Mongolia needs Korean language teachers

Chung Soon-hoon

By Kwon Ji-youn

Chung Soon-hoon, president of the Mongol Huree University of Information and Communication Technology, called on Korea to send some 600 teachers to Mongolia to promote the Korean language in the landlocked country.

“Of the Mongolian population of 2.7 million, 220,000 people spent at least three years of their life in Korea,” Chung said. “If you count international students, it amounts up to 10 percent of the population who speak at least a little Korean.”

After voluntarily resigning from Pai Chai University where he served as president, Chung headed for the Mongolian university, feeling that it is where he is needed most.

The university is an IT-centered college, established by a former Korean university professor in 2002. Located in Ulaanbaatar, 1,300 students are currently enrolled in 14 departments.

The college has sent some 100 students to universities in Korea as foreign exchange students since 2002.

“It’s not that we want to force Mongolians to speak Korean,” Chung said. “We want to make sure that we have the facilities to aid those who want to learn the language.”

He said that it is regretful that there are no Korean language teachers at the university.

“There are some 600 elementary, middle and high schools in Mongolia,” he added. “If we send one Korean language teacher to each school, we could really encourage the use of the Korean language.”

Chung emphasizes that the propagation of the Korean language in Mongolia will lead to immense international development.

“For a country to develop, it needs to begin by acquiring knowledge about foreign countries using their language,” Chung said. “Mongolia lacks the facilities to structure publishing houses where foreign works can be translated.”

He advised that they should learn Korean, instead of English or Chinese, which are difficult to acquire and differ greatly from their culture.

Chung said that he hopes to teach Korean one day in countries such as Mongolia after he retires.

He said that he will carry on with his duties as president until someone more qualified comes along.

Chung also served as chairman of the board at a Korean language globalization foundation. He was also in charge of promoting the Korean language through various events among foreign students at Pai Chai University.