This is the 21st in a series of articles about history of English education in Korea ― ED.
By Kim Eun-gyong
Contributing Writer
English has been the most important foreign language for South Koreans since the rule of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK).
The foundation for the elevated status of the language was laid by the military government, which implemented a series of English-related policies. The fact that the USAMGIK was in control may have been sufficient to enhance the language's status in South Korea, but it took further measures to strengthen the influence of English. This article will examine noteworthy developments during this time that led to the current solidified status of English language education in Korean society.
To begin with, the government declared English the official language. Upon his arrival in Korea, Lieutenant General John R. Hodge, commanding general of the U. S. Armed Forces in Korea (USFK), released Proclamation No.1, ``To the People of Korea,'' issued by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Army Forces, Pacific, on September 7, 1945, which announced English as the official language for the southern part of Korea. Article V reads, ``For all purposes during the military control, English will be the official language. In event of any ambiguity or diversity of interpretation or definition between any English and Korean or Japanese text, the English text shall prevail.''
The choice of English may have been inevitable since it would have been impossible for the military personnel to carry out their duties in other languages due to their limited language abilities. Nevertheless, the Korean language was once again overlooked, with English taking over the status as the official language that Japanese had held for decades.
With personnel who did not speak or understand Korean, and English declared as the official language, the military government relied on interpreters and became known among Koreans as a ``government by interpreters.''
According to a survey in October 1945, Koreans did not trust the interpreters and were disturbed by the unfair influence they had on occupation policy. In an August 12, 1948 article, the Chosun Ilbo, a Korean daily, reported on various illegal activities committed by interpreters; "from the dirty interpreters who take pittances from both sides for pimping, driving Jeeps at night going from house to house, and to those who act pompously through borrowed authority and fatten their pockets misusing the power of American troops.''
Furthermore, Richard Werth, an advisor to the Teacher Training Department of Education, warned about the interpreters' inadequate abilities: ``Americans who wish to communicate successfully with Koreans through an interpreter, should never over-estimate the ability of the interpreter to understand and put into Korean more complicated sentence structures and more complex idioms.''
On June 28, 1947, about one month after the establishment of the South Korean Interim Government (SKIG), when administrative authority was transferred to Koreans, the government finally acknowledged the Korean language as the nation's official language. Hence, the troublesome ``government by interpreters'' ceased to exist.
Another notable practice of the military government that helped elevate the status of English was its employment of Koreans who had studied in the U.S. Major General Archibald V. Arnold, appointed by General Hodge as the first U.S. military governor, and other officials looked for Koreans who had studied in America, particularly those with doctoral degrees. Giho Ra, who served as assistant director of commerce and on the Korean Educational Commission under the USAMGIK, recollects, ``Those who had not had appropriate jobs just one month ago because of their educational background, i.e., studying in the U.S.A., were now at the forefront of building a new country.''
For example, Auh Chun-suk (1901-1987), who led educational reform as deputy director and director of education during military rule, received a B.A. from Cornell College, an M.A. from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Among the 62 Korean members of the National Committee on Educational Planning (NCEP), the influential group of educational leaders responsible for long-term educational planning, 14 had studied in the U.S.A. and one in Canada.
The military government's active pursuit and utilization of English-speaking, U.S.-educated locals intensified Koreans' interest in attending American schools. In addition, its need to secure Koreans who would readily align themselves with American policy and ideology resulted in a rapid growth in students going to the U.S.
Lockard, Director of Education, argued in January 1946; ``Until recently the Korean graduates of colleges and universities in Japan numbered about a thousand a year….Now we have to look to America as the only place where our mature students can go and be trained for future leadership in the numerous phases of national life.''
Consequently, a survey in January 1948 of Korean students in American schools revealed that for a year since January 1947, 111 students, 71 male and 40 female, had gone there to study such subjects as theology (16%), liberal arts and sciences (22%), music (12%), law (3%), education (6%), business (2%), agriculture (5%), high school (7%), nursing (2%), engineering (5%), and medicine (20%), mostly sponsored by American individuals and organizations.
Besides, the majority of Koreans working with the military government were made up of Christians. Eleven of the 19 Korean assistant directors in 1946 were identified as Christians. Also, six of the 11 members of the Korean Committee on Education (KCE) and 24 of the 62 on the NCEP indicated themselves as Christians.
The extensive employment of Christians for government-related services was attributable to the government's close relationship with American missionaries in Korea and their children, who could speak Korean and provide intimate knowledge of Korea to military personnel.
Horace Horton Underwood, a Presbyterian missionary teaching at Yonhi Professional School, for instance, exerted his influence as chief advisor to Military Governor Arnold. Lieutenant Commander George Z. Williams, the son of a former missionary, was given the task of selecting Korean officials by General Hodge. A thorough conservative, Williams chose Koreans mainly from the conservative, well-to-do Christians with some level of English proficiency.
The military government's English-related policy and practices affected Korean society in critical ways. First of all, the government's adoption of English as the official language and utilization of Koreans with proficiency enhanced the status and value of English language education.
Secondly, the traits of the Koreans utilized by the government can be summarized as English-speaking, U.S.-educated, conservative Christians, a fairly close depiction of those who have ruled Korean society since. As English ability and degrees from American schools were imprinted as highly effective tools to reach higher social positions in Koreans' minds, a number of Koreans began seeking opportunities to study in the U.S.: approximately 89% of the study-abroad students in the 1950s chose American institutions, and this tendency has continued to the present. The returnees have formed a new elite dominating a vast range of sectors including academia, politics, finance and the military in Korean society. South Korea is considered a highly Americanized society, with disproportionate emphasis on things American.
Lastly, Koreans with some English ability were likely to have been beneficiaries of Japanese colonial rule, for educational opportunities had been excruciatingly limited and it would have been impossible to receive an education sufficient to speak English without collaborating with the colonial government. Thanks to the American military government's emphasis on English ability, allowing those with knowledge of the language to take part in policy-making and implementation, Koreans who were considered pro-Japanese maintained their vested rights, while those who were poor and radical and fought against Japanese repression were kept from participating in the new government and thus establishing themselves in the new world.
Kim Eun-gyong is an associate professor of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). She can be reached at egkim@kaist.ac.kr.