다가 가다

do it a while, then leave

-다가 breaks off one action to start another, and with 가다 it means you do something for a bit and then go: 조금 있다가 가야 돼 "I have to stay a moment and then head off", 들렀다가 가다 "stop by on the way". The set question 어떻게 하다가 ~게 됐어요? asks how something came about — "how did you end up in Gwangju?". Unlike -어서 가다, the first action does not have to be finished; you interrupt it.

Register: casual spoken