와/과
wa / gwa
와/과 is not 'and', it is a piece of string
The picture A string tying two things so they stand shoulder to shoulder. What you do with the pair afterwards is the only thing that changes. 와/과 brings both of them along; (이)나 picks just one of the two — 여권과 도장 means both, 여권이나 도장 means either will do.
Where the picture shows up in 와/과
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tied in a list
여권과 도장 가져오세요.
yeo-gwon-gwa do-jang ga-jeo-o-se-yo
Bring your passport and your seal.
Passport and seal held stacked in one hand and pushed across the counter together
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standing beside you
친구와 같이 왔어요.
chin-gu-wa ga-chi wa-sseo-yo
I came with a friend.
Two people walking in through the same door, shoulder against shoulder
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held up against each other
이것과 저것은 값이 달라요.
i-geot-gwa jeo-geo-seun gap-si dal-la-yo
This one and that one are different prices.
One item in each hand, held up at eye level side by side, your eyes going back and forth
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the one facing you
다음 주에 사장님과 만나기로 했어요.
da-eum ju-e sa-jang-nim-gwa man-na-gi-ro hae-sseo-yo
I'm meeting the boss next week.
Two people sitting down facing each other across a table
Verbs you cannot do alone — 만나다, 결혼하다, 싸우다 — use 와/과 to bring the other side in.
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the yardstick
작년과 비교하면 많이 늘었어요.
jang-nyeon-gwa bi-gyo-ha-myeon ma-ni neu-reo-sseo-yo
Compared with last year, it's up a lot.
Last year's bar and this year's bar pinned up next to each other, heights compared
All of it in one picture
와/과 stands two things shoulder to shoulder and ties them together. Stack the passport and the seal in one hand and you have a list to bring; put your shoulder next to a friend's and you have someone you came with. Hold one in each hand at eye level and you have a pair to compare; sit down facing someone across a table and you have the other side. Pin this year's bar next to last year's and you have your yardstick. So wherever 와/과 appears, two things have just been set down side by side.