Thank you for this question, I felt the answer but I had to search for the answer to know the feeling I got for what the exact differences were again. So please correct me if I’m wrong. But it all has to do with time, one relates to anything that states it ‘had’ or ‘was at’, the other tells it “did/were”, while you can also state that it “was an/a” something. Aka the lovely differences and nuances between the past tense, past perfect tense, and the past perfect.

So here’s my finding on refreshing the rules. by adding ~었~, it indicates that the situation in the past is not continuing in the present. But what makes Korean so fun to learn is that often it can be understood that something isn’t happening anymore by listening to the context of the sentences. So sometimes they don’t add the -었- because it is simply implied. Therefore the nuance is watered down, the ‘I had seen’ vs ‘I saw’. In English the Past perfect simple: I had seen VS the Past simple: I saw. In general the past perfect simple is used to sequence events in the past to show which event happened first.

‘Thus, back to Korean to get the difference sorted out. They’re all linked to our past, or something that hasn’t happend yet.
였어요 = also seen often as 했어요, referring to something that was an/a
었어요 =. this one states something that you did or were.
있었어요 = When something was at, or had, something you “did at” x location.

Examples (keeping it simple) using I eat, ate, haven eaten already.

아까 식사했어요. (I had a meal earlier) (였어요)
아까 먹었어요 (I had a meal)
아까 먹있었어요 (I have just eaten)

What makes Korean so incredibly difficult and easy at the same time, is that I find grammar to be very fluent. Nothing is hard rules, you could mix these up and big changes it would still be correct Korean. While in English if you use the verb “See” in the wrong place it sounds incorrect and wrong. Of course, the other would probably understand the other person, but highly likely it will be corrected to the see, seen, saw versions of that word. I haven’t practiced my Korean since I started working back in April, and I have been longing to get back into it again. I enjoyed this laser focus of trying to figure the differences out again, and as you might be able to see in my explanation; I loath grammar. I learned it by using different words to describe the tenses, and I am also applying this today when learning languages. It can get confusing when someone asks how or why I am using a certain word. in that way, I often can’t explain why it’s the way it is, over time I just learned myself to use it as the ‘correct version’ of speech of what I want to convey. I hope I’ll get that comfortable with Korean too, one day.

P.S. I found these sample sentences and thought the explain is better than I ever could:

예) 3주 전에 일본에 있었어요. // I was in Japan 3 weeks ago. (you were in Japan)

예) 제 꿈은 원래 수의사였어요. // My dream originally was to be a vet. (you wanted to be a vet)

예) 드디어 삼경살을 먹었어요! // I finally ate samgyeopsal! (pork belly). (and you did something; eating)

And I just discovered this website, and it explains the past perfect really well:

https://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit-5/lessons-101-108/lesson-108/

맞아요 and 좋아해요 are not basic forms, they are combined forms of 맞다 + -아요 and 좋다 + -아하다 respectively.

Unfortunately, due to frequent illegal replication and distribution of MP3 files, we regret to inform you that we have discontinued providing them. We are actively working on finding a solution that prevents illegal copying and distribution while enhancing the learning effectiveness and convenience for our subscribers.

We know it might be inconvenient, but please listen to the audio on the website for the time being. Thank you. ☺️

Congratulations! Surely, you will be able to enjoy studying Level 2 as well! 한국어 공부 파이팅!

Many thanks for your thoughtful comment!! We are really glad to hear that TTMIK has been helpful. We hope you continue to study hard and become a master of Korean. Hope you enjoy learning with us. 🥰

The first example is, “Who is this?” and the 2nd is, “Who is this person/man/woman?” so word choice is correct.

At that time, there was probably a website maintenance in progress. We apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. If you still cannot access, please send an email to “[email protected]”. 🙏