TOPIK II · Level 6

-에 즈음하여

on the occasion of

Marks a significant moment as the setting for what follows. The language of anniversaries, new years, and formal addresses.

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    새해+-에 즈음하여

    nounparticle

    When to use it

    It attaches to a noun with 에 — no vowel rule. 즈음하다 means to be near in time, and the variant 즈음에 also occurs.

    The occasion must be significant and dated: 새해, 창립 기념일, 개교 100주년, 광복절. Ordinary days do not qualify.

    What follows is normally a formal act — a message, a greeting, an announcement: 새해에 즈음하여 인사 말씀을 드립니다.

    It pairs naturally with -을/를 겸하여 and -기에 앞서, the other two staples of ceremonial framing.

    How to attach it

    SituationFormExample
    Any noun-에 즈음하여새해에 즈음하여
    Variant-에 즈음해서새해에 즈음해서
    Time-only sense-(으)ㄹ 즈음에떠날 즈음에
    Occasion must besignificant, dated새해, 기념일, 100주년
    What followsa formal act인사 말씀을 드립니다
    Everyday version-을 맞아새해를 맞아

    In use

    1. 새해에 즈음하여 인사 말씀을 드립니다.

      On the occasion of the new year, I offer my greetings.

    2. 창립 30주년에 즈음하여 기념행사를 마련했습니다.

      To mark our thirtieth anniversary, we have arranged a commemorative event.

    3. 개교 100주년에 즈음하여 장학 기금을 조성한다.

      A scholarship fund is being established to mark the school’s centenary.

    4. 퇴임에 즈음하여 몇 마디 남기고자 합니다.

      On the occasion of my retirement, I should like to say a few words.

    5. 신제품 출시에 즈음하여 직접 만드는 과정을 공개했다.

      To mark the launch, they showed how the product is made by hand.

    6. 해가 저물 즈음에 그는 길을 나섰다.

      As the day drew to a close, he set out.

    Compared with

    • -을/를 맞아

      The everyday equivalent. 맞아 works for any occasion in ordinary writing; 즈음하여 marks the sentence as ceremonial.

      새해를 맞아 인사드립니다. (usual)  /  새해에 즈음하여 인사 말씀을 드립니다. (address)

    • -기에 앞서

      앞서 marks a step taken before the main business; 즈음하여 marks the occasion the whole thing belongs to.

      발표하기에 앞서 감사드립니다. (before starting)  /  새해에 즈음하여 (at this season)

    • -(으)ㄹ 즈음에

      The same word without the ceremonial sense — simply “around the time when.” It attaches to a clause and is purely temporal.

      떠날 즈음에 비가 왔다. (around the time we left)  /  새해에 즈음하여 (on the occasion of)

    Watch out

    • 점심시간에 즈음하여 인사드립니다.

      점심시간에 인사드립니다.

      The occasion must be significant. An ordinary hour of the day dressed in it reads as parody.

    • 새해를 즈음하여 인사드립니다.

      새해에 즈음하여 인사드립니다.

      The particle is 에, not 을/를.

    • 야, 새해에 즈음하여 한잔하자.

      야, 새해 맞아서 한잔하자.

      즈음하여 is address language. Among friends it sounds like reading a proclamation.

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