Join Korea’s ‘갓생’ Trend: Plan Your Future in a Diary!
Hello! This is [Everyday Hangul], here to upgrade your Korean skills!
Have you ever wanted to talk about your new goals or resolutions in Korean? Like telling a friend, “I’m going to start a new habit!” Today, we’re going to learn exactly how to do that by focusing on a very popular goal: starting a diary.
These days in Korea, there’s a huge trend called ‘갓생’ (God-saeng), which means living a productive and exemplary life. A super popular way to practice ‘갓생’ is by writing a diary to track goals and organize thoughts. So, let’s learn the Korean phrases you need to join this awesome trend!
Core Expressions You Need to Know
Here are the key building blocks for talking about your new diary-writing goal!
- 1. 일기 (Diary / Journal)
- Pronunciation [Romanized]: il-gi
- English Meaning: Diary / Journal
- Detailed Explanation: This is the simple and essential noun for a diary. If you want to talk about writing in a journal,
일기is the word you need!
- 2. 쓰다 (To write)
- Pronunciation [Romanized]: sseu-da
- English Meaning: To write
- Detailed Explanation: This is the basic dictionary form of the verb “to write.” You use this verb for writing anything, from a letter to a book. Remember, in Korean, verbs always come at the end of the sentence!
- 3. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (I will… / I am going to…)
- Pronunciation [Romanized]: -(eu)l geo-ye-yo
- English Meaning: I will… / I am going to…
- Detailed Explanation: This is the magic grammar pattern for talking about the future! It’s a polite and very common way to state your plans or intentions.
- Attach -ㄹ 거예요 to a verb stem that ends in a vowel. (Example: 가다 (ga-da) → 갈 거예요 (gal geo-ye-yo) – I will go.)
- Attach -을 거예요 to a verb stem that ends in a consonant. (Example: 먹다 (meok-da) → 먹을 거예요 (meog-eul geo-ye-yo) – I will eat.)
- 4. 일기를 쓸 거예요 (I’m going to write a diary)
- Pronunciation [Romanized]: il-gi-reul sseul geo-ye-yo
- English Meaning: I am going to write a diary.
- Detailed Explanation: Let’s put it all together!
일기(diary) +를(object particle) +쓸 거예요(will write). The verb쓰다ends in the vowel ‘ㅡ’, but it’s an irregular verb, so it becomes쓸 거예요. This is the key sentence for today!
Example Conversation
See how these expressions work in a real-life chat between two friends, A and B.
A: 소미 씨, 새해 계획 있어요?
(Somi, do you have any New Year’s plans?)
B: 네! 오늘부터 한국어로 일기를 쓸 거예요.
(Yes! Starting from today, I’m going to write a diary in Korean.)
A: 와, 정말요? 멋있네요!
(Wow, really? That’s so cool!)
B: 네, 저도 ‘갓생’ 한번 살아보려고요!
(Yep, I’m going to try living a ‘God-saeng’ life, too!)
Culture Tip & Trend Deep Dive
So, what exactly is this ‘갓생’ (God-saeng) trend we mentioned?
- ‘갓생’ is a combination of ‘갓’ (God), meaning ‘god-tier’ or ‘amazing’, and ‘인생’ (in-saeng), meaning ‘life’. Together, it means living an ideal, productive, and self-improved life.
- On Korean social media and YouTube, you’ll see thousands of “갓생 Vlogs” where people share their routines: waking up early, exercising, studying hard, and, you guessed it, 일기 쓰기 (ilgi sseugi – writing a diary).
- If you tell your Korean friends, “일기를 쓸 거예요” to live a “갓생,” they will be super impressed that you know such a current and popular cultural trend! You’ll sound just like a local.
Let’s Review and Practice!
Great job today! We learned how to talk about our future plans using the -(으)ㄹ 거예요 grammar pattern, focusing on the trendy goal of starting a diary.
Now it’s your turn to practice!
- Fill in the blank: How would you say, “I am going to watch a movie”? (The verb for “to watch” is 보다 [bo-da]).
- 영화를 __________.
- Make a sentence: Using the words below, how do you say, “I am going to read a book”?
- (책을 [chaeg-eul] – a book, 읽다 [ik-da] – to read)
What are your new plans or goals? Try making a sentence using what you learned today and share it in the comments below! We’d love to cheer you on
