Learn Hardcore Korean: undongeul hamyeon geongangi johajyeoyo.

-(으)면 is a conditional meaning if/when/whenever.
Use -면 after stems ending in a vowel and -으면 after stems ending in a consonant.
- 하- (vowel) + -면 → 하면
- 읽- (consonant) + -으면 → 읽으면
In this sentence, it expresses a general truth/habit: “When(ever) you exercise, [then] your health improves.”

Why is it 운동을 하면 and not simply 운동하면? Are both correct?

Both are correct and natural.

운동을 하다 treats 운동 as an object with the light verb 하다.
운동하다 is a compound verb meaning “to exercise.”
Conditionals:
- 운동을 하면 …
- 운동하면 … Nuance is minimal; 운동하면 is a bit tighter, while 운동을 하면 can feel slightly more explicit about “doing exercise.” You’ll see both in real usage, just like 공부(를) 하다 → 공부(를) 하면 vs 공부하면.

Why is it 좋아져요 instead of 좋아요?

좋아요 = “is good” (a state).
좋아져요 = “gets/becomes good, improves” (a change of state). Because the sentence describes what happens as a result of exercising, Korean prefers the change-of-state form: 건강이 좋아져요 (“health improves”). 건강이 좋아요 would mean “health is good (now).”

What does the -아/어지다 pattern (as in 좋아지다) do?

It means “to become/get [adjective].”

좋다 → 좋아지다 (to get better)
건강하다 → 건강해지다 (to become healthy/healthier)
춥다 → 추워지다 (to get colder)
빠르다 → 빨라지다 (to get faster) It describes change over time or as a result of something.

Are the particles 을 and 이 here correct? Why 운동을 and 건강이?

Yes.

-을/를 marks the object: 운동을 하다 (“do exercise”).
-이/가 marks the subject: 건강이 좋아져요 (“health improves”). Choice between -을/-를 and -이/-가 depends on the role in the sentence, and the specific form (을 vs 를, 이 vs 가) depends on whether the noun ends in a consonant (batchim) or vowel. 운동, 건강 end with consonants, so 을, 이 are used.

Could we use the topic particle 은/는 instead of 이/가 on 건강? What changes?

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

건강이 좋아져요: neutral statement; “health improves.”
건강은 좋아져요: contrastive/topic; “As for health, it improves (but maybe something else doesn’t).” Example contrast: 운동을 하면 건강은 좋아져요, 하지만 살은 잘 안 빠져요.

Is the politeness level appropriate? How would this look in other levels?

좋아져요 is polite informal (해요체), perfect for everyday conversation. Other levels:

Formal polite (합니다체): 좋아집니다
Plain (narrative/writing): 좋아진다
Casual (friends): 좋아져 Question forms:
Polite: 좋아져요?
Formal: 좋아집니까?

Can I say 건강해져요 instead of 건강이 좋아져요?

Yes.

건강이 좋아져요 literally “health improves.”
건강해져요 literally “(someone) becomes healthy/healthier.” Both are natural. You’ll also hear:
몸이 좋아져요 (often used to mean physique/condition improves)
컨디션이 좋아져요 (condition gets better)

Do I need to add 만약 (“if/perhaps”) before the conditional?

Not here. 만약 is optional and adds emphasis to a hypothetical:

With emphasis: 만약 운동을 하면 건강이 좋아질 거예요.
General truth/habit (your sentence): 운동을 하면 건강이 좋아져요. For everyday statements of cause/effect or habitual results, 만약 is usually omitted.

Who is the subject of “exercise” here? There’s no I/you in the sentence.

Korean often drops obvious subjects. In 운동을 하면, the doer is understood from context—typically “you/one/people in general.” The explicit subject in the main clause is 건강 (“health”), marked by 이. So the structure is “If [someone] exercises, health improves.”

Can I change the word order?

Most natural: 운동을 하면, 건강이 좋아져요.
Also fine: 운동하면 건강이 좋아져요.
Putting the conditional second (e.g., 건강이 좋아져요, 운동을 하면) is possible but less common and can sound like afterthought or emphasis. For learners, keep the conditional clause first.

How is this pronounced? Any tricky spots?

운동을 하면 건강이 좋아져요 ≈ “undong-eul hamyeon geongang-i joajyeoyo.”
좋아- is pronounced like “조아” (the ㅎ in 좋아 doesn’t strongly aspirate).
Liaison: you’ll hear smooth linking across syllables, e.g., 좋아져요 → “조아져요.”

How can I say “even more/noticeably” improves?

Add intensifiers like 더 (“more”) or 훨씬 (“much/far”):

운동을 하면 건강이 더 좋아져요.
운동을 하면 건강이 훨씬 좋아져요.

How would I express the negative/contrastive idea?

If you don’t exercise: 운동을 안 하면 건강이 나빠져요. (“gets worse”)
Stronger/medical: 운동을 안 하면 건강이 악화돼요. (“deteriorates”)
Caution: 안 좋아져요 is grammatical but often you’d choose a clearer antonym like 나빠지다/악화되다 for naturalness.

What’s the difference between 좋다, 좋아하다, and 좋아지다?

좋다: “to be good.” Example: 건강이 좋아요 (“My health is good.”)
좋아하다: “to like.” Example: 운동을 좋아해요 (“I like exercise.”)
좋아지다: “to get better/improve.” Example: 건강이 좋아져요 (“Health improves.”) If you mean “come to like (start liking) exercise,” say 운동을 좋아하게 돼요.