While we are accustomed to Rolling Quartz’s music leaning towards a heavier, rockier sound, last week they released a single with a remarkably soft and romantic tone titled ‘Romantist.’ (To me, the word ‘romantist’ sounds like a newly coined term; I haven’t encountered it before in my reading.) The lyrics narrate a love story where the singer remains steadfast in her affection for her beloved, despite their attempts to distance themselves from her.

I particularly resonated with these two lines:

너와 함께 걷는 이 길이
나의 마지막 사랑이란 걸 알아

“I know that this road I’m walking together with you is my last love.”

1. 너와 함께 걷는 이 길이

• 너와 = “with you” (–와 = “and/with” after a vowel)
• 함께 = “together” (adverb)
• 걷다 → 걷는 = present attributive form
• 이 길 = “this road / this path”
• –이 = subject marker

→ Structure: [verb-(는) + noun] + subject marker (“the road that I am walking with you”).

2. 걷는 (present attributive verb)

• Used to describe an ongoing or current action
• Modifies 길, not the speaker directly

→ Very common Korean pattern for describing abstract nouns like 길, 시간, 순간.

3. 나의 마지막 사랑이란

• 나의 = “my”
• 마지막 = “last / final”
• 사랑 = “love”
• –이란 = contraction of –이라는

→ “that (it) is” (defining or identifying)

4.  걸 알아

• 걸 = contraction of 것을 (object form of “the fact that…”)
• From 알다 = “to know”
• Informal present tense
• Takes a clause as its object (everything before it)

→ Whole sentence structure:

[Clause A] + –이란 걸 + 알다

= “to know that A is …”

마지막 사랑 (majimak sarang) is a deeply romantic expression commonly used in K-pop songs and K-dramas. It signifies an everlasting love, the last love of one’s life, in a positive light. It doesn’t imply that the speaker won’t love again, but rather that the person they’re addressing will be their forever love. A classic example is BlackPink’s ‘As if it’s your last’: 내가 너에게 마지막 사랑인 것처럼.

Have you already found your 마지막 사랑? If so, have you shared it with them?

#rollingquartz #romantist #krock #ballad #learnkorean