~(으)ㄴ 채로 (~eun/eun chae-ro) – while in the state of (having done something), another thing happened/something else was done
This is not to be confused with ~(으)면서.
For ~(으)면서, you are referring to two actions being done simultaneously.
On the other hand, for ~(으)ㄴ 채로, the second action follows the first action (which is attached to ~(으)ㄴ 채로).
LIKEWISE FOR BOTH ~(으)면서 AND ~ㄴ/은 채로, YOU WOULD USUALLY USE THEM TO CONNECT TWO ACTIONS.
In some cases, when you use ~(으)ㄴ 채로, you are indicating that the action had already been done – for example, holding up your cup.
Therefore, any actions following the sentence where you used ~(으)ㄴ 채로, it should be understood to the reader that the writer or someone is still holding up his or her cup.
The nuance is tough to understand so let’s look at some examples first.
Examples:
난 커피잔을 든 채로 친구 이야기를 들어.
I was holding my coffee cup while listening to my friend’s story.
그 여자가 거울을 본 채로 길에 걸어서 진짜 대단해.
That lady was looking at her mirror while walking on the road, it’s really amazing.
So from the above sentences, it is understood to the reader that for the first example, while the writer is listening to his or her friend’s story, the cup was still held up the whole time.
For the second example, the lady was looking at her mirror the whole time she was walking on the road, so the writer thought that it was amazing that could even happen.
In a way, you could look at ~(으)ㄴ 채로 as indicating that while the second action is happening or done, the first action (or state of doing the first action) was occurring the whole time.
