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I came across this video, [Basic Korean Grammar] Most frequent Korean word 이, 그, 저 in my early study of Korean language. At around 5:23, Kim mentioned that "이곳" and "여기" are interchangeble, except that "여기" is a more formal word than "이곳".
I am curious what the difference between these two words is, and if there are any usage notes on using these two words?
The question might be trivial and silly, but thanks in advance anyway.
I believe 여기 is the more informal one of the two. They are usually interchangeable, but 이곳 probably works better when you are referring to a place in an objective description.
For example, I would prefer 이곳 in this sentence:
캘리포니아에 데스밸리란 곳이 있다. 이곳은 (여기는) 여름이면 기온이 화씨 110도 이상 올라간다. = There is a place called Death Valley in California. In this place (here), the temperatures exceed 110 degrees in summer.
