N에도 불구하고

It is attached to a noun when a result that is unexpected or different from what one has expected in the previous behavior or situation comes in the following clause.

김민수 씨는 심한 몸살에도 불구하고 발표를 완벽하게 해냈다.
Kim, Minsoo made the presentation perfect despite his severe physical condition.

예산이 충분함에도 불구하고 주민들의 극심한 반대로 인해 결국 그 사업은 무산되고 말았다.
Despite they had enough budget, the project was ruined eventually due to the fierce opposition from residents.

그 선수는 마라톤 경기 중 부상을 당했음에도 불구하고 끝까지 완주해서 많은 박수를 받았다.
The athlete received a lot of applause for completing the race despite being injured during the marathon.

Conversation:

한국은 영어로 왜 ‘코리아’라고 불려요?
Why is Korea called ‘Korea’ in English?

고려 시대에 해상무역이 활발히 이루어졌거든요. 그때 서양에 ‘코레’라는 이름으로 알려진 거지요.
That’s because maritime trade was active during the Goryeo Dynasty. It was known in the West as ‘Kore’ during that time.

‘고려’에서 ‘코레’, ‘코리아’로 발음이 바뀐 거군요. 고려는 어느 나라와 무역을 했던 거예요?
So the pronunciation changed from ‘Goryeo’ to ‘Kore’ and then to ‘Korea’. Which country did Goryeo trade with?

주 무역국은 송나라였고 몽골, 일본, 베트남, 아라비아 상인들과도 교역이 활발했어요.
The main trading nation was the Song Dynasty and trading was also brisk with Mongolian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Arabian merchants.

천 년 전인데도 그렇게 다양한 나라와 교역이 있었다는 게 신기해요.
It’s amazing that there was trade with such various countries even it was 1,000 years ago.

네. 그래서 큰 나라가 아니었음에도 불구하고 고려의 수도 개성은 유명한 국제도시였다고 해요.
Yes, so it is said that even though it wasn’t a big country, Kaeseong, the capital of Goryeo, was a famous international city.

Related words
해상무역 maritime trade
서양 Western
주 main
무역국 trading nation
상인 merchant
교역 trade

Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute