돌아왔지만

In a sentence

• 그는 집에 돌아왔지만 아내가 없었어요.

  Although he returned home, his wife was not there.

  In this sentence, '돌아왔지만' is used to denote an action—coming back—and is followed by '지만,' which introduces a contrasting situation.

• 나는 학교에 돌아왔지만 아무도 나를 알아보지 못했어요.

  I returned to school, but no one recognized me.

  Here, '돌아왔지만' expresses the action of returning, and '지만' sets up a contrast, emphasizing the unexpected lack of recognition despite the return.

• 그들은 여행 후에 회사에 돌아왔지만 일이 너무 많았어요.

  They returned to the company after the trip, yet there was too much work to do.

  In this case, '돌아왔지만' conveys the action of coming back to work and contrasts it with the abundance of tasks awaiting.