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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Building Closer Korea-Thailand Relations

In 1958, Korea and Thailand established diplomatic relations. Then in 1986, the first-ever Korean-language course was offered at the Prince of Songkla University, located in Pattani, southern Thailand, which marked the beginning of regular Korean-language education in Thailand. According to historical records, the relations between Korea and Thailand date back to the Goryeo period of the 14th century. But even if we consider only modern times, the history of bilateral relations between the two countries is not that brief, reaching the half-century mark next year.

Despite this lengthy relationship, the first-ever Korean essay-writing contest was held in Thailand on August 24, 2007. Maha-sarakham University, which organized the contest with support from the Korea Foun-dation, is located in Issan, a northeast region of Thailand.
A total of 15 students participated in the contest, three each from five universities that offer programs for Korean-language majors. The contestants had passed a preliminary test at their respective university. The event began with performances of Samulnori percussion music and a traditional Korean fan dance, or Buchaechum, presented by Mahasarakham University students majoring in Korean. After the performances, the contestants were given a dictation test in Korean.
Then, it was time for the main event: an essay-writing competition. For this, the students had to choose from one of two themes - “Harmonious Relations between Thailand and Korea” or “Impressions of a Lead Character of a Korean TV Drama” - and write an essay about the subject.

The student essays vividly reflected their familiarity with such Korean drama series as “Jewel in the Palace” (Daejanggeum), “Winter Sonata,” “Autumn in My Heart,” and “Jumong,” which they no doubt viewed regularly. Many students at Mahasarakham University, who I talked to prior to the contest, said that Korean TV dramas were the main reason for their decision to major in Korean. Indeed, Korean dramas have played a key role in making Korea better known to people in Thailand. On the other hand, it seemed that few students were familiar with Korea’s ancient Goguryeo Kingdom, which served as the historical setting for the “Jumong” drama series.
The participation of 15 students from five universities across the country was a good start for an inaugural event like this, although it is rather unfortunate that two of the seven Thai universities, with a degree program in the Korean language, did not participate.

After a careful evaluation of the essays, students from Burapha University, Prince of Songkla University, and Silpakorn University, which all have a long history of Korea-related courses, were awarded the first, second, and third prizes, respectively, along with a consolation prize for a student from Mahasarakham University, this year’s host institution.
The essay by the first prize winner, a senior at Burapha University, was outstanding, with detailed analyses of the heroine of “Dae-janggeum,” together with examples of her filial devotion to her mother. As for the second prize winner, the essay was notable for provided uplifting accounts of Thailand-Korea relations, although there were minor errors in spelling and vocabulary. Overall, the writing ability of the participants might not have been superb; however, it did demonstrate their enthusiasm and potential. After all, spending three hours writing an essay on a prescribed subject would be a difficult task for almost anyone, even in their native language.

Korean-language education in Thailand, as well as other Southeast Asian countries, is focused on improving basic communication skills so that students can have increased employment opportunities upon graduation. Therefore, writing education is relatively less emphasized. Another key factor is the lack of faculty members who are able to provide in-depth instruction on writing. Writing ability is more important for students who intend to pursue advanced studies rather than finding a job.

In this regard, I hope that this contest can serve as a meaningful occasion to assess the current status and determine a future direction for Korean-language education in Thailand. I also hope that next year, when Korea and Thailand celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, there can be even more Korean speech and writing contests here, so that Thai students can demonstrate their proficiency in Korean. Finally, if the students who participated in this year’s competition, and those enrolled in Korea-related courses, can maintain their interest in Korea, this will serve a solid foundation for building closer relations between our two countries and peoples.

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