the Model Dialogue in everyday polite -아요/어요 style, keeping the same meaning.
- Find the source-framing expression in the dialogue and explain, in English, what it signals about where the information comes from.
- Identify two recognized passive-form verbs used in the dialogue and give their active-verb counterparts.
- Write one original formal sentence describing an app problem, using 에 따르면 plus a formal ending.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a language partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a measured pace. Listen twice without reading, then complete the tasks below.
공지: 공공와이파이 서비스 안내
시청 관계자에 따르면, 다음 주부터 동네 공원과 주요 거리에서 공공와이파이 서비스가 새로 시작된다고 합니다. 이용자는 별도의 비밀번호 없이 자유롭게 연결할 수 있으며, 개인정보 보호를 위해 민감한 정보는 입력하지 않는 것이 좋다고 담당자가 밝혔습니다. 서비스 이용 중 문제가 발생하면 시청 정보통신과로 문의하면 된다고 전해졌습니다.
듣기 과제 — Listening task: Listen and answer in English.
| 질문 | 답 |
|---|---|
| What new service is starting next week, and where? | ______ |
| Do users need a password? What advice does the official give about personal information? | ______ |
| Where should users go if they have a problem with the service? | ______ |
Reading Practice
Read the two short passages below: a formal technology notice, and a casual group-chat excerpt. Notice how differently they are written, even though both are real Korean digital communication.
업데이트 안내
개발팀에 따르면, 이번 업데이트를 통해 로그인 오류가 대부분 해결되었다고 합니다. 일부 이용자는 여전히 연결이 끊기는 문제를 겪고 있는 것으로 확인되었으며, 회사 측은 "추가 수정을 통해 이달 안에 완전히 복구할 예정입니다"라고 밝혔습니다.
단체 대화방 (그룹 채팅) 발췌
수아: 오늘 모임 몇시임?
라일라: 7시! ㅇㅋ?
수아: ㅇㅋㅇㅋ
민준: 나 폰 화면 멈춰서 늦을듯 ㅠㅠ
라일라: 헐 진짜? 빨리 고쳐 ㅋㅋㅋ
수아: 고객센터에 문의해봐
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- According to the update notice, what problem has mostly been resolved, and what problem remains for some users?
- What did the company state directly, and which attribution pattern introduces the quotation?
- In the group-chat excerpt, identify at least three features that differ from standard written Korean (spacing, spelling, endings, or abbreviations), and explain in English what each one means or represents.
- Why would it be inappropriate to write to your professor or to a customer service center using the same style as the group-chat excerpt?
Writing Workshop
This chapter's writing task asks you to produce two short pieces that demonstrate register control: a formal technology notice, and an everyday polite message to a friend about the same topic.
- Choose a technology situation. Pick a small, plausible scenario: an app update, a connectivity problem, a new online service, or a account/security notice.
- Draft the formal notice. Write three to four sentences in -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style describing what happened or what is planned, including at least one source-framing expression and one recognized passive-form verb from this chapter or Chapter 6.
- Draft the everyday message. Write two to three sentences in everyday polite -아요/어요 style, as if texting a friend about the same situation, using accurate spacing and no consonant-abbreviation forms.
- Compare. Underline the words or endings that changed between the two versions and note, in English, why each change was necessary.
- Revise. Check both drafts against the checklist below.
체크리스트 — Editing checklist:
- The formal notice uses -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style consistently throughout, not mixed with -아요/어요.
- The formal notice includes at least one source-framing expression, attributed clearly.
- The formal notice includes at least one recognized passive-form verb, used correctly.
- The everyday message uses -아요/어요 style consistently and contains no consonant-abbreviation or casual online shorthand.
- Only Hangeul is used in both drafts; no romanization appears.
- Spacing and particles are accurate throughout both drafts.
- No grammar or vocabulary beyond Volume III, Chapters 1–7, appears productively.
Speaking Practice
통제 연습 — Controlled practice: 안내 방송 읽어 보기
Read the Model Dialogue's representative lines aloud at a slow, deliberate pace, maintaining the measured rhythm of formal spoken Korean described in the Pronunciation Focus.
의사소통 과제 — Communicative task: 문제 설명하고 도움 요청하기
With a partner, role-play a phone call to a technology customer service center. One partner plays the customer, describing a device or app problem in everyday polite style; the other plays the representative, responding in formal style and including at least one source-framing expression.
혼자 하는 연습 — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing a real or invented technology problem in everyday polite style, then record a second version as if you were the customer service representative responding in formal style.
Culture and Communication
Korean apps, banking services, and customer-support systems typically default to formal -습니다/-습니까 style because they address an unknown general public rather than a specific familiar person. This mirrors the same public-address logic you learned in Chapter 6 for news and notices, and it explains why even a friendly-sounding app can suddenly switch to formal language in its error messages and confirmations.
Korean speakers often move fluidly between highly casual, abbreviation-heavy chat language among close friends and much more careful, standard writing in academic, professional, or public contexts. Recognizing this range — without assuming that the casual end is "normal Korean" for every situation — is an important part of reading real, everyday Korean texts.
Online abbreviations and slang such as ㅇㅋ, ㄱㅅ, or 인싸 change quickly across generations and online communities, and they are not universal across all Korean speakers or all platforms. Treat this chapter's small receptive set as an introduction to a general pattern, not as a permanent or complete list.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Writing ㅇㅋ, ㄱㅅ, or dropped spacing in a message to an instructor, a customer service center, or in this chapter's Writing Workshop notice.
Correction: Reserve these forms for recognition only. Use full, properly spaced -아요/어요 or -습니다/-ㅂ니다 in your own productive writing, matched to the setting.
Error: Writing a technology notice that switches between -습니다 and -아요/어요 within the same passage.
Correction: As in Chapter 6, choose one speech level for the whole passage and keep it consistent throughout.
Error: Pronouncing 스마트폰 or 업데이트 with English syllable stress and consonant clusters instead of even Korean syllable timing.
Correction: Practice loanwords with even Korean syllable timing, as modeled in the Pronunciation Focus, rather than reaching back toward the English original.
Chapter Review
Section A — 어휘 (Vocabulary)
1. Give the meaning of 연결되다, 끊기다, and 해결되다, and identify the active-verb counterpart of each.
Section B — 문법 (Grammar)
1. Convert three everyday polite sentences about a technology problem into formal -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style.
2. Write one sentence using 에 따르면 and one sentence using -라고 밝혔다, both about a technology topic.
3. Explain, in English, why casual online abbreviations like ㅇㅋ should not appear in a formal notice.
Section C — 독해 이해 (Reading Comprehension)
1. Summarize the Reading Practice update notice in three to four English sentences, naming the source of the information and what was directly quoted.
Section D — 쓰기 (Writing)
1. Write your own formal notice and everyday-message pair following the Writing Workshop steps and checklist.
Section E — 말하기 (Speaking)
1. Perform the customer-service role-play with a partner or record both roles yourself, following the Speaking Practice guidance above.
누적 복습 — Cumulative review
This chapter recycles formal -습니다/-습니까 recognition, source-framing patterns, and recognized passive-form verbs from Chapter 6, applying them to a new technology and online-life domain. It also builds new productive vocabulary for devices, connectivity, and digital communication, while adding careful, labeled recognition of casual online register features that remain non-productive at this stage.
Practical Performance Task
수행 과제
문제를 설명하고 안내문 작성하기 — Explaining a Problem and Writing a Notice
You will describe a technology problem in two registers, both in writing and aloud, and correctly identify casual online forms without using them yourself.
- Reading: Read the Reading Practice update notice and group-chat excerpt (or similar passages your instructor provides).
- Written pair: Write a three-to-four sentence formal technology notice using at least one source-framing expression and one passive-form verb, plus a two-to-three sentence everyday-polite message about the same situation.
- Spoken restatement: Explain the situation aloud twice: once in formal style (as if announcing it publicly) and once in everyday polite style (as if telling a friend).
- Reflection: Write one to two English sentences identifying one casual online feature you recognized in this chapter's readings and explaining why you would not use it in your own formal writing.
| Criterion | What is evaluated |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension | Main point, source, and register of each passage are correctly identified |
| Formal style control | Written notice uses -습니다/-ㅂ니다 consistently and correctly |
| Source framing | At least one source-framing expression is used accurately and attributed clearly |
| Passive-form recognition | At least one recognized passive-form verb is used correctly |
| Register discipline | Everyday message avoids casual online abbreviations and uses accurate spacing |
| Register shift (spoken) | Spoken restatement correctly shifts between formal and everyday polite style |
| Hangeul and spacing accuracy | Accurate spelling and level-appropriate spacing throughout, no romanization |
| Scope discipline | No structures used productively beyond Volume III, Chapters 1–7 |
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- The representative uses formal -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style; 민준 uses everyday polite -아요/어요 style. This reflects the representative's role addressing a customer in an institutional, public-facing service context, versus 민준's role as an individual customer speaking personally.
- The development team stated that the cause is being investigated and the issue is expected to be resolved soon, introduced by -다고 개발팀이 밝혔습니다.
- 해결될 예정 ("is expected to be resolved") tells us the problem is expected to be fixed.
- Wait until the battery is completely drained, then charge it again; if the problem continues, contact customer service again.
Listening comprehension
- A new public Wi-Fi service starting next week in neighborhood parks and main streets.
- No password is needed; the official advises not entering sensitive personal information while using it.
- Users should contact the city hall information and communications department.
Reading comprehension
- Most login errors have been resolved; some users still experience disconnection problems.
- The company stated, "We plan to fully restore it within this month through additional fixes," introduced by -라고 밝혔습니다.
- Sample answers: dropped spacing and clipped questions (몇시임?), consonant-only abbreviations (ㅇㅋ for "okay"), repeated ㅋㅋㅋ for laughter, and ㅠㅠ as a crying/sympathy marker.
- These forms are appropriate only among close friends in casual settings; a professor or a customer service center expects standard spacing, complete words, and an appropriately polite or formal speech level.
Chapter Review — Section B
1. Sample answer: 앱이 멈춰요 → 앱이 멈춥니다; 비밀번호를 잊어버렸어요 → 비밀번호를 잊어버렸습니다; 화면이 안 나와요 → 화면이 나오지 않습니다.
2. Sample answer: 회사에 따르면, 다음 주에 새 업데이트가 배포될 예정입니다. / 담당자는 "문제는 오늘 안에 해결됩니다"라고 밝혔습니다.
3. Sample answer: Formal notices address an unknown general public and must remain accurate and universally readable; casual abbreviations assume shared context and familiarity that a formal audience does not have, and they can appear unprofessional or unclear.
Section D — Sample response pair
Formal notice: 서비스 제공업체에 따르면, 오늘 오전 일부 이용자의 계정 연결이 끊겼다고 합니다. 담당팀은 원인을 조사하고 있으며, 오늘 저녁까지 복구될 예정이라고 밝혔습니다.
Everyday message: 오늘 앱이 갑자기 끊겼어요. 저녁까지는 고쳐진대요. 조금만 기다려요!
Check that: the formal notice stays in -습니다/-ㅂ니다 style throughout and includes source framing and a passive-form verb, while the everyday message stays in -아요/어요 style with accurate spacing and no abbreviations.
Looking Ahead
지금 할 수 있는 것 — What you can do now
You can discuss devices, connectivity, and common technical problems; recognize and produce formal -습니다/-습니까 style in technology notices; continue applying source-framing and recognized passive-form verbs to a new domain; and distinguish standard productive writing from casual online forms that remain receptive only. These skills prepare you for Chapter 8, where you will move from recognizing passive forms to understanding institutions and procedures more fully, including the beginnings of passive and causative recognition in formal requests.