Korean Incident News: (으)로 인해, 마저
Reading Korean disaster news means handling formal cause with (으)로 인해 (폭우로 인해 도로가 통제되었습니다 — due to heavy rain, the road was closed), 마저 for 'even the last one too' (비상구마저 막혀 있었습니다 — even the emergency exit was blocked), and the written passive register: 통제되다, 발생하다, 확인되었음.
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Reading incident and disaster news in Korean comes down to a formal cause-marker and one sharp particle, on top of the written passive register. (으)로 인해 states the cause in news style (폭우로 인해 도로가 통제되었습니다 — due to heavy rain, the road was closed). 마저 adds the last straw (비상구마저 막혀 있었습니다 — even the emergency exit was blocked). And the reporting itself runs on passives and nominalizations — 통제되다, 발생하다, 확인되었습니다 — that make it sound official. This is where Chapter 4’s accident vocabulary graduates from chat to the news ticker.
You can already tell an accident story in casual speech; now we step up to how the same events get reported. News Korean drops the 해요체 for the formal 합니다체, leans on the passive to stay objective, and uses precise cause language. Start with the disaster vocabulary every report is built from.
Ten words for incidents and disasters
These run the front page of any Korean news app.
Due to X — (으)로 인해
To state a cause in formal, written news style, attach (으)로 인해 to a noun. For modifying a following noun, use (으)로 인한.
폭우로 인해 도로가 통제되었습니다 = due to heavy rain, the road was closed 화재로 인한 피해가 컸습니다 = the damage caused by the fire was great 지진으로 인해 건물이 흔들렸습니다 = due to the earthquake, the building shook 사고로 인해 열차 운행이 중단되었습니다 = due to the accident, train service was suspended
This is the news-and-notice version of 때문에. In conversation it sounds stiff — you’d say 비 때문에 늦었어요, not 비로 인해 — but in headlines and official announcements it’s everywhere. Use 인한 before a noun (화재로 인한 피해) and 인해 before a clause.
Even X (the last one too) — 마저
To add the final, unexpected item to an already-bad situation — the one thing you were counting on, gone as well — use the particle 마저.
비상구마저 막혀 있었습니다 = even the emergency exit was blocked 전기가 끊기고 물마저 끊겼습니다 = the power went out, and even the water was cut off 마지막 버스마저 끊겨서 걸어갔어요 = even the last bus was gone, so I walked 믿었던 친구마저 등을 돌렸어요 = even the friend I trusted turned his back
마저 is stronger than 도 (“also”) or 까지 (“even, going as far as”); it carries “and now even THIS is taken away.” It almost always lands on a negative — the last resort failing too. In a disaster report, it’s the line that makes the situation feel hopeless.
Why does the news sound so impersonal? — passive + nominalization
News Korean stays objective by hiding the actor: it uses passive verbs and terse -(으)ㅁ endings. Learn to recognize the pattern, not produce it from scratch.
경찰이 도로를 통제했다 → 도로가 통제되었습니다 = the road was closed (passive) 원인이 아직 확인되지 않았습니다 = the cause has not yet been confirmed 화재가 발생했으며, 사상자는 없음 = a fire occurred; no casualties (nominal -음) 주민 약 200명이 대피한 것으로 확인됐습니다 = about 200 residents are confirmed to have evacuated
Spot the markers: -되다 passives (통제되다, 확인되다, 발생되다), the formal -습니다 ending, and clipped -(으)ㅁ nouns (없음, 조사 중임). They all say “this is factual, official reporting.” Here’s how it reads in the wild:
[속보] 오늘 새벽 수도권에 내린 폭우로 인해 일부 도로가 통제되었습니다. 저지대 주택이 침수되었고, 한때 전기와 상수도마저 끊겨 주민들이 큰 불편을 겪었습니다. 다행히 사상자는 없는 것으로 확인되었으며, 현재 복구 작업이 진행 중입니다.
Read it slowly: 폭우로 인해 (the formal cause), 통제되었습니다 / 확인되었으며 (passives), 마저 (even the water, too), 없는 것으로 확인되었으며 (the hedged, objective “confirmed to be”). That’s a real news paragraph — and you can now decode every piece. For longer practice, the reading Korean news lesson takes the register further.
Talking about the news with a friend
You saw the breaking-news alert and message a friend — casual reaction to formal news:
Notice the gear-shift: the news itself is formal (통제되다, 확인되다, 마저), but the chat about it is casual 해요체/반말. That’s exactly the skill — read the formal report, then talk about it normally. 사상자는 없는 걸로 확인됐대 even relays the news with -대 (“they say”).
FAQ
What’s the difference between (으)로 인해 and 때문에? They mean the same thing — ‘because of / due to’ — but the register differs sharply. 때문에 is everyday speech: 비 때문에 늦었어요 = I was late because of the rain. (으)로 인해 (and the noun-modifying (으)로 인한) is formal, written, news-and-report style: 폭우로 인해 도로가 통제되었습니다 = due to heavy rain, the road was closed; 화재로 인한 피해 = damage caused by the fire. You’ll see it constantly in headlines and official notices. In conversation it sounds stiff — stick to 때문에 there, and save (으)로 인해 for formal writing.
How is 마저 different from 도 and 까지? All three can mean ‘even / too,’ but the nuance differs. 도 is neutral ‘also’: 나도 갔어요 = I went too. 까지 means ‘even / going as far as,’ often adding a surprising extra: 비까지 왔어요 = it even rained on top of everything. 마저 is the strongest and usually negative — ‘even the last one too,’ the one thing you were counting on, gone as well: 비상구마저 막혀 있었습니다 = even the emergency exit was blocked; 너마저 날 못 믿어? = even you don’t believe me? It carries a sense of ‘and now even THIS is taken away.’ For disaster reports, 마저 lands the final blow.
Why is incident news written in the passive with -었습니다 / -음? Korean news prizes objectivity, so it backgrounds the actor and foregrounds the event — which is exactly what the passive does. Instead of ‘경찰이 도로를 통제했다’ (the police controlled the road), reports say ‘도로가 통제되었습니다’ (the road was closed). Common news passives: 통제되다 (be controlled/closed), 확인되다 (be confirmed), 발견되다 (be found), 추정되다 (be presumed). Headlines and notes also use the nominalizing -(으)ㅁ ending to be terse: 사상자 없음 (no casualties), 원인 조사 중임 (cause under investigation). The 합니다체 -습니다 ending keeps it formal. Together these signal ‘this is official, factual reporting.’
Next: expressing regret — -(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다, -아/어 버리다. Previous: excuses & causes — -는 사이에, -는 탓에. Full path: curriculum hub.