• Describe your job experience
• Ask and answer questions about your job-related skills and experience
• Use appropriate honorifics to conduct an interview

• INGREDIENTS – 단어 Vocabulary
  • Job Interview
• RECIPE – 문법과 표현 Grammar
  • V–(으)ㄴ적이 있다/없다
  • V–(으)ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다
  • A/V–(으)시
• LET’S COOK! – 해 봐요! Classroom Tasks
  • Interpretive Task 1: A job interview
  • Interpretive & Interpersonal Task 2: Advertisement: Volunteer wanted
  • Interpersonal & Presentational Task 3: Career development center survey
• KOREAN FLAVORS – 한국어와 한국 문화 Korean Language & Culture
  • Korean pronouns
  • Getting hired in Korea
• NOW YOU TRY! – 스스로 해봐요! Async. Practices and Tasks
  • WB Link
  • Communicative Task Link

What types of cultural events do you like to watch or take part in? And how would you ask someone about their preferred genre in Korean?

What seems to be happening in the following dialogue?

Review: –아/어 봤다 have experienced

In Book 2, you learned that–아/어 보다 in the past tense expresses whether you have tried something:

V–(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다 have ever done

The  verb +(으)ㄴ (past tense noun–modifying clause) with 적 (이) 있어요 does a similar job with more emphasis on if there has ever been a time you did something:

V–아/어 본 적이 있다/없다 have ever tried …ing

Since –아/어 보다 gives a sense of trying something, it is often combined with –(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 (as –아/어 본 적 있다), to yield a sense “have you ever tried  …ing?” You can answer these questions with “네, 있어요, –(으)ㄴ적이 많아요,” or “아니오, 없어요, –(으)ㄴ 적이 없습니다.”:

Conjugation

This sentence ending follows the –(으) type conjugation rule. Let’s try!

<답> 배운 적이 있다/없다, 친 적이 있다/없다, 들은 적이 있다/없다, 만든 적이 있다/없다, 도운 적이 있다/없다, 부른 적이 있다/없다, 그런 적이 있다/없다

V–(으)ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다 know/not know how to

Not simply knowing someone or something but knowing how to do something has a special expression in Korean: –(으)ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다:

You can express knowing or not knowing how to do something in the past too, typically with a time phrase.

–(으) 줄 is an object of the verb 알다/모르다, so markers can be used after it for clarity or emphasis.

Conjugation

Just like –(으)ㄴ 적이 있다, –(으)ㄴ 줄 알다/모르다 follows the (으) beginning conjugation pattern. Try on your own!

<답> 번역할 줄 알다, 구울 줄 알다, 칠 줄 알다, 만들 줄 알다, 걸을 줄 알다, 그럴 줄 알다

A/V–(으)시 to Honor the Subject

You have already learned that honorific verbs exalt the doer of an action and you also know how to turn verbs into honorific verbs by adding –(으)시 to their stem form. Read the following examples and figure out whom –(으)시 is honoring in these sentences.

Here is a summary of the –(으)시 conjugation. Cover the honorific pair and see if you can conjugate verbs into –(으)시다 verbs.

In the formal speech styles, –(으)시 is combined with  –(스)ㅂ니다/까.

In the following honorific verb chart, conjugate the verbs into –(으)십니다 forms.

Conjugation

Now try conjugating honorific verbs for both polite and formal endings:

<답> 보세요, 보십니다, 보셨어요, 보셨습니다, 보실 거예요, 보실 겁니다, 들으세요, 들으십니다, 들으셨어요, 들으셨습니다, 들으실 거예요, 들으실 겁니다, 아세요, 아십니다, 아셨어요, 아셨습니다, 아실 거예요, 아실 겁니다, 부르세요, 부르십니다, 부르셨어요, 부르셨습ㄴ다, 부르실 거예요, 부르실 겁니다, 누우세요, 누우십니다, 누우셨어요, 누우셨습니다, 누우실 거예요, 누우실 겁니다, 바쁘세요, 바쁘십니다, 바쁘셨어요, 바쁘셨습니다, 바쁘실 거예요, 바쁘실 겁니다, Noun이세요/세요, Noun이십니다, Noun이셨어요, Noun이셨습니다, Noun이실 거예요, Noun이실 겁니다

A/V–(으)시 in Sentence Connectors

Honorific verbs with –(으)시 also conjugate before sentence connectors (that is, they do not just appear at the end of a sentence):

Now, try to fill out this chart with –어서 and –(으)면 forms.

<답> 만드셔서, 구우셔서, 걸으시면, 그러시면

Create a role play with your partner using the key grammar expressions and new vocabulary from this lesson. Include 5-to-6 meaningful rounds of turn-taking in the dialogue. Take turns and feel free to add details to make the conversation lively.

• Context: Two people are in a job interview, one as an interviewer and the other as an interviewee. Exchange a series of questions and answers regarding a job position, required qualification, and experiences.
• Participants: An interviewer and an interviewee
• Key Expressions: –(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다, –(으)ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다, –(으)시
• Sample dialogue:

Danny is a candidate for the part–time job position at his school. Listen to the interview and answer the following questions in Korean.

1. What is the position Danny has applied for?
2. What is Danny worrying about?
3. What are the required qualifications for the position?
4. Based on the interview, does Danny meet the qualifications for the position?

Helpful Vocabulary

사실: in fact

 Advertisement: Looking for a Volunteer

Seyoung is seeking an opportunity for volunteer service. She found a posting on the local hospital website.

Read the posting and write your application in Korean. (Use –(으)ㄹ 줄 알다; –(으)ㄴ 적이 있다; –(으)ㄴ 편이다

Helpful Vocabulary

전형 방법: screening process

특기: special skills, qualifications

-차: round

봉사자: volunteer

이유: reason

장점: strengths

Career Aptitude

1. You are at the career development office of your school. The recruiting officer has given you an interview to determine the type of work that suits your aptitude, experience, and qualifications. Respond to the following interview questions. Once you have completed the interview, change the role (interviewer/interviewee) and conduct the interview again.

2. Share your advice with the interviewees and discuss which type of work may suit them best and why.

Helpful Vocabulary

보고: report

팀: team

리더: leader

3. Each of you will present the advice or suggestions you received from your interviewer during our role-play activities (Tasks 1 and 2). Additionally, discuss the insights or lessons you gained from these interactions.

Some say Korean is a discourse-oriented language. It means that in Korean, continuous stretches of sentences in sequence, rather than a single sentence as in English, tend to function as a linguistic unit. For example, unlike English, which must refer to explicit subjects and objects in each sentence, Korean assumes the same referent and continues on without explicitly mentioning the item (or even using a pronoun), unless there is a danger of confusing the reader/listener. Examine the contrast below:

English:

I saw a bear in the forest yesterday. It was a baby bear, and it seemed lost.  I was afraid its mother might be watching so I didn’t go near it but observed it from afar. When I looked after a moment of distraction, the baby bear had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.

(a) 어제 숲에서 곰 한 마리를 봤어요. (b) ____ 아기 곰이었는데, ____길을 잃은 것 같았어요. (c) 나는 엄마 곰이 어디선가 보고있을까봐 ____ 가까이 가지 않고 ____ 멀리서 지켜 봤어요. (d) ____ 잠깐 한 눈을 팔다 다시 보니까 아기 곰이 어디론가 사라지고 ____ 보이지 않았어요.

Because sentence b is still about the same bear that was introduced in sentence a, the Korean sentence does not explicitly mention the bear. On the other hand, sentence c is about me (change of what’s being talked about) so there is a need to state it in the sentence in Korean. Interestingly, what I looked at from afar is still the same bear, thus there is no need to explicitly state it again in the sentence in Korean. The final sentence d continues to be about me, so there is no explicit mention of “me” in Korean.  On the other hand, both English and Korean sentences introduce the baby bear (아기 곰) because the predicate (disappeared) is not about me but rather the baby bear.

As you have seen, the use of pronouns in Korean is quite different from English. It does not mean Korean has no pronouns or does not use pronouns. There is, in fact, a complex pronoun system. Here are some frequently used pronouns:

Getting Hired in Korea

There are different hiring methods in Korea than those you might be familiar with. As you learned in this chapter, the cover letter in Korea takes a somewhat different tone than in the US, with more personal anecdotes and stories.  The résumé takes a different form, as well, and some companies use their own application forms. These forms often require a photograph of the applicant and a 주민 등록 번호 (citizen number; you can figure out a person’s birthday and gender from this number). For example, 040121–3066615 means this person was born on January 21st, 2004 and male (if the first number of the last seven digit is 1 or 3, the applicant is male and if 2 or 4, they are female). Some companies used to require your nearest family members’ information (e.g. name, 주민등록 번호 citizen number, occupation, etc.), but they have generally stopped doing so these days.

Many jobs require not only résumé screening but also written tests and interviews in English as well as Korean. There are several English tests in Korea, and most companies require applicants to submit their test scores. The most common test is TOEIC S & W (Test of English for International Communication — speaking and writing) but other tests exist, such as TEPS (The Test of English Proficiency, developed by Seoul National University), OPIC (Oral Proficiency Interview–Computer), ESPT (English Speaking Proficiency Test), and G–TELP (The General Tests of English Language Proficiency).

Research is finding that  more people these days are putting emphasis on work conditions, opportunities for growth , and their own skills and interests when they choose a career path. For them, 워라밸 (work–life balance) is very important. But they also must keep in mind competition and job security in a currently unstable job market. This is unlike previous generations who enjoyed life–long careers (정년 퇴직제).  The pressure to find and hold a good job and build a career has found its way into college life and many college students work hard to be equipped with 스펙, qualifications to get hired.