By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Arabic countries have been regarded by many Koreans as nations harboring a grudge against Western countries, including the United States and Britain.
After Kim Sun-il, an interpreter and supply provider for Korean troops stationed in Iraq, was abducted and beheaded in 2004 by an Islamic militant group, Korean people realized Asian countries including Korea were no longer the safe zone from a series of attacks by the Middle East-based terrorists.
Ironically, however, the two disturbing incidents served as a catalyst in stimulating interest in the Arabic language.
``Since the 9/11 attack, a growing number of Koreans have paid keen attention to Arabic,'' said Lee In-seop, a professor at the graduate school of interpretation and translation (GSIT) of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. ``As economic cooperation between Korea and countries using Arabic as their mother tongue expands, more companies and organizations here are looking for individuals who can speak the language fluently.''
Noting that a large number of students majoring in Arabic at GSIT managed to make ends meet after graduating in the 1990s, Lee said, ``Almost all graduates in the field are currently enjoying their heyday. There are several interpreters making more than 20 million won ($22,000) every month.''
The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) said a total of 5,027 students chose Arabic as a second language to test in the Collage Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) held in 2006.
In 2004 when the language was first introduced to CSAT, only 531 students selected Arabic. But the number surged to 2,184 the following year.
As the language gains popularity, the number of people wishing to study Arabic is also on the rise. Among institutes teaching Arabic is the Korea Muslim Federation. ``On average, around 30 people attended the Arabic lesson in the past,'' said an official at the federation. ``However, more than 100 people are now present for the lessons.''
Expanding economic cooperation between Korea and the Middle East countries has also attributed to the surging popularity of Arabic.
According to KOTRA, Korean companies invested around $14.5 billion in the Middle East region in 2006, up 18.2 percent from $12.2 billion in 2005.
``Investments in the Middle East increases about 20 percent year after year,'' said Cho Chang-hoon, deputy director of the Middle East, Africa and CIS Team at KOTRA.
Only three investments in the Middle East were made in 2001, the Export-Import Bank of Korea said. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, however, the figure jumped in 2002 to 11. Reaching 35 in 2006, the number of investments in the region rose to 37 so far this year to June, the largest ever made in the area.
``With rising economic cooperation, the demand for language experts in Arabic is also rapidly increasing,'' said Lee Young-tae, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Overall figures and social trends shown above seem to guarantee a rosy future for those majoring in Arabic and speaking the language fluently. But there is an obstacle they need to overcome to increase their possibilities of succeeding here with Arabic.
That is English. Most Korean companies, which have tapped into the Middle East region, use English as an official language for their businesses.
``English is still the most widely used language in international business,'' said an official of LG International. ``Although the number of investments in the Middle East by Korean companies increases gradually, still many Korean firms use English more frequently than Arabic.''
As a growing number of Korean companies see the region as an emerging market to invest, the demand for Arabic speakers has also show an upward trend.
``We currently have five language specialists in Arabic,'' said an official of Samsung Engineering and Construction. ``We plan to hire more Arabic specialists as we see more opportunities to invest in the Middle East.'' The company will give extra points to applicants speaking Arabic fluently from this year.