안녕하세요.
Recently I uploaded some texts in the Writing Exchange section and received a feedback that causes me some confusion. As there weren’t any details, I thought I might as well just ask here.
As the title already suggests my question is which speech level is appropriate or commonly used in written Korean. My personal impression was, that an exclusive use of -니다 is done in formal contexts, with switches to -요 only in cases were a specific sentence ending isn’t compatible with -니다. Therefore I used the -니다 form in texts I submitted that were based on the writing test part of the TOPIK exam, as I considered this something formal.
However, my impression was that in non-formal situation a mixture of both speech levels is used, depending on how polite or sincere one wants to appear or the status of the people spoken to. I also got the impression that this is not only the case in spoken, but also written Korean, based on how YouTube comments or those here in the forum are written, if in Korean. I sometimes write comments in Korean on YouTube video podcasts made by Korean tutors using the 요 form (except for fixed expressions like 감사합니다, of course), and they never corrected me on that, so I guess it is fine.
However, the comment mentioned earlier stated - if I understood it correctly - that I should not use the 요 form, and another text of mine was correct with completely switching to the 니다 form, although I was just writing about a personal interest of mine.
I’ve noticed, though, that blogs seem to use the 니다 form. So maybe the correctors interpreted my text as such.
So long story short:
- What is the typical form used in written Korean?
- Do Koreans differentiate between written and spoken Korean in that regard?
- To which extend might the text type play a role? If I just write down something I would talk about in a casual situation mainly, is it still necessary to write it like I would hold a formal presentation?
Looking forward to your answers.
감사합니다.
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“-요” ending is used in written Korean when you want to write in an informal/casual/friendly manner. Or want to create a conversational tone/persona.
Spoken Korean is far more flexivle with “-요”. Even in an formal situation, people alternate between “ㅂ-니다” and “-요” to avoid to rigid way of speaking.
Formal written Korean (-ㅂ니다):
academic paper, essay, thesis, news article, public announcement, official document, business correspondence, textbook, manual, instruction, exam writing, and formal blog/article.
When “-요” might be okay:
conversational style, social media post
In comments, “-요” is considered polite and friendly without being overly formal
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It might have been assumed that you intended to write it as an essay for a test.
@vet8t6z79pc4 감사합니다.
@aslemon301 Yeah, I assumed that, too. It might be a good idea if I explicitely state what my intentions are in future submissions. 
It also really depends on who the audience for the piece of writing is. ~니다 form is used when the writing is considered somewhat ‘conversational’ - like a blog or piece of public, but still relatively formal writing. That is, in a newspaper article, the narrative of a novel, or an academic piece of writing, which is not conversational, but presentational, ~니다 will not be used, but instead the ~다 ‘dictionary’ infinitive form.
When people post on social media, for example, you might find ~니다, ~요, or even 반말 (dropping the endings), depending on the ‘feel’ that the writer is trying to convey, but yes, my impression is in general ~니다 is a little more common.
In spoken but relatively informal language, you’re right that ~니다 and ~요 are both used, but in general ~요 form probably makes up the vast majority, with a few ~니다s thrown in for extra-respectful spice, so to speak. That ratio might change based on the setting, of course: in a bar, meeting a new friend of a friend, probably nobody is going to use ~니다 except in a standardized greeting like 처음 뵙겠습니다 or 반갑습니다. On the other hand, if at a university conference and speaking to some legendary old professor, people might use honorific grammar more in conversation. Obviously this corresponds to what degree of ‘formality’ or social deference the speaker wants to convey in the nuance of their speech, since ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ are on a continuum rather than strictly delineated 
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I am considering to study Korean, but to be honest, after reading all this, it really feels complex. Especially, when speaking one has to understand the level of respect the other needs or expects. I am … fearful of this piece of Korean language and culture.
Do not worry too much. People don’t strictly adhere to those rules when the situation is on a spectrum and don’t feel that their writing style is offensive or rude. For example, if someone uses polite language in all situations, people don’t think that person is strange. He or she just seen as a polite person.
I’m a Japanese speaker, and the same thing happens in Japanese as well.
Even native Japanese speakers who speak regional dialects sometimes tend to be overly polite when speaking in standard Japanese, but this usually isn’t a big problem.
As long as one learns the appropriate level of politeness when speaking to strangers, there shouldn’t be any issues.
I’ve heard that in Korean, using “요” is sufficient in most cases.
A follow-up note:
In the LingQ mini-stories, various sentence endings are used, but since they are not connected to the contexts in which they should be used, I didn’t find them very helpful.
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I never really considered it overly complex. I was just confused by a comment I have gotten on a text I have posted in text exchange. In a real-life scenario I would just copy the style of others, as I did in English and in my native language as well when I was young.