Korean grammar patterns › Level 5
-고서(야)
after doing; (only) after doing (did …)
Level 5 · TOPIK II · advanced
How to use it
-고서 stresses that clause 1 is finished before clause 2 (like -고 나서). -고서야 means 'only after … (finally)'; with a negative + rhetorical question it means 'unless … how could': 노력하지 않고서야 어떻게 성공하겠어요?
Forming it
| 먹다 | → 먹고서 |
| 보다 | → 보고서야 |
| 듣다 | → 듣고서야 |
Same subject in both clauses; no tense marker before -고서.
Examples
그는 인사도 하지 않고서 나가 버렸어요.
He left without even saying goodbye.
직접 겪고서야 그 말의 뜻을 알게 됐어요.
Only after experiencing it myself did I understand what those words meant.
Compared with similar patterns
-고 나서 is neutral 'after'; -고서 is a bit more emphatic. -아/어서야 also means 'only when/after' but attaches to adjectives and time expressions too (열 시가 넘어서야).