Korean Editorial Style: -는다던가, -으리라고, -자면
The register of Korean op-eds. -는다던가1 echoes a claim with a critical edge (당국은 기다리라던가 — the authorities said to wait, was it?), -으리라고 reports a belief about what would happen (성공하리라고 믿었다 — they believed it would succeed), and -자면2 sets up a point to make (결론을 말하자면 — if I am to state the conclusion).
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Korean editorial writing has its own toolkit for sounding measured, skeptical, and persuasive, and three forms carry that voice. -는다던가1 echoes an official claim with a critical edge (당국은 그저 기다리라던가, 대책은 없었다 — the authorities said to just wait, was it — yet there were no measures), -으리라고 reports what was expected to happen (전문가들은 경기가 나아지리라고 보았다 — experts saw that the economy would improve), and -자면2 sets up the writer’s own point (결론을 말하자면, 대응이 너무 늦었다 — if I am to state the conclusion, the response was far too late). Together they build the claim → evidence → proposal arc of an op-ed.
This lesson continues the news-and-register thread from the headline-grammar lesson: there you decompressed the front page, here you step inside the opinion page, where the writer argues rather than reports. Start with ten words from the editorial vocabulary.
Ten words for the opinion page
Echoing a claim to question it: -는다던가1
Attach -는다던가1 to a reported clause to echo what someone said while distancing yourself from it, with a vague, faintly critical air — “they said to … or something, was it?” Build it from the indirect report (-ㄴ다/-는다 for statements, -(으)라 for commands, -자 for proposals) plus -던가. The writer quotes an official line precisely in order to cast doubt on it.
당국은 그저 기다리라던가, 대책은 없었다 = the authorities said to just wait, was it — yet there were no measures 곧 해결된다던가, 달라진 건 없다 = it’ll be solved soon, supposedly — nothing has changed 예산이 충분하다던가, 현장은 정반대다 = the budget is sufficient, they said — the field says the opposite 함께 논의한다던가, 회의는 열리지 않았다 = they’d discuss it together, was it — but no meeting was ever held
The form itself signals doubt. By quoting the official claim with -는다던가1, the writer flags it as unreliable and sets up the rebuttal that almost always follows in the next clause.
Reporting a forecast: -으리라고
Attach -으리라고 to a verb stem to report a belief or expectation about what would happen, feeding it into verbs like 믿다 (believe), 보다 (see/judge), 생각하다 (think). It is the literary future -으리라 plus the quotative 고, so it carries a measured, forward-looking weight that plain -ㄴ다고 lacks.
전문가들은 경기가 나아지리라고 보았다 = experts saw that the economy would improve 모두가 그가 성공하리라고 믿었다 = everyone believed he would succeed 사태가 곧 진정되리라고 기대했다 = they expected the situation would soon settle 당국이 해결하리라고 믿기는 어렵다 = it is hard to believe the authorities would resolve it
Editorials reach for -으리라고 when reporting what was expected, often just before judging whether the expectation held. The -으리라 core lends it gravity; swapping in 나아진다고 보았다 would flatten the prediction into a bare statement.
Setting up your point: -자면2
Attach -자면2 to a speech verb to frame the point you are about to make — “if I am to put it / state it / speak of it.” It opens a thesis sentence: 결론을 말하자면 (if I am to state the conclusion), 비판하자면 (if I am to offer a criticism). Do not confuse it with the goal-oriented -자면1 (“if we are to achieve X”) you met earlier.
결론을 말하자면, 대응이 너무 늦었다 = if I am to state the conclusion, the response was far too late 한마디로 말하자면, 준비 부족이었다 = to put it in a word, it was a lack of preparation 솔직히 말하자면, 신뢰가 무너졌다 = to be honest, trust has collapsed 굳이 비판하자면, 소통이 부족했다 = if I must offer a criticism, communication was lacking
Context keeps the two -자면 apart: -자면1 is followed by what it takes to reach a goal (합격하자면 열심히 해야 한다 — to pass, you must work hard), while -자면2 is followed by the writer’s own statement or judgment. In a column, -자면2 is the writer clearing their throat to say “here is my point.”
A short editorial, structured
Here is the claim → evidence → proposal arc of an op-ed compressed into one paragraph, using -으리라고 and -자면2:
결론을 말하자면, 이번 사태의 책임은 당국에 있다. 당국은 시장이 곧 안정되리라고 보았지만, 그 예상은 빗나갔다. 물가는 오히려 뛰었고, 서민의 부담은 커졌다. 솔직히 말하자면, 안일한 전망이 화를 키운 셈이다. 이제라도 당국은 구체적인 대책을 내놓아야 한다. 더 늦기 전에 신뢰를 회복하리라는 의지를 행동으로 보여야 할 때다.
If I am to state the conclusion, the responsibility for this crisis lies with the authorities. They judged that the market would soon stabilize, but that expectation missed the mark. Prices instead surged, and the burden on ordinary people grew. To be honest, a complacent forecast is what magnified the damage. Even now, the authorities must put forward concrete measures. Before it is too late, this is the moment to show, through action, the will to restore trust.
Debating an editorial’s stance
Two readers argue over a column’s line, using -는다던가1 to throw the official claims into doubt:
Notice how each 해결한다던가, 충분하다던가, 논의한다던가 quotes an official line in order to puncture it, 회복되리라고 본 reports the forecast that failed, and 말하자면 frames the readers’ summary judgment. That dry, skeptical layering is the sound of Korean editorial argument.
FAQ
What does -는다던가1 mean, and why do editorials use it? -는다던가1 reports what someone supposedly said while holding it at arm’s length, with a vague and faintly critical edge — roughly ‘they said to … or something, was it?’ It is built from the reported -ㄴ다/-는다 (or -(으)라 on a command, -자 on a proposal) plus -던가. 당국은 기다리라던가, 정작 대책은 없다 = the authorities said to wait, was it — yet there are no actual measures. 곧 해결된다던가 = it’ll be solved soon, supposedly. Editorials love it because the form itself signals doubt: the writer quotes an official line precisely in order to question it, setting up a rebuttal in the next sentence. The tone is dry, skeptical, and unmistakably op-ed.
How is -으리라고 different from -ㄴ다고? Both are quotative complements ending in 고 that feed verbs like 믿다, 보다, 생각하다 (‘believe / see / think that …’), but they carry different futures. -으리라고 is built on -으리라, the literary future, so it reports a measured prediction: 경기가 나아지리라고 보았다 = saw that the economy WOULD improve, 성공하리라고 믿었다 = believed it would succeed. Plain -ㄴ다고 just reports a fact or general claim: 나아진다고 보았다 = saw that it improves. In editorial prose -으리라고 adds gravity and a forward-looking, somewhat formal color — the writer is reporting what was expected to happen, often before evaluating whether it did.
How is -자면2 different from the -자면 I learned earlier? They look identical but do different jobs. The earlier -자면1 means ‘if we are to achieve / accomplish (a goal)’: 합격하자면 열심히 해야 한다 = if we are to pass, we must work hard. The editorial -자면2 means ‘if one is to put it / state it / speak of it’ — it frames the writer about to make a point: 결론을 말하자면 = if I am to state the conclusion, 비판하자면 = if I am to offer a criticism, 한마디로 말하자면 = to put it in a word. You will see -자면2 opening the thesis sentence of a column, signaling ‘here is what I want to say.’ Context disambiguates: -자면1 is followed by what it takes to reach a goal; -자면2 is followed by the writer’s own statement or judgment.
Next: retrospective narration — -던, -던가. Previous: news headline grammar — -으리라는, -는다는. Full path: curriculum hub.