Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Raising quality of education crucial to spreading Hangeul
.jpg?w=728)
Song Hyang-keun, president of the King Sejong Institute Foundation, poses with a character from the institue’s new folktale cartoon series. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF), which oversees the King Sejong Institutes (KSI), is busier than ever, as demand for Korean language education overseas is on the rise.
The KSI is the educational facility for Korean language and culture and there are 130 such facilities in 54 countries from the United States and China to Nepal and Zimbabwe as of 2014.
Established in 2012, the KSIF supports the Korean language institutes worldwide by providing curriculum and textbooks as well as training Korean language instructors.
The first King Sejong Institute opened in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia in 2007. “There were 13 King Sejong Institutes to begin with and the number grew tenfold now. Now we seek substantiality in promoting Korean language and culture through the institutes,” said Song Hyang-keun, president of KSIF, during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The KSI provides a platform for people interested in learning about the Korea, its language and culture.”
King Sejong Institute’s teaching material on traditional games
Korea did not have a presence a few decades ago and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games paved the way for Korea to step up in the international community. In the 2000s, Korea received foreign workers and married immigrants and Korean companies expanded overseas, resulting in increased demand on Korean language education.
“The interest in Korea is constantly increasing, largely because of hallyu lately. In the old days, people learned Korean to study or get a job in Korea. But now more and more people learn Korean as a hobby,” Song said. “They are interested in Korea and Korean culture, which expands to an interest in the language. They want to understand their favorite drama and sing along K-pop songs. These people are likely to become Korea-friendly.”
Song’s foremost concern is improving the quality of education. He sees the key is educating the teachers. “The quality of education cannot exceed the quality of instructor and we put emphasis in training them. The KSIF hosts the World Korean Educators Conference every July and discuss about new teaching method and how to apply them in the field,” he said.
A beginner’s course is underway at King Sejong Institute in Makassar, Indonesia. / Courtesy of King Sejong Institute Foundation
Most KSIs appoint instructors locally, but the foundation sends Korean native-speaking teachers to enrich the quality of education.
“We sent 39 instructors this year and aim to increase the number to 50 next year. We also provide online training program for KSI instructors.”
The KSIF launched an online version of KSI (www.sejonghakdang.org) last year to assist self-motivated learning. The website provides a wide range of learning materials for Korean language and culture.
“This site is not just for learners and educators can find resources as well. We also have a mobile version of the site, which now offers first four elementary level courses for places with low-speed Internet connections,” Song explained.
Song also puts emphasis on standardizing curriculum to maintain the educational quality of the KSI. “There are 130 branches across the globe, but any students who studies Korean at the KSIs should receive the same quality of education,” Song said.
Students of King Sejong Institute in Bonn, Germany, practice Korean calligraphy.
The institutes aim to become the center for globalization of Korean language and exchange of Korean culture. “Many people think the KSI only teaches Korean as a language, but we also introduce Korean culture to the world,” Song said. “Most cultural programs are one-off events for holidays. But the KSI has integrated culture as a part of curriculum, which is test-operated this year.”
Song said the students of KSI are eager to learn more about Korea’s contemporary, everyday life. “When we think of Korean culture, we think of something traditional. However, foreigners are more interested in modern daily life of Korea. For instance, we created a course based on the four ceremonial occasions of Korea — coming of age, wedding, funeral, and ancestral rites. It explains Korean’s life from birth to death and the students can make Korean food and try on ‘hanbok’ (Korean traditional costume) appearing in the story. They will learn Korean eventually through the course.”
Song is an expert in Korean language education for foreigners, currently teaching at the Busan University of Foreign Studies.
“When I visit a KSI overseas, I always ask the students whether learning Korean is easy or difficult. Almost everybody, even those in the very beginner’s course, think Korean is difficult. I think teaching in an interesting way will help the students pick up the language without tears,” Song said.
That is why the KSIF strives for diversifying course materials. It introduced new Korean folktale cartoons and animated video series “Pop Popping Korean” for easy and entertaining learning.
The folktale cartoons feature 24 Korean folklores ranging from tales of “dokkaebi,” or Korean goblins, to love stories and serviced in English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. The animation teaches basic Korean conversations.
“These materials can lower the entry barrier to Korean language by helping the foreigners understand the root of Korean culture and history.”