-(으)ㄴ 끝에 / N 끝에
after (a long process of)
Level 5 · Connective
Explanation
After a long, hard process, the result in the main clause was reached. Attaches to verb stems in the past form: ㄴ 끝에 (vowel/ㄹ), 은 끝에 (consonant); nouns take 끝에 (고민 끝에). The main clause is past.
Examples
오랜 고민 끝에 회사를 그만두기로 했다.
After long deliberation, I decided to quit.
여러 번 실패한 끝에 마침내 성공했다.
After many failures, they finally succeeded.
양측은 긴 협상 끝에 합의에 이르렀다.
After long negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement.
TOPIK note
TOPIK II Reading 25–27 (headlines) and 32–34.