The Wrong Message (잘못 보낸 메시지) is a free A1 Korean romantic comedy. After a night out, Jieun sends a love text that lands with Park Junho, a webtoon artist she has never met. His parents read it, decide their son is engaged, and soon both mothers are planning. Chapters 1 and 2 are below.
Level
A1 (Beginner)
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Free here
Chapters 1–2 of 6
Length
216 words, about 2 minutes
Language
Standard (Seoul) Korean
Tap or click an underlined word to see what it means.
sagwigi — going out together (사귀기 시작했나 = did they start dating?)
2
끄덕인다
kkeodeoginda — nods
2
노트북을
noteubugeul — laptop (object)
2
사진을
sajineul — photo (object)
2
빨개진다
ppalgaejinda — goes red
2
신부
sinbu — bride
2
Check your understanding
What does Jieun do after drinking with a friend?
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She picks up her phone and sends a text saying she really likes the person she's writing to.
Who receives the text?
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Park Junho, a webtoon artist. Jieun doesn't know him and has never met him.
How do Junho's parents react?
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They read the text and are delighted: "우리 아들이 약혼했다!" (Our son is engaged!)
What do Jieun and Junho try to agree on in chapter 2?
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Their story: where they met and when they started going out. Junho suggests they met at a café.
Why is Jieun suspicious at the end of chapter 2?
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There's a photo of a pretty woman on Junho's desk. He goes red and won't say who she is, and then his mother calls about buying a wedding dress.
Grammar to notice: 은/는 and 이/가
Korean has two ways to mark the person a sentence is about. 은/는 marks the topic ("as for Jieun…"). 이/가 marks the subject when it is new, contrasted or the answer to "who?". Use 은 and 이 after a consonant, 는 and 가 after a vowel.
지은은 회사에서 일한다.
Jieuneun hoesaeseo ilhanda.
Jieun works at a company.
The opening line introduces our topic, so 은 (지은 ends in a consonant).
누가 문자를 받는가?
Nuga munjareul banneunga?
Who gets the text?
Question words like 누가 (who) always take 가, never 는.
준호가 문을 연다.
Junhoga muneul yeonda.
Junho opens the door.
가: Junho is the one who acts at this moment, after Jieun knocks.
준호는 지은을 본다.
Junhoneun Jieuneul bonda.
Junho looks at Jieun.
는: now the narration turns to Junho as its topic.
준호의 얼굴이 빨개진다.
Junhoui eolguri ppalgaejinda.
Junho's face goes red.
Chapter 2. A new detail (his face) takes 이.
Don't worry about getting the choice right every time. Notice which one each sentence uses, and the pattern builds up over a few chapters.
Reading tips for The Wrong Message
The narration is plain -ㄴ다/-는다 style (일한다, 마신다, 본다), which is how Korean stories and news are often written. The speech is a mix: polite 누구세요? (Who are you?) to a stranger at the door, and casual 누구야? once Jieun and Junho are working together.
Family words do a lot of work here. 엄마 is mum and 어머니 is the more formal mother; both appear. Junho's mum calls him 아들 (son) and asks after his 약혼녀 (fiancée), and by chapter 2 she is talking about a 신부 (bride) dress.
Mobile phones drive the plot, and you'll see two everyday words for them: 휴대폰 in chapter 1 and 핸드폰 in chapter 2. Both are common in Korea.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Wrong Message suitable for beginners?
Yes. It's written for A1, in short present-tense sentences, with lots of everyday vocabulary about phones, family and dating. Tap any word you don't know.
How many chapters are there?
Six at A1. Chapters 1 and 2 are free here and in the app; chapters 3–6 are part of Contos Premium.
What does the Korean title mean?
잘못 보낸 메시지 means "a message sent by mistake": 잘못 is wrongly, 보낸 is sent.
Is there a full English translation?
No. Tap underlined words for their meaning and use the key-words table. Reading the Korean yourself is how the words stick.
