Lesson 1

Reading News Articles

Understand Korean news headlines, article structure, and formal written style.

Korean news language is a register of its own — denser than conversational Korean, packed with Sino-Korean vocabulary, and structured around a specific set of conventions. Newspaper headlines use compressed grammar that often drops particles and uses noun-final structures: '경제 성장 둔화' (economic growth slows) instead of the full sentence form. Article body text uses formal -다 plain narrative style rather than polite speech.

Key reading strategies: tackle the headline and lead paragraph first to anchor the topic, then read for detail. News stories follow the inverted pyramid (most important information first), so you can stop reading at any point and still have the core information. Common news vocabulary clusters around politics (대통령 president, 국회 National Assembly, 선거 election), economics (경제 economy, 성장 growth, 물가 prices), and society (정부 government, 정책 policy, 사회 society). Once you have these high-frequency clusters memorised, news comprehension accelerates dramatically.

~(으)ㄴ/는 것으로 나타났다 — It was found that / It turned out

A common news pattern used to report findings or survey results. Verb + (으)ㄴ/는 것으로 나타났다. Often used with statistics, research results, or official reports.

한국인의 70%가 스마트폰을 하루 3시간 이상 사용하는 것으로 나타났습니다.hanguginui chilsip peosenteuga seumateupon-eul haru se sigan isang sayonghaneun geoseuro natanasseumnidaIt was found that 70% of Koreans use smartphones more than 3 hours daily.

매출이 전년 대비 15% 증가한 것으로 나타났습니다.maechuri jeonyeon daebi sibo peosinteu jeungahan geoseuro natanasseumnidaIt was found that sales increased by 15% year-over-year.

~에 따르면 — According to

Used to cite a source of information. Noun + 에 따르면. Common sources: 보도에 따르면 (according to reports), 전문가에 따르면 (according to experts), 조사에 따르면 (according to a survey).

기상청에 따르면 내일 전국에 비가 올 예정입니다.gisangcheonge ttareumyeon naeil jeonguge biga ol yejeong-imnidaAccording to the weather agency, rain is expected nationwide tomorrow.

최근 조사에 따르면 청년 실업률이 높아지고 있습니다.choegeun josae ttareumyeon cheongnyeon sireomnyuri nopajigo itseumnidaAccording to a recent survey, youth unemployment is rising.

보도bodonews report

Examples언론에서 이 사건을 크게 보도했어요.eolloneseo i sageoneur keuge bodohaesseoyoThe media reported this incident heavily.

발표하다balpyohadato announce / to present

Examples정부가 새로운 정책을 발표했습니다.jeongbuga saeroun jeongchaegeul balpyohaetseumnidaThe government announced a new policy.

증가하다jeunggahadato increase

Examples관광객 수가 작년보다 크게 증가했습니다.gwangwanggaek suga jangnyeonboda keuge jeunggahaetseumnidaThe number of tourists increased significantly compared to last year.

감소하다gamsohadato decrease

Examples출생률이 계속 감소하고 있습니다.chulsaengnyuri gyesok gamsohago itseumnidaThe birth rate continues to decrease.

전문가jeonmungaexpert / specialist

Examples전문가들은 경기 회복을 예상하고 있습니다.jeonmungadeureun gyeonggi hoebogeul yesanghago itseumnidaExperts expect an economic recovery.

논란nollancontroversy / debate

Examples이 법안은 찬반 논란이 계속되고 있습니다.i beopaneun chanban nollani gyesokdoego itseumnidaThis bill continues to face pros and cons debate.

Cultural & Language Note

Korean news writing uses a dense register built on Sino-Korean compounds and passive-leaning constructions like 것으로 나타났다. Headlines drop particles and verb endings entirely to save space, so they read as strings of nouns. Japanese speakers can decode much of the vocabulary through shared kanji compounds, making news one of the fastest-yielding areas of study.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

News register does not transfer to speech. Saying 것으로 나타났습니다 in conversation sounds like you are reading a bulletin aloud. Learners also parse headlines as ungrammatical because the particles are missing, when in fact the omission is a systematic headline convention that has to be read back in mentally.