Dear learners, here are a few guidelines to help you develop your writing. They are something like a manual for “good” writing. But just as a design manual alone cannot make you a “good” designer, please remember that these guidelines cannot work properly without your thoughtful consideration and effort—in other words, your time.

Concision and Accuracy

If the meaning is the same, the more concise the expression, the better. Remove unnecessary material boldly. Accuracy, however, matters more than concision. However concise an expression is, incorrect information takes the writing further from being good. Take care not to become so absorbed in expression that the meaning grows unclear.

Writing and Attitude

If what is within is not good, expression alone cannot conceal it. Having the right attitude—being a good person—is most important. Even if you fall short, take care not to let what is bad show in your writing. The saying “the writing is the person” is not entirely correct, but readers generally judge writers by what they write, ultimately valuing the thought within the writing over its expression. When thought and expression diverge, readers can easily feel repelled.

Korean and Usage

Native Korean words, loanwords, and foreign words are all part of Korean. There is no need to restrict expression by obsessively insisting on one kind of vocabulary. Deliberately inventing awkward words that pretend to be native Korean in the name of “loving Korean” may be stalking rather than love. Korean prose today has been deeply influenced by Japanese and Western languages. The very idea of clearly separating native, borrowed, and foreign words is therefore somewhat illusory. All the words surrounding us now, in other words, are Korean.

• Unless writing fiction or another literary work, do not overuse the personal pronouns ‘그’ and ‘그녀’ (“he” and “she”).
• If the meaning remains clear without the determiner ‘그’ (derived from European definite articles such as “the”) or the object particles ‘을’ and ‘를’, omitting them is more concise.
  • 나는 개인적으로 그 사람이 스승이 되기를 바란다. → 나는 개인적으로 그 사람이 내 스승기 되기 바란다.
• Subject particles such as ‘이’ and ‘가’ and auxiliary particles such as ‘은’ and ‘는’ lend nuance to a sentence, but become excess when unnecessary.
  • 둘째는 → 둘째
  • 결단을 내리기가 더 어렵다. → 결단을 내리기 더 어렵다.
  • 주눅이 들었다. → 주눅 들었다.
• Avoid harsh or vulgar metaphors, however vivid. They may disgust the reader and, above all, diminish the writing’s elegance.
  • 그의 작품을 보니 기분이 더러워졌다. → 그의 작품을 보니 마음이 불편해졌다.
• Avoid passive forms such as ‘~되어지다’ and ‘~해지다’ where possible.
• In objective writing, it is inappropriate to use forms of address based on your own relationship to someone.
  • 안상수 선생님 → 안상수 선생 → 안상수
  • 우리나라 → 한국
• Korean has no concept of the pluperfect. Revising ‘~했었다’ to ‘~했다’ is therefore more natural.
  • 몇 년 전 그의 스튜디오에서 인턴으로 일했었다. → 몇 년 전 그의 스튜디오에서 인턴으로 일했다.
• Omit ‘동안’ (“for/during”) where possible.
  • 나는 이 작업을 두 달 동안 했다. → 나는 이 작업을 두 달 했다.
• It is natural not to add the honorific ‘씨’ to the names of the deceased. The same applies to athletes, entertainers, foreigners, and in critical writing.
• The particle ‘의’ cannot be eliminated completely. Avoid overusing it, but make sure the relationship between modifier and modified remains clear.
  • 자신의 역량 → 자기 역량
  • 인류의 역사 → 인류 역사
• Revise ‘아마도’, ‘역시나’, and ‘특히나’ to ‘아마’, ‘역시’, and ‘특히’.
• Avoid ‘~에 의해’ where possible.
  • 철학에 의해 이끌리는 조국 → 철학에 이끌리는 조국
• Where possible, revise ‘하여’ and ‘하였’ to ‘해’ and ‘했’: the former often make writing stiff. To preserve a spoken quality, ‘되어’ and ‘되었’ can likewise become ‘돼’ and ‘됐’.
• Avoid splitting verbs. This can sound inarticulate, like former president Park Geun-hye.
  • 디자인을 했다. → 디자인했다.
• Omit conjunctions where possible. This can create tension between sentences. Readers connect them through context.
• Do not add the plural suffix ‘들’ to abstract concepts.
  • 문학적 발언들이 아니라 디자인적 발언들이었다. → 문학적 발언이 아니라 디자인적 발언이었다.
• A comma (,) after the subject is awkward, but advisable if the subject phrase is excessively long. The subject can also be placed in the middle of a sentence.
• Adding “and” before the last item in a list comes from European languages. This is simply useful to know.
• In ‘그럼에도 불구하고’, ‘불구하고’ is redundant. Use ‘그럼에도’ or ‘그런데도’.
• Keep a modifier as close as possible to what it modifies.
• Where possible, using the present tense in place of the past is more natural. Context often conveys time sufficiently.
  • 내가 처음 가본 유럽 도시는 바젤(Basel)이었다. → 내가 처음 가본 외국 도시는 바젤(Basel)이다.
• If ‘것’ appears more than once in a sentence, replace one instance with ‘점’ or another suitable word.
  • 바젤에서 가장 인상적이었던 건 그곳이 조금도 인상적이지 않다는 것이다. → 바젤에서 가장 인상적이었던 건 그곳이 조금도 인상적이지 않다는 점이다.
• Avoid excessive exaggeration. If you must exaggerate, follow the advice of essayist Ko Jongsok, whom I admire: do it only three or four times in your lifetime.
• Distinguish ‘~에 대한(대해)’ from ‘~에 관한(관해)’. In my experience, the former carries the sense of “against,” and the latter of “on” or “about.”
  • 국기에 대한 경례
  • 타이포그래피에 관한 논문
• Do not overuse ‘~서’.
  • 붙여서 쓴다. → 붙여 쓴다.
• Distinguish Korean from Hangeul. Korean is the language; Hangeul is the writing system.
• Attach ‘에’ to inanimate nouns and ‘에게’ to animate nouns.
  • 일본에게 타이포그래피를 묻다 → 일본에 타이포그래피를 묻다
• When the subject is an organization rather than a person, use the particle ‘에서’.
  • 이번 대회는 우리 학교가 우승했다. → 이번 대회는 우리 학교에서 우승했다.
  • 민구홍 매뉴팩처링에서는 파주타이포그라피배곳에서 요리 워크숍을 진행하지 않습니다.

Spacing and Joining Words

Spacing and joining words may seem trivial, but consistency is important in a finished text. For your information, ‘띄어쓰기’ and ‘붙여쓰기’, the nouns for spacing and joining words, are written without spaces. In other words, do not space them out; join them together.

• Separate words as a rule, but join compound nouns. Join compound nouns listed in the National Institute of Korean Language’s Standard Korean Language Dictionary (such as ‘전문^용어’ and ‘가상^공간’), and follow comparable cases for compounds not in the dictionary.
• Join auxiliary predicates—auxiliary verbs and adjectives—to the preceding word. However, separate ‘있다, 듯싶다, 듯하다, 만하다, 법하다, 뻔하다, 성싶다, 양하다, 척하다, 체하다’ from the preceding word.
  • 책을 다 읽어가다.
  • 살아 있다.
• Join the names of buildings, institutions, schools, organizations, and so on, separating their organizational units with spaces. When giving the original-language name, follow its own spacing.
  • 한양대학교 인문대학
  • 파주타이포그라피배곳(Paju Typography Institute, PaTI)

Foreign Words, Loanwords, and Native Words

Distinguish clearly between foreign words, loanwords, and native words. Foreign words are used in other countries, loanwords are foreign words established in Korean, and native words are those used since earlier times.

• Replace foreign words with native Korean equivalents “where possible.”
  • 브로셔 → 안내서
  • 페이지 → 쪽, 지면
• If there is no suitable native equivalent, transcribe according to the National Institute of Korean Language’s loanword rules and include the original term.
• For foreign people’s names, work titles, and organization names, give the original-language form on first appearance “where possible,” then omit it. This helps readers search for them.
  • 장자크 루소(Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
  • 『에밀』(Emile ou de l’education)
• Present abbreviations as follows.
  • 카네기멜론대학교(Carnegie Mellon University, CMU)
• In Japanese names, change a tense consonant in the initial syllable to a plain consonant. This is one of the loanword transcription rules. But for words long established in Korean, it is generally better to follow established usage.
  • 하라 켄야 → 하라 겐야

Numbers and Numerals

A number expresses a quantity counted or measured; a numeral is a symbol representing a number.

• Spell out numbers up to 100 that can be read in Korean; use numerals above 100. Arabic numerals may also be used below 100 for comparison or enumeration, but maintain a consistent system throughout the manuscript.
  • 병사 한 명 (good)
  • 직원 253명 (good)
  • 병사 1명 (good?)
• Write numbers of 1,000 or more as follows, leaving spaces between units.
  • 43만 2,325명
  • 583억 3,321만 6,003개
• Always use numerals for dates, durations in months and weeks, and time. Insert a comma every three digits, except in years.
  • 2,000시간
  • 1991년에는
• Write units in Hangeul where possible.
  • 16퍼센트
  • 16밀리미터
• In dates, the year, month, and day markers may each be replaced by a period (.), although this is awkward within a sentence. A space may follow each period.
  • 2015년 3월 5일 (good)
  • 2015.3.5. (good)
  • 2015.3.5 (Western style)
  • 내 생일은 1985.3.5.이다. (awkward)

Punctuation

Correct punctuation is an important indicator of writing ability. It also provides a reference point that holds expression together.

• End every sentence except a title with a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation mark (!). This also applies to sentences enclosed in double or single quotation marks or parentheses.
  • 스피노자(Baruch Spinoza)는 “내일 지구가 멸망하더라도 오늘 한 그루의 나무를 심겠다.”라고 말했다.
• Use an apostrophe (’) for English possessives and contractions.
• Enclose dialogue and direct quotations in double quotation marks (“”). Use single quotation marks (‘’) to emphasize or distinguish words and phrases, and for indirect quotations.
• Use hyphens (-), en dashes (–), and em dashes (―) correctly according to their functions, but only when necessary. If a foreign name contains a hyphen, join the parts in Korean.
  • 장-자크 루소 → 장자크 루소
• Avoid commas (,), which interrupt the rhythm of reading, unless necessary. Do not use them after conjunctive adverbs or commonly used words, or between words when listing a group of them.
• Avoid interpuncts (·), colons (:), semicolons (;), slashes (/), and similar marks in body text “where possible.”
• Underlining or bold type can be used for emphasis. Hangeul typography, however, has no concept of italics.
• Use a three-dot ellipsis (…) as shown in parentheses, in place of a period.
• Enclose titles of collected works, books, and series in double corner brackets (『』).
• Enclose titles of individual works, papers, and articles in single corner brackets (「」).
• Enclose newspaper and magazine titles in double angle brackets (《》).
• Enclose exhibition, lecture, and concert titles, and titles of music, artworks, films, and songs, in single angle brackets (〈〉). Do not use inequality signs (<>) as angle brackets.
• If the punctuation becomes excessive, however, double and single corner brackets alone may be used in place of double and single angle brackets.
• When a business or place name would not otherwise be readily identifiable, enclose it in single quotation marks (‘’).
• The tilde (~) means “to,” or “from ~ to ~.”

References and Other Matters

Format references as follows.

• Korean publication: 문은배, 『한국의 전통색』, 안그라픽스, 2012, 12~34쪽.
• Translation: 레나테 멘치, 『프라이탁: 가방을 넘어서』(FREITAG: Out of the Bag), 이수영 옮김, 안그라픽스, 2013, 12~34쪽.

URLs, or website addresses, can be too long to break neatly across lines in print. Replacing them with QR codes is one option.

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For cases not covered here, follow the National Institute of Korean Language’s Korean orthography. Like all guidelines, these are subject to revision.

I hope they serve as a useful guide to your writing. If you have questions, please write to minguhong@pati.kr at any time.

Yours,
Min Guhong