TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-에 즈음하여
N에 즈음하여 is a formal way to say that something is done to mark a significant occasion such as an anniversary, holiday or milestone.
시간·순서Time & sequenceHan: 즈음하다 combines with the particle 에; learners often borrow 을/를 from the similar pattern 을/를 맞아.
Examples
졸업에 즈음하여 그동안 지도해 주신 교수님들께 깊은 감사의 말씀을 드립니다.On the occasion of my graduation, I would like to express deep gratitude to the professors who have guided me.
새해에 즈음하여 대통령은 국민에게 신년사를 전했다.On the occasion of the new year, the president delivered a New Year's address to the nation.
광복절에 즈음한 특별 사면이 오늘 발표되었다.A special pardon marking Liberation Day was announced today.
창립 30주년에 즈음하여 회사는 새로운 비전을 발표했다.On the occasion of its 30th founding anniversary, the company announced a new vision.
Don’t mix up
-에 즈음하여vsN을/를 맞아맞아 takes 을/를 and is more common and less stiff; 에 즈음하여 takes 에 and is reserved for very formal speech or writing: 새해를 맞아 가족이 모였다.
-에 즈음하여vsN을/를 계기로계기로 presents the event as a turning point that caused a change; 에 즈음하여 only marks the occasion when something is done: 이 사건을 계기로 법이 바뀌었다.
-에 즈음하여vsN 무렵무렵 just means 'around (a time)' with no ceremonial meaning and works in daily speech; 에 즈음하여 marks a significant occasion: 해 질 무렵에 집에 왔다.
How to build it
N(event / occasion)+에 즈음하여 (= 에 즈음해서)
before a noun: N+에 즈음한+N
창립 30주년 → 창립 30주년에 즈음하여
- The noun takes the particle 에, not 을/를: 개교 기념일에 즈음하여 is standard, while 을 즈음하여 is a common mix-up with 을/를 맞아.
- Use it with meaningful occasions (anniversaries, holidays, graduation, the new year), not with ordinary times like 점심시간 or 어제.
- It is very formal and belongs to speeches, official announcements and news; in everyday conversation it sounds stiff, so 때 or 을/를 맞아 is preferred.
- The main clause usually describes a deliberate, often official action (announcing, holding an event, sending a message), not an accidental happening.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 개교 50주년을 즈음하여 기념식이 열렸다.
Right: 개교 50주년에 즈음하여 기념식이 열렸다.
즈음하다 combines with the particle 에; learners often borrow 을/를 from the similar pattern 을/를 맞아.
Practise -에 즈음하여 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)려니-(으)려니 either shows how hard or emotional it feels when you set about doing something, or, followed by 하다/생각하다, states what you assumed would happen.
- -는 족족-는 족족 means that each time something happens, something else follows right away, often so that the thing is quickly used up or gone.
- -기(가) 바쁘게-기(가) 바쁘게 shows that the next action follows the first one immediately, often in a hurry, as if there were no time to wait.
- -자니-자니 means 'if I go ahead and do X, a problem comes up' and is used when you are weighing a choice and hesitating.
- -기가 무섭게-기가 무섭게 means that the second event happens the very instant the first one occurs, almost too fast to believe.
- -노라니-노라니 means 'as I kept doing A, I came to feel or notice B', linking an ongoing action of the speaker to what it led them to realize; it is a literary, written-style ending.
- -(으)매-(으)매 is a bookish, literary way to say 'because' or 'as', linking a cause to its natural result in formal writing.
- -(으)나 -(으)나Two paired or opposite verbs/adjectives, each with -(으)나, mean 'whichever of these is the case, the following stays the same', which often amounts to 'regardless' or 'all the time'.
- -(으)락 -(으)락Joins two opposite actions or states to show that they keep switching back and forth.