하다
ha-da
하다 has no meaning of its own — it is a switch
The picture You pick up a noun that is sitting still and flip its switch. The moment it clicks, the word starts running. 하다 is you flipping the switch by hand; 되다 is the switch going on by itself as something reaches its mark.
Where the picture shows up in 하다
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a name becomes work
저 지금 설거지해요.
jeo ji-geum seol-geo-ji-hae-yo
I'm doing the dishes right now.
A hand touches the label 'dishes' propped by the sink; the tap starts running and the plates begin to get washed
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the price it runs at
이거 얼마 해요?
i-geo eol-ma hae-yo
How much is this?
Behind the price tag, a calculator wheel spins and clicks to a stop on one number
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switched into that state
머리를 짧게 했어요.
meo-ri-reul jjal-kke hae-sseo-yo
I got my hair cut short.
In the salon chair, long hair falls away in one snip and short hair is left standing there
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switch this one on
저는 냉면으로 할게요.
jeo-neun naeng-myeo-neu-ro hal-kke-yo
I'll go with the cold noodles.
A finger lands on the cold-noodle row of the menu and only that row lights up
Ordering takes -(으)로 하다. Saying 냉면을 해요 would mean you cook the dish yourself.
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the switch inside you
내일부터 운동하기로 했어요.
nae-il-bu-teo un-dong-ha-gi-ro hae-sseo-yo
I've decided to start working out tomorrow.
You reach into your own chest and flip a small switch there with your own hand
-기로 하다 is a decision you reach yourself, not an order someone gave you.
All of it in one picture
하다 carries no meaning of its own; it is one switch. Plug it into the name 'dishes' and the water starts running; plug it into a price and the number wheel spins; plug it into hair and long becomes short. Plug it into a menu and one row lights up; plug it into your own chest and you become a person who works out starting tomorrow. So wherever 하다 lands, a noun that had been lying still has just started to run.