Learn Hardcore Korean: dongjjoge sani boyeoyo. - I can see a mountain to the east.

동쪽에 = “to/at the east” (동쪽 + location particle 에)
산이 = “mountain(s)” marked as the subject by particle 이
보여요 = present polite form of 보이다, “to be visible” or “to appear”

Put together, it literally means “Mountains are visible in the east,” i.e. “I can see mountains to the east.”

Why do we use the subject particle 이 after 산 instead of an object particle?

In Korean, 보이다 is an intransitive verb meaning “to be seen” or “to appear.” The thing that appears or is visible takes the subject role, so you attach 이/가, not 을/를.

Why is 에 used after 동쪽? What does this particle do?

The particle 에 marks a static location—where something exists or is perceived. Here it tells us “at/in the east.” It’s the same 에 you’d see in sentences like 학교에 있어요 (“I am at school”).

Can we switch the word order? For example, 산이 동쪽에 보여요?

Yes, Korean word order is flexible. 산이 동쪽에 보여요 is grammatically correct and shifts slight focus onto 산이 (“it’s the mountains that are visible to the east”). However, the neutral, most common order is location → subject → predicate: 동쪽에 산이 보여요.

What politeness level is 보여요? Is there a more formal alternative?

보여요 uses the polite informal ending -어요. A more formal/deferential version is 보입니다 (ending -ㅂ니다). An intimate (banmal) form would be 보여.

How is 보이다 different from 보다?

• 보다 = “to see” (active verb; you look at something).
• 보이다 = “to be seen” or “to appear” (intransitive/passive nuance: something comes into view).

Example:
– 저는 산을 봐요. → I look at the mountain.
– 산이 보여요. → The mountain is visible / I can see the mountain.

Could I say 동쪽에 산을 보여 줘요? What would that mean?

That sentence uses 보여 주다 (“to show [something] to someone”).
• 동쪽에 = “in the east”
• 산을 = “mountain” as an object (with 을)
• 보여 줘요 = “(I) show [it]”

It would mean “(I/they) show the mountain in the east [to someone],” which is quite different from “I can see mountains.” You’d only use 보여 주다 when you’re physically showing something to another person.

Does 보여요 imply “I see” or “it appears to me”?

It leans toward “it appears to me” or “it’s visible.” While an English speaker might think “I see mountains,” 보여요 describes the state of the mountains being visible, not the intentional act of seeing.