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University of Jordan : Mecca of Korean Studies in the Middle East and Africa

Since crossing the Asian continent, Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, is now sweeping the desert lands of the Middle East. Leading the way is not Korea's pop stars but the Korean language. With the establishment of a Korean-Applied English BA Program at the University of Jordan, a national university in Jordan, the interest in Korean language and culture is on the rise. Shifting away from its previous Europe-oriented university education, professors at the university are now paying closer attention to research on Asia, especially on Korea's economic development and related Korean studies.


A Korean language BA program at the University of Jordan was necessary due to a drastic increase in the number of students enrolled in Korean language and culture classes, which I began to offer as liberal arts courses in 2002. The specific working-level procedures to establish a BA program of Korean language began in July 2006 when I submitted a letter of request and curriculum plans to the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. The request for a BA course on Korean and applied English was evaluated by the Council of Deans and endorsed at a Board Meeting of the University of Jordan, and finally approved by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on September 25, 2006.

The University of Jordan has offered Korean language classes as a liberal arts course since 1999, when a professor from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies visited the university. I have taught Korean language and Korean Studies courses at the university since I was dispatched there, as a professor of Korean Studies, by the Korea Research Foundation in 2002, and again by the Academy of Korean Studies in 2006. I was promoted to professor of the University of Jordan in 2006, in accordance with its faculty-promotion review process.

The establishment of a BA course on Korean was made possible by the interaction of the following factors; First of all, the same professor of Korean Studies taught at the university for an extended period of time, which assured consistency of the instruction and administrative matters at the university. Secondly, Arabic is the only language used at faculty meetings and for administrative matters. Therefore, the Korean professor, thanks to his fluency in Arabic, was able to handle academic affairs more readily than other professors of Japanese or Chinese. In addition, Arabic students who were lacking in English skills could enroll in Korean culture classes without hesitation since they were taught in Arabic. What should be mentioned here, above all, is the contribution of Dr. Rajai al-Khanji, the then Dean of the Faculty of Arts, for the establishment of the program. Professor Rajai al-Khanji so greatly helped Korean language and Korean Studies courses to take root at the University of Jordan that he deserves to be called pro-Korean. In recognition of his efforts, the Korean Ambassador in Jordan presented an award of gratitude to Professor Rajai al-Khanji for his endeavors to enhance the image of Korea, on October 6, 2006.

No independent degree programs of Japanese or Chinese have been established thus far, although the languages are taught as liberal arts courses at the University of Jordan. Such being the case, the embassies of other countries, including Japan and Greece, are now doing their utmost to establish such a degree program for their own languages.



▲ Students and professors attend the KF Korea-Related Lecture Tour of the Middle East and listen to a lecture about the Korean economy.


In spring 2006, the student enrollment in Asian language courses was 35 for Japanese, 15 for Chinese, and 128 for Korean. The reason why the students at the University of Jordan chose to learn the Korean language was mainly because of the Korea Foundation's publication subsidy to the University of Jordan Press for the publication of Korean Language and Communications for Arab Learners (1) & (2). The Korean language textbook, with explanations in Arabic, encouraged an increasing number of Jordanian students to think of Korean as a language that they could learn. In response to the sharp increase in student enrollment, the university offered four classes of "Korean Language and Culture (1)" classes and two classes of "Korean Language and Culture (2)?as liberal arts courses, in addition to Korean classes as courses for majors in the spring term of 2007. In fact, "Korean Language and Culture (1) and (2)," as liberal arts courses, are open to all students of the university.

The the BA program of Korean language is also greatly indebted to Korean Ambassador in Jordan, Shin Young-seong, who has mobilized all of his diplomatic resources for its establishment. Meanwhile, the Center for Korean Studies was established on December 12, 2005, with the financial assistance of LG Electronics. Materials donated by the Korea Foundation and the Korean Embassy in Jordan enabled the center to start building up its Korean maferials collection. Currently, the center lends out Korean Studies materials to Arab students and professors and organizes a monthly lecture on Korean culture. In November 2006, the center hosted a Korean film festival that featured CDs of Korean movies provided by the KOTRA office in Jordan.

The Korean language BA program is the first degree course on Korean language to be offered on the Arabian Peninsula. Students who graduate from the university will go abroad to find jobs in about 20 neighboring Arab countries. It is expected that students who have taken courses on Korean language and culture at the University of Jordan will contribute to the dissemination of Korean Studies to the neighboring Arab countries. In addition, those majoring in Korean are encouraged to take computer classes as extra-curriculum training to help with their employment opportunities after graduation. The Jordanian people are well aware of Korea's IT proficiency. They are also very much interested in Korean products and it seems that every family owns a Korean-made car or electronic item.



▲ At a luncheon in celebration of the establishment of the Korean-Applied English BA program, the president and vice-president of University of Jordan, and the Regional Director of the LG Jordan Office came to give their good wishes for the program.


The Arabs in the Middle East have recently shown a wider variety of interests in Korea. The positive influence of newly appointed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the international community will serve as an advantage to encourage Arab countries to develop greater interest in Korea. Also, popular Korean TV dramas, like "Hoteliers" that are dubbed in Arabic have captured the attention of Arab students. They also enjoy reading the Arabic edition of Koreana, a quarterly published by the Korea Foundation. In particular, Koreana was very helpful for student discussions on Korean culture. Now, an increasing number of Arab professors have expressed their hope to see Korean literature translated into Arabic.

Support from the Korea Foundation, which has enabled professors of Korean economy and culture from Korea to teach these subjects at the University of Jordan, has generated notable momentum for the development of Korean Studies at the university. The university offered Korean economy and history classes at the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Economics, in 2005 and 2006, to promote Korean Studies. Classrooms for these subjects were filled not only with students but also professors of economics of the university. The Arab people heartily welcome Korean professors who can teach in Arabic. They find it wonderful that Koreans can instruct a class in standard Arabic.

In order to further promote Korean language education, there is a need to offer web-based lectures in Arabic and have more Korean films and TV dramas dubbed or subtitled in Arabic to quench the Middle Eastern general public's thirst for Korean culture. Although focusing on Korean language education, the Korean-Applied English BA Program at the University of Jordan also offers Korean Studies subjects, including Korean culture, and attracts the keen attention of Arab students. However, there are problems to resolve regarding the employment and future direction of its graduates. In this regard, it is hoped that more graduates will be hired by Korean businesses and Arab-related organizations of Korea. Practical exchanges and cooperation through mutual understanding of each other? language and culture, rather than irresponsible and favor-currying import of religion to gain favorable responses from the Middle East, should be emphasized for better communication between Asia and the Middle East.




Dr. Kong Il Joo 
Professor of Korean Language, University of Jordan  

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