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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 1 · expression

에 관하여

에 관하여 / 에 관한 Korean Grammar: Regarding

Phrase from 관하다: take a noun as the topic of speaking or thinking — regarding / about.

Before this, make sure you know: 에 대하여 / 에 대해(서) , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
Written / careful N에 관하여 문제에 관하여 / 법에 관하여
Before a noun N에 관한 N 문제에 관한 논의 / 역사에 관한 책
Shorter N에 관해 정책에 관해

에 관하여 / 에 관한 means regarding / about in careful or written Korean.

It belongs mainly to careful speech and writing. Everyday conversation usually prefers 에 대해.

Why this is hard

English uses about in both casual and formal settings. Korean often changes the form with the register: 에 대해 is common in conversation, while 에 관하여 appears frequently in reports, presentations, policies, and academic writing.

관한 is the modifier form before nouns (관련된 문제 neighbourhood): 역사에 관한 책.

What it does

You mark the topic under discussion in formal style.

이 문제에 관하여 말하겠습니다.
환경에 관한 기사
계약에 관하여 질문이 있습니다.
교육에 관한 연구

Forms

ShapeUse
N에 관하여regarding N (adverbial)
N에 관한 NN about N (modifier)

When not to use it

Do not use it as your café default — prefer 에 대해 or a plain topic.

Do not force a sharp meaning difference from 에 대하여. They overlap heavily; the shorter 에 대해 is simply much more common in everyday speech.

Do not drop 에 and invent bare 관하여 on every noun without the taught frame.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
에 대해Everyday about; lighter.
에 대하여Another formal about; near twin.
에 관하여(this page) written/careful regarding.

In speech, the same idea often sounds more natural as 에 대해. Think of 에 관하여 as the coat you put on for memos, presentations, and careful writing — not the only jacket in the closet.

Ask: do I need written ‘regarding’? If yes, 에 관하여. If you are chatting, 에 대해 is enough.

Do not confuse it with

에 대하여 / 에 대해(서)

about / regarding / concerning (thematic topic frame)

에 의하여 / 에 의해(서)

by means of / due to / by (formal agent and cause frame)

을/를

object particle — marks what the verb acts on

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 표현 (expression) — Advanced Korean 1, Unit 4, on the theme of expression. These come with it:

-는다니1 what are they telling me to…? — asking what the order was -었던 that had been… — past modifier with a lingering sense -자기에 because one decides to… — contracted -자고 하기에 (청유 인용 + 이유), pair of -는다기에 -게 마련이다 bound to be — naturally so (-기/게 마련이다) -게 생겼다 have ended up (badly)… — negative predicament with -게 생기다 -기 나름이다 depends on how you… — the outcome varies with the method -기가 바쁘게 as soon as — barely finishing one thing before the next -기가 쉽다 easy to… / prone to — a tendency that comes naturally -기만 하다 only does… — limiting the action to just that -기에 따라 depending on… — outcomes that change with the condition -기에 앞서(서) before doing… — prior to the step you name -은 나머지 as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act -는 데다가 and on top of that — stacking one fact onto another -는 동시에 at the same time as — two things in the same moment -는 듯하다 seems to… — a soft guess from appearance -는 법이다 it is natural that… — a general rule of how things go -는 이상 now that / given that — already being in that state -은 채로 while still… — leaving it in the state it already has -는 척하다 pretend to… — acting as if -는 가운데 in the midst of — while that situation continues 는 말할 것도 없고 not to mention — A goes without saying, and B too (는/은 말할 것도 없고) -을 만하다 worth doing / decent enough — worth the effort or acceptable -을 법하다 likely to… — a reasonable prediction -을 테다 will (for sure) — a strong expectation about what follows -을 테면 if you are going to… — setting a condition for a plan -을 테지만 will, but… — expecting one thing and contrasting another -으려나 보다 I guess they mean to… — reading someone's likely intention 를 가지고 with, using — taking that as the means or topic -으면 몰라도 only if… — the following holds only under that (unreal / opposite) condition 에도 불구하고 despite — in spite of that noun situation -는데도 even though — contrast after a clause, softer than 지만 -어 내다 manage to… — pushing through until it is done -는다기에 because they say… — the reported claim is the reason -는다는 것이 meant to…, but — intention (-는다고 하는 것이) whose result diverged -는데도 불구하고 even so — despite the whole preceding clause

Words used above

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에 관하여e gwanhayeoregarding / about
에 관한e gwanhanregarding… (before a noun)
관하다gwanhadato concern / regard
논의nonuidiscussion
정책jeongchaekpolicy

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. You are writing the agenda line for a formal meeting about a complaint. Which phrasing belongs in that register?

2. You need the phrase in front of a noun rather than a verb — a book, not an act of speaking. Which form does that?

3. Which sentence is most natural in an everyday conversation?

Common questions

What is the difference between 에 관하여 and 에 관한?

에 관하여 modifies the following verb: 역사에 관하여 공부해요. 에 관한 directly modifies a noun: 역사에 관한 책.

Vs 에 대하여?

Same job family. 관하여 leans written; 대하여/대해 is broader.

에 관한?

Modifier before a noun: 문제에 관한 보고서.

Speech?

Careful speech OK; everyday talk often uses 에 대해.

Seen in the wild

Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.

Expressions Advanced

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