This is the 3107th most frequent Korean word.
가던
"가던" is a descriptive form of the verb "가다" (to go) in the past tense, meaning "was going" or "used to go."
The word '가던' here describes the habitual action of the subject returning home, emphasizing a repeated, characteristic behavior observed in the past.
그는 늘 조용히 집으로 가던 사람이었다.
He was always a person who quietly went home.
In this sentence, '가던' is used to represent the ongoing action of walking that was interrupted, highlighting the continuity of the action before it stopped.
저기 가던 길을 멈추고 나를 보고 있었다.
Over there, he stopped his walking path and was looking at me.
Here, '가던' refers to a destination that had been headed towards, expressing the idea of a past course of action leading to a location.