Learn Hardcore Korean: hoesik jarieseoneun joyonghi insaman haesseo. - At the company dinner table, I just greeted quietly.

bold 회식 bold is a company dinner/outing. bold 자리 bold literally means “seat/place,” but in many contexts it means “occasion/setting.” So bold 회식 자리 bold means “the company-dinner occasion/setting,” not a physical seat.

Why is it bold 에서는 bold and not just bold 에서 bold or bold 에 bold?

bold 에서 bold marks the place where an action happens. Adding bold 는 bold (bold 에서는 bold) topicalizes it: “as for at the company dinner…,” often with a contrastive nuance (implying things might be different in other settings). bold 에 bold would be wrong here because bold 에 bold is for static location/existence, not where an action takes place.

What’s the difference between bold 회식 자리에서는 … bold and bold 회식 자리에서만 … bold?

bold 회식 자리에서는 조용히 인사만 했어 bold: At the company dinner, the only thing I did was greet (I didn’t chat, drink, etc.). The limitation is on the action.
bold 회식 자리에서만 조용히 인사했어 bold: Only at the company dinner did I greet quietly (implying I didn’t greet quietly in other places). The limitation is on the location.

Why is bold 만 bold attached to bold 인사 bold? Can I say bold 인사만을 했어 bold?

bold 만 bold attaches to the noun to mean “only,” and it replaces the object marker bold 을/를 bold, so bold 인사만 했어 bold is the natural form. bold 인사만을 했어 bold is grammatical but sounds extra-emphatic/marked; in everyday speech, people avoid bold 만을 bold unless they want strong focus.

What exactly does bold 인사만 하다 bold mean?

It literally means “to do only a greeting,” i.e., you greeted and did nothing else of note. In English this is often “I just said hi.”

How is bold 인사만 했어 bold different from bold 인사밖에 안 했어 bold?

Both mean “I only greeted,” but:

bold 인사만 했어 bold states the limitation with bold 만 bold (neutral).
bold 인사밖에 안 했어 bold uses bold 밖에 + negative bold (안) bold, which sounds a bit stronger/more emphatic: “I did nothing but greet.”

What politeness level is bold 했어 bold? How do I make it more polite or honorific?

bold 했어 bold is informal (casual, non-honorific). Politer forms:

Standard polite: bold 했어요 bold
Formal polite: bold 했습니다 bold If you want to humble yourself when greeting seniors: bold 인사를 드렸어요/드렸습니다 bold (e.g., bold 회식 자리에서는 조용히 인사만 드렸어요 bold).

Where’s the subject? How do I know who did the action?

Korean often drops obvious subjects. From context and the casual ending bold 했어 bold, it’s most likely “I.” You could add a subject if needed: bold 저는 회식 자리에서는 … 했어/했어요 bold.

Why bold 조용히 bold and not bold 조용하게 bold?

Both can form adverbs, but with this verb, bold 조용히 인사하다 bold is the natural collocation meaning “to greet quietly/in a low-key way.” bold 조용하게 bold tends to sound like “in a way that makes/keeps things quiet” and is less idiomatic here.

Can I say bold 조용히만 인사했어 bold? What’s the difference in meaning?

bold 조용히 인사만 했어 bold limits the action to greeting. bold 조용히만 인사했어 bold would mean “I greeted only quietly (and not, say, cheerfully/loudly),” which is unusual unless you’re contrasting different manners of greeting. The original is what you want.

Is bold 회식자리 bold one word? How about spacing with bold 인사만 bold?

Standard spacing is bold 회식 자리 bold (two words). You’ll see it written together informally, but the spaced form is preferred. bold 인사만 bold is written together; writing bold 인사 만 bold is incorrect.

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

bold 회식 bold is commonly pronounced close to “hweh-sik” or “we-sik.”
bold 조용히 bold is “jo-yong-hi” (the bold 히 bold is clearly pronounced).
bold 만 했어 bold is pronounced smoothly as “man-hae-sseo” due to liaison; bold 했어 bold sounds like “hae-sseo.”

Can I drop bold 자리 bold or use bold 때 bold instead? Do they change the nuance?

bold 회식에서는 … bold is fine; it just says “at the company dinner.”
bold 회식 때는 … bold focuses on the time (“at the time of the dinner”). bold 자리 bold highlights the social setting/occasion. All are acceptable; choose based on whether you want to stress the event as a setting or simply the time.

How would I add the person I greeted?

Use a dative/recipient particle:

Peers: bold 누구한테/에게 조용히 인사만 했어 bold
Seniors: bold 누구께 조용히 인사만 드렸어요 bold (honorific-humble)

Is there any cultural nuance I should know about bold 회식 bold and bold 인사 bold?

bold 회식 bold is a work-bonding dinner with hierarchy in play. Being low-key and offering a polite bold 인사 bold (or bold 인사를 드리다 bold to seniors) can signal respect and restraint, which fits the nuance of “I kept a low profile and just greeted.”