There’s two very similar words in Korean, 속 and 안. Both nouns mean “inside”. But they’re slightly different.

Following examples are only possible with 안.

(1) 지하철 안 (inside of subway)

*지하철 속 — Awkward

(2) 교실 안 (inside of classroom.)

*교실 속 — Awkward

(3) 내 시야 안 (inside of sight)

*내 시야 속 — Awkward

Following examples are only possible with 속.

(1) 꿈속 (inside the dream) — Already one word that you have to write it without a space.

*꿈 안 — Awkward

(2) 물속 (inside of water) — Already one word

*물 안 — Awkward

(3) 돌 속 (inside of stone)

*돌 안 — Awkward

(4) 도넛 속 (inside of doughnut)

*도넛 안 — Awkward

(5) 달빛 속 (inside of moonlight)

*달빛 안 — Awkward

And following examples are possible with both.

(1) 신발 안, 신발 속 (inside of shoe)

(2) 장갑 안, 장갑 속 (inside of glove)

(3) 상자 안, 상자 속 (inside of box)

(4) 입안, 입속 (inside of mouth) — All are each one word.

(5) 주머니 안, 주머니 속 (inside of pocket)

(6) 지갑 안, 지갑 속 (inside of wallet)

The antonym of 속 is 겉, and that of 안 is 밖. 겉 means “edge”, “crust”, “surface”, or “cover”, but 밖 means “outside”. Then, “non-겉” would be 속, and “non-밖” would be “안”. Put it in another way, 겉 and 속 is physical wheras 밖 and 안 is spatial.

(▲ Comparison between 밖 and 안)

밖: Outside of a particular range.
안: Inside of a particular range.

(▲ Comparison between 겉 and 속)

겉: Crust, edge, or surface of a particular thing.
속: Inside of a particular thing other than its crust, edge, or surface.

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속 and 안

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