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An Outpost of Korean Studies in France

The Institute of Korean Language and Society Studies of the University of Rouen, of France, presented an overview of its Korea-related activities, and then hosted a reception of appreciation for supporters of Korea-France exchange at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center on July 19. Professor Beaumont Moon Kyu-Young, head of the Korean Studies program at the University of Rouen, accompanied by 12 students, visited Korea to report on the activities of the University’s Korean Studies program to the Korea Foundation and supporters of Korea-France exchange, and to discuss ways to promote further exchange between the two countries.


Institute of Korean Language and Society
The University of Rouen is located in Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) in France. It is a national university with 700 years of tradition, and consists of six faculties: Sciences and Technology; Psychology, Sociology, and Education al Sciences; Letters and Human Sciences; Physical Education; Law and Business Administration; and Medicine and Pharmacy. The number of enrolled students amounts to a total of some 25,000. The Institute of Korean Language and Society Studies of the University of Rouen was established in 1996, with the assistance of faculty members interested in Korea and supporters from outside the university, which sought to bolster exchange between Korea and France. Early on, the institute focused on seminars, and then started to offer Korean language courses in 1998, in response to a growing number of students eager to learn Korean. The Korea Foundation agreed to provide support to the University of Rouen for its Korean language courses in 2005.
The number of students enrolled in Korean language courses has tended to trend upward in recent years. This number, which amounted to about 130 in the 2005/06 academic year, increased to more than 170 in 2006/07, reflecting a growing interest in Korea among Rouen students. Korean Studies and culture-related activities of the Institute of Korean Language and Society Studies include Korean calligraphy classes, seminars on Korean Studies subjects, and the “Agora of Korean Cinema” - a Korean film festival held in the city of Rouen.
Korean Studies students of the University of Rouen actively implement a variety of events on Korea that will make Rouen, a representative French city with a population of 400,000, a center of Korean culture in the near future. The first “Agora of Korean Cinema,” which featured Korean film screenings and critique seminars, was the first Asian film festival to be presented in Rouen. The event attracted about 3,000 participants and was well received by film-festival specialists as well as general audiences. Above all, it was especially meaningful that this resulted from the voluntary efforts of the Korean Studies students of the University of Rouen, who joined together to independently organize such a large-scale film festival.

Citizen Diplomats
The University of Rouen and Cheju National University signed an agreement of exchange in 2005, when Jeju and Rouen established sister-city relations. Since then, the two universities have annually engaged in student exchanges for language training and cultural programs. In the summer of 2005, 16 students enrolled in Korean Studies courses at the University of Rouen visited Korea at the invitation of Cheju National University. During their stay, they participated in an intensive two-week Korean language training course, followed by a nine-day Korean cultural program. In 2006, 18 students from Cheju National University attended similar language training and cultural programs at the University of Rouen.
This year, 12 students of the University of Rouen organized an appreciation reception, after having completed language training and cultural programs in Korea. They also reported on the various activities and events that they organized in Rouen, including Bongsan Mask Dance performance, Conference on Korean Buddhism, and “Agora of Korean Cinema” in Rouen, along with exhibitions on Korean choreography, Park So-hui, and Korea-France print works. They also described highlights of the language and cultural programs held annually since 2005. The presentations were followed by a cocktail/buffet reception, which included the attendance of distinguished guests involved in Korea-France exchange, who offered their sincere encouragement to the students of University of Rouen.
Representatives of relevant organizations in France also participated in the event and discussed ways to expand exchange activities between the two countries. Of note, the students of University of Rouen, who hosted the reception, appeared to be even more Korean than the Korean participants, as they so politely greeted and served the guests. The example of the University of Rouen program shows how it is possible for Korean Studies to gain a foothold abroad. By expanding Korean Studies from campus activities to events of local autonomous bodies and eventually to state-level exchanges, these dedicated students are indeed true citizen diplomats.

Interview
"Inspired by My Students!"

Previous support from the Korea Research Foundation had been discontinued and there were fewer than 30 students enrolled in the Korean language course when I became a part-time instructor at the University of Rouen. Korean language was a non-credit,
elective liberal arts subject. As soon as I arrived, I had meetings with university administrators to change the Korean course from non-credit to a regular-credit subject. The Korean language course continued to attract the attention of students through Korean culture-related activities, as it was not designed to produce language professionals, like interpreters, translators or linguists, but instead was offered as a liberal arts subject to give students a chance to learn about Korean history, economy, culture, and society through the language of Korea.

Nowadays, the Korean Studies program has been more firmly established here thanks to support from the Korea Foundation. I get inspired and more determined to work even hard whenever I observe a group of Korean Studies students, now in its sixth term of operation, as they busily prepare for the Korean film festival and Korean Studies-related seminars. My driving force seems to be derived more from the sincerity and dedication of those students, rather than from my satisfaction, as a Korean, of teaching the Korean language and introducing Korean culture. Indeed, I look forward to these students serving as citizen envoys of Korea in France and playing a key role in strengthening the partnership between Korea and France.

Professor Beaumont Moon Kyu-Young
Institute of Korean Language and Society Studies National University of Rouen

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