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TOPIK II · LEVEL 4

-(으)ㄴ/는 마당에

-(으)ㄴ/는 마당에 sets up a usually difficult or already-decided situation, and the next clause says what makes sense, or no longer makes sense, given that situation.

변화·피동·사동Change, passive & causative

Han: Meeting a friend is a neutral opportunity, not a difficult situation, so 마당에 sounds strange; 김에 expresses doing something extra along the way.

Examples

일이 이렇게 된 마당에 더 숨길 게 뭐가 있겠어요? 다 말씀드릴게요.Now that things have come to this, what is there left to hide? I'll tell you everything.
이미 회사를 그만둔 마당에 이제 와서 후회해도 소용없어요.Now that you've already quit the company, there's no use regretting it at this point.
월급도 제대로 못 받는 마당에 외식은 무슨 외식이에요?We can't even get our salary properly, so eating out is out of the question.
시험이 내일인 마당에 게임만 하고 있으면 어떡해?The exam is tomorrow, and you're just playing games? What are you thinking?

Don’t mix up

-(으)ㄴ/는 마당에vs-(으)ㄴ/는 이상이상 states a logical condition that forces a conclusion (often 'must'); 마당에 adds frustration about a bad situation: 약속한 이상 지켜야 해요 vs 다 망한 마당에 약속이 무슨 소용이에요?-(으)ㄴ/는 마당에vs-(으)ㄴ/는 김에김에 means using a chance to do something extra, a neutral or positive idea; 마당에 points to an unfavorable situation: 시장에 간 김에 과일도 샀어요.-(으)ㄴ/는 마당에vs-는 바람에바람에 gives the unexpected cause of a past bad result; 마당에 gives the situation for a judgment or decision: 늦잠을 자는 바람에 지각했어요 vs 이미 늦은 마당에 서두를 필요 없어요.

How to build it

V+는 마당에 (ongoing)
V+(으)ㄴ 마당에 (completed)
A+(으)ㄴ 마당에
N+인 마당에

그만두다 → 회사를 그만둔 마당에, 힘들다 → 다들 힘든 마당에

  1. Use it for tense, unfavorable or turning-point situations, not for a neutral time like 'when I was eating'.
  2. The second clause is usually a judgment: something is pointless or out of the question, often as a rhetorical question (-겠어요?, 무슨 N이에요?), or a decision such as 'let's just tell the truth'.
  3. Choose the tense by the situation: a finished situation takes -(으)ㄴ 마당에 (이렇게 된 마당에), an ongoing one takes -는 마당에 (월급도 못 받는 마당에).
  4. It carries the speaker's frustration or resignation, so it sounds out of place in neutral formal writing.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 친구를 만난 마당에 커피도 한잔했어요.

Right: 친구를 만난 김에 커피도 한잔했어요.

Meeting a friend is a neutral opportunity, not a difficult situation, so 마당에 sounds strange; 김에 expresses doing something extra along the way.

Practise -(으)ㄴ/는 마당에 on real TOPIK questions

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More level 4 grammar

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