Additional usage of 이렇게?
안녕하세요 여러분~! While listening to Korean interviews and shows, I notice that the word "이렇게" pops up quite a few times, even in places where it's not needed (nor is it included in the translation of the words the speaker is saying). For example, during interviews, I occasionally hear "네, 이렇게..." said at the beginning of an interviewee's answer before the proper words are stated.

I learned that 이렇게 means "like this," but I also started thinking about it as a filler word. Kind of like how English speakers use "like" in sentences when they're still trying to come up with what to say (i.e. it was, like, so cool; so, like, she was doing this and this, etc.). Can any Korean speakers verify if my assumption is correct and, if not, try to explain to me why Koreans sometimes use 이렇게 in their speech with the usage I just described? 감사합니다~! ^-^

Question

Additional usage of 이렇게?
안녕하세요 여러분~! While listening to Korean interviews and shows, I notice that the word "이렇게" pops up quite a few times, even in places where it's not needed (nor is it included in the translation of the words the speaker is saying). For example, during interviews, I occasionally hear "네, 이렇게..." said at the beginning of an interviewee's answer before the proper words are stated.

I learned that 이렇게 means "like this," but I also started thinking about it as a filler word. Kind of like how English speakers use "like" in sentences when they're still trying to come up with what to say (i.e. it was, like, so cool; so, like, she was doing this and this, etc.).  Can any Korean speakers verify if my assumption is correct and, if not, try to explain to me why Koreans sometimes use 이렇게 in their speech with the usage I just described? 감사합니다~! ^-^

Answer

I think it's more like "in this way/manner" when people use it as Lizzie's noticed. So if someone asks "did you make the song by thinking of a flower and then a bird and then putting them together" and the person answers says "네, 이렇게..." before elaborating, they're agreeing that they did the action "in the way/manner" that the interviewer indicated in the question itself. (Sorry for that bad example...)

It's also possible that the term "이렇게" is occurring at the beginning of a clause while the speaker is still thinking of exactly what to say? I notice "이렇게" mostly when describing the way in which something happens or in affirming comparisons, as in simile/metaphor (literary or not): for example, noting your icon (hehe), in 나비소녀, "without my knowing, love in this way came to me: suddenly, [&] without warning."

"이렇게" might also be an indicator of context; Korean's a high-context language, whereas English is a low-context language, so saying "이렇게" in a sentence that's otherwise directly-translatable to English would be redundant. However "이렇게" can be used in sentences that mean, roughly, "why are you so late?" or "I couldn't be happier than I am [right now]" (왜 이렇게 늦었습니까? & 이렇게 기쁜 일이 또 있을까). In these cases "이렇게" still means "in this way" or "like this" but it indicates current context rather than the grammatical phrase "in this way" or "like this." i HOPE that makes sense.

not posting this as an answer because i don't actually know and this is just what i've gathered from context so far^^

Answer

Could you give some example sentences? As far as I know, using 이렇게 as a filler word is not common in Korea.