99% of my students translate "지난 something" automatically to "last something." But note that in the Korean language "지난" could simply mean "past (이미 지나간)," not "most recent (현재를 기준으로 가장 최근)," depending on the context. For example, if you say "지난 1월" in May 2010, you are referring to January 2010. You should say "작년/지난해 1월" for January 2009. But if you say "지난 1월" in January 2010, you are referring to January 2009.
In the 2005 Foreign Service Exam, students were asked to translate "올해 초 동북아시아 세 국가는 서로 협력적이고 우호적인 관계로 나아가기로 되어 있었다. 지난 1월 서울에서는...한일 우정의 해가 선포되었다." The formal announcement of the friendship year by the Korean and Japanese governments took place in January 2005. But a lot of students said:
- Earlier this year, the three Northeast Asian countries—Korea, Japan, and China—were expected to follow the path towards a cooperative and amiable relationship. The Korea-Japan Friendship Year was announced in Seoul in last January...
- Earlier this year, the three Northeast Asian countries—Korea, Japan, and China—were expected to follow the path towards a cooperative and amiable relationship. The Korea-Japan Friendship Year was announced in Seoul in January...
For another example, take a look at the following excerpt from an August 2, 2010 New York Times Op-Ed.
- From the start, President Obama made clear that recovery from a crisis of this magnitude would not come quickly and that the recovery would not follow a straight line. We saw that this past spring (i.e. Spring 2010), when the European fiscal crisis posed a serious challenge to the markets and to business confidence, dampening investment and the rate of growth here...Panicked by the collapse in demand and financing and fearing a prolonged slump, the private sector cut payrolls and investment savagely. The rate of job loss worsened with time: by early last year (i.e. early 2009), 750,000 jobs vanished every month. The economic collapse drove tax revenue down, pushing the annual deficit up to $1.3 trillion by last January (i.e. January 2009)
