V/A+ 었/았/였기에 망정이지

It is attached to the stem of an action verb or a descriptive verb to mean that thanks to a fortunate event or a situation, a negative outcome that could have occurred didn’t happen.

엄마가 바로 옆에 있었기에 망정이지 하마터면 아기가 크게 다칠 뻔했어요.
Were it not for the mom standing right next to the baby, he almost got hurt.

끼어드는 차를 재빨리 피했기에 망정이지 안 그랬으면 사고가 났을 거야.
Were it not for him to avoid the car so quickly, he could be in an accident.

택시를 탔기에 망정이지 버스를 탔으면 비행기를 놓칠 뻔했어.
Were it not for I took a taxi, I almost missed the plane.

Conversation:

난 박물관에서 이 불상이 제일 마음에 들어. 옷 주름이 진짜 옷감 같아.
I like this Buddha statue the most in the museum. The folds of the clothes look like real cloth.

응, 국보로 지정된 거라서 그런지 뭐가 달라도 다르다.
Yes, maybe because it’s one that is designated as a national treasure, it looks way different.

7세기에 만들었다던데 어떻게 이렇게 정교하게 만들 수가 있었을까?
I heard that it was made in the 7th century, how could they make it so elaborate?

천 년도 더 된 유물치고는 보존 상태도 너무 좋은데. 색깔도 은은하고.
It’s very well preserved for a thousand-year-old artifact. The color is also subtle.

시골의 식당 한구석에 놓여 있던 걸 전문가가 발견해서 문화재청에 신고했대.
I heard an expert found it in the corner of a rural restaurant and reported it to the Cultural Heritage Administration.

어휴, 그 전문가가 봤기에 망정이지 하마터면 국보가 사라질 뻔했네.
Oh dear, it’s so fortunate that the expert saw it. Were it not for him, the national treasure could have disappeared.

Related words
국보 national treasure
정교하다 to be elaborate
유물 artifact
보존 preservation
은은하다 to be subtle
문화재청 Cultural Heritage Administration
하마터면 almost

Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute