Are you ready for the future--장래 or 장차?

장래 (將來) is a noun that means "the future," and 장차 (將次) is an adverb that means "in the future." Here are some examples of how they are used:

장래 (the future)

• 밝은 장래....................a bright future; bright prospects
• 어두운 장래.................a dark future; gloomy prospects
• 가까운 장래에..............in the near future
• 먼 장래에.....................in the distance future
• 장래의 계획을 세우다...make a plan for the future
• 장래를 점치다..............predict the future

장차 (in the future)

• 장차 어떤 일이 일어날지 아무도 모른다.
  No one can tell what will happen in the future.
• 너는 장차 무엇이 되고 싶니?
  What do you want to be in the future?
• 그렇게 돈을 함부로 쓰면 장차 무일푼이 된다.
  If you spend money so freely, you'll wind up penniless.
• 장차 사용할 수 있도록 이것을 간수해 두어라.
  Keep this for future use.

If you place an -에- after 장래 (i.e. 장래에), it will have the same meaning as 장차, which means "in the future." Never place an 에 after 장차 because it is not needed.

미래 (未來) is a noun that also means "the future," but, according to Mr. Nam Yeong-sin (남영신), there are some slight differences between 미래 and 장래. Mr. Nam says, for example, that 장래 is used to talk about your own future and the future that affects you, but 미래 is used to talk about a more distant future. The future (미래) is infinite, but your future (장래) ends when you die. Accordingly, there is more emotion attached to 장래 than to 미래. Therefore, maybe it would be better to say 먼 미래 rather than 먼 장래, and 장래의 계획 rather than 미래의 계획.

By the way, the American movie "Back to the Future" was translated into Korean as "백 투 더 퓨쳐," which is just a transliteration of the English title. However, if you were to translate it into Korean, I think it should be 장래로 돌아가다. I used 장래 in my translation because it was the future of one person rather than a distance future.