#101: You Know 은/는 and 이/가. So Why Are Korean Particles Still So Confusing?

You know 은/는 is the topic particle and 이/가 marks the subject. So why do particles still feel uncertain in real Korean? In the first episode of Korean Unpacked (formerly TOPIK & Beyond), Eliza looks at what particles are actually doing in a conversation: framing, identifying, contrasting, and sometimes quietly disappearing.

Episode Overview

After 100 episodes as TOPIK & Beyond, this podcast has a new name: Korean Unpacked.

TOPIK is still part of the show. But the podcast has grown into something broader - a place to look beyond translations and textbook explanations, and understand how Korean really works in context.

We begin with something almost every learner has studied, and very few feel fully settled with: Korean particles.

You may already know the labels. 은/는 for the topic. 이/가 for the subject. 을/를 for the object. But knowing the label and understanding why a Korean speaker chose that particle in that moment are two different things.

In this episode, Eliza unpacks what particles are doing underneath the grammar - and why the same person, in the same sentence, can take a different particle depending on what came before.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

Why the textbook labels (topic / subject / object) are a starting point, not the full pictureHow particles organize information: what’s already known, what’s new, and what needs to be identifiedThe contrast built into 은/는 - and why it doesn’t translate as one fixed English wordWhy 이/가 so often appears when a speaker is identifying somethingWhy Korean speakers leave particles out - and why it isn’t randomA simple set of questions you can use to unpack any particle you meet in contextThis episode is for learners at any level who already know the basic rules, but want particles to start feeling natural rather than calculated.

✅ The Korean Particle Check

Understanding the idea is one thing. Knowing how well you use it in context is another.

The Korean Particle Check is a free diagnostic quiz that looks at how you use 은/는, 이/가 and 을/를 in real contexts - not whether you can recite which one is called the topic particle.