[Korean grammar] -ㄴ끝에/ 은 끝에 Expressing Results and Retrospection

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가: 윤광래 작가님, 이번에 발표하신 소설은 조선 시대 역사책에 짧게 실린 한 궁녀의 이야기를 보고 영감을 얻 었다고 들었습니다.
Author Yoon Gwangrae, I heard that you received inspiration for your newly released novel after reading a short piece about a court lady in a history book on the Choseon Period.

나: 네, 그렇습니다. 그런데 자료가 없어서 1년 넘게 박물관이며 역사학자며 쫓아다니 면서 조사한 끝에 소설을 써 나가기 시작했습니다.
Yes, that’s correct. But there weren’t any other sources to be found, so I spent over a year researching more material by visiting museums and historians, after which I started writing the novel.

가: 쉬운 작업이 아니셨겠네요. 저는 개인적으로 이 소설의 결말 부분이 의외였는데 머릿속에 미리 생각해 두신 게 있으셨나요?
That must not have been easy. Personally, I was surprised by the ending of the novel, but was that something that you had in mind to include from the beginning?

나: 아닙니다, 결말이 마음에 안 들어서 고치기를 여러 번 했지요. 원고를 다섯 번이나 수정한 끝에 이번 작품이 완성된 것입니다.
No, it wasn’t. I wasn’t happy with the original ending, so I changed it numerous times. Then, after editing the draft as many as five times, the novel in its present form was completed.

(으)ㄴ 끝에 is used to indicate that a result wasn’t obtained until after a long period of time or a difficult process. It typically indicates that the preceding action proceeded in a very time-consuming and difficult manner. It only attaches to verbs.

• 그 성악가는 5번 넘게 성대 수술을 받은 끝에 잃어버렸던 목소리를 되찾을 수 있었다.
That singer was finally able to recover the voice she had lost after undergoing surgery on her vocal cords more than 5 times.

See also  [Korean grammar] 마저 Expressing Addition and Inclusion

• 우리나라 팀은 상대 팀과 연장전까지 치른 끝에 2:1로 극적인 승리를 거두었다.
Our national team beat the opposing team 2:1 in a dramatic victory after going into overtime.

• 가수 김수지 씨는 5년이라는 공백 기간에도 불구하고 피나는 노력을 한 끝에 재기에 성공했다.
Despite a 5-year absence, singer Kim Suji made a successful comeback after much hard work.

When used after a noun, this expression is used in the form 끝에.
• 그는 10번의 도전 끝에 외교관 시험에 합격하여 꿈을 이룰 수 있었다.
• 임금 인상과 관련하여 노사 갈등을 거듭하던 회사가 밤샘 협상 끝에 합의에 도달했다.
노사 갈등 labor and management dispute 
밤샘 협상 overnight negotiations

>> You can click on the title of each grammar below to see other grammars which also express ‘Results and Retrospection’

1. -(으)ㄴ 끝에 
2. -아/어 내다
3. -(으)ㄴ 나머지
4. -데요

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