oraedoen chaekgalpineun pullo butimyeon dasi sseul su isseo.

If you glue an old bookmark back together, you can use it again.

Breakdown of oraedoen chaekgalpineun pullo butimyeon dasi sseul su isseo.

• ~는: topic particle
• 쓰다: to use
• ~로: instrumental particle
• 다시: again

Questions & Answers about oraedoen chaekgalpineun pullo butimyeon dasi sseul su isseo.

What does 오래된 mean here, and how is it formed?

오래된 means old or aged.

It comes from the verb 오래되다, which means to become old / to be old with age.
To modify a noun, Korean changes it into an attributive form:

• 오래되다 → 오래된
• so 오래된 책갈피 = an old bookmark

This is a very common pattern with descriptive verbs:

• 낡다 → 낡은 = worn-out
• 예쁘다 → 예쁜 = pretty
• 오래되다 → 오래된 = old

So even though English just uses an adjective like old, Korean is using a verb-derived noun modifier.

Why is it 책갈피는 and not 책갈피가?

The particle 는 marks 책갈피 as the topic of the sentence.

• 책갈피는 = as for the bookmark / the bookmark
• 책갈피가 would focus more on the subject itself

Using 는 often gives a sense like:

• As for an old bookmark, if you glue it, you can use it again.
• It may also imply contrast: unlike something else, this bookmark can still be reused.

So 는 is natural here because the speaker is making a statement about old bookmarks in general or about one already under discussion.

What exactly is 책갈피?