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A Foundation for Korea Language Education in China

The Beijing Office of the Korea Foundation (Director Moon Sung-ki) hosted a roundtable gathering with three professors from Korea, who have been dispatched by the Foundation to universities in China to provide Korean language education.



Prof. Kim In-gyu of Peking University, Prof. Kang Young-ah of Renmin University and Prof. Ahn Yu-jin of Tsinghua University are doing their utmost to advance Korean language education in China. The three professors got together to discuss their course instruction at Chinese universities, as well as their everyday lives in China. The proceedings were recorded by Prof. Bae Gyu-beom, who had also been dispatched by the KF to teach Korean language courses at the University of International Business and Economics. Currently, Bae is a faculty member of the Beijing University of Technology.

Korean Language Education in China
Moon Sung-ki: Thank you so much for joining us today even though you are all busy with your lecture courses. We wanted to get together with you, in an informal atmosphere, to discuss your personal views on your Korean language instruction and everyday life in China, and to see if the Foundation might provide any assistance for your efforts. Since Profs. Kim and Ahn have been conducting lectures from this September, I wonder how you have been getting along? Have you experienced any difficulty here? I’d like to start with Prof. Kim, since this is his first stay in China.
Kim In-gyu: To begin with, I must thank you for having me at this meeting. I arrived in China for the September semester, so it has been a little more than two months now. As I don’t speak any Chinese at all, I have a lot of difficulty in my teaching work and living here. However, thanks to the help of the Chinese professors and students, I’m getting along without much trouble. This semester, I have two classes, on “Korean Grammar” and “Korean Language and Life.” I think I will have about 10 hours of course instruction a week from next semester. Currently, I teach 15 students, including three at the college level and eight from the graduate school.
Bae Gyu-beom: Then, you must be giving your lectures in Korean only. How much do you think your students understand your lectures?
Kim: Yes, that’s right. Since I don’t speak any Chinese, I give my lectures completely in Korean. As I said, there are three students in their junior year in my class, but I don’t think they have any problems in understanding my lectures, and of course this is true of the graduate school students as well. Frankly, I have been very surprised by the Korean language ability of my students.
Ahn Yu-jin: Tsinghua University doesn’t have a Korean language department, so I am teaching Korean language courses at the foreign language institute affiliated with the university. My courses are titled “Korean I,” “Korean II,” and “Korean III,” which include a total of 34 students who attend two hours of class a week.
Kang Ah-young: Renmin University doesn’t have an independent Korean department, either. So, my classes are part of the cultural studies program. My courses include “Korean for Public Use I” and two classes of “Korean for Public Use II,” each worth two credits. The number of students is different, from class to class, but each class has 15 or so students. Overall, about 70 students are currently taking my courses. However, as they are mostly beginners, I teach the class mainly in Chinese and remind them of the Korean words as often as possible.
Bae: For the students at Renmin and Tsinghua universities who take Korean language courses as part of their cultural studies, I suppose they probably have different motives from the Korea-related majors. At an introductory stage, it is natural for professors to use mainly Chinese during class. However, at the Beijing University of Technology, I’m asked to give my lectures only in Korean, to even freshmen who are often just starting their Korean language study. School authorities believe that if native professors speak the language repeatedly, students will gradually become accustomed to it, and eventually will be able to master the language more quickly, even if it is difficult for them at first.
Moon: It is important to teach Korean to Chinese students, but from the position of our Foundation, we are much more interested in encouraging talented Chinese students to apply their Korean language knowledge to more in-depth study of Korea. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Korean language education at the introductory stage is not important. What I mean is that we are looking for ways to long-term benefits from the development of high-quality human resources.
Kim: I think there are institutional restrictions, as well. Currently, I’m in charge of a graduate course. However, it is unfortunate that the Beijing University of Technology’s regulations call for graduate school courses to be taught by senior-level professors, so I might not be able to teach at the graduate school from next semester.
Kang: Most of my students are economic or legal majors. They are taking my classes because they need to learn Korean for everyday use. It is good to bring together students of different majors in a Korean language course, but I think, if Korean language courses could be established in the departments of economics, law, and other fields, we would be able to provide more effective help to the students of these Korea-related areas.
Ahn: At Tsinghua University, many students enroll in Korean language courses when they first get into the university, because of their high interest in the country of Korea, but their numbers decrease as they advance in grade. One of the reasons seems to be that they can’t find any connection between Korean language and their majors. What’s interesting is that there are also quite a few students from third countries, who are taking Korean language courses. Now, I can better understand why people use the term “civilian diplomats.”

Life in China
Moon: The issues that you have mentioned will have to be carefully considered by the Foundation so that the dispatch program can be improved in the future. On the other hand, how have you adjusted to life in China? I can remember having considerable trouble when I first arrived here because everything was so new to me.
Ahn: I live in an apartment building near Tsinghua University, which I can reach in 15 to 20 minutes by foot. With two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room, the apartment has enough space for me, but since the building is quite old, something is often out of order. Yet, I have no serious problem because the building manager takes care of everything right away.
Kang: My living quarters are within the Korea University Hall of Renmin University. I have a basic one-bedroom, one-bath unit, and share a laundry room and kitchen with others. The only problem is that I can’t cook in my room because there is no ventilation.
Kim: I am housed in a dormitory for faculty members outside the school campus. I feel somewhat inconvenienced because it is so worn-out. A few days ago, I made a kimchi stew on the veranda by connecting an extension cord to the cooking ware. You know, in the darkness (laughter). However, I like the facility’s 24-hour security system, short distance to the school, and southward direction.
Kang: Yet, the living environment has greatly improved, compared with 10 years ago when I first visited China. In the basement of my quarters there is a convenience store and small supermarket alongside. In addition, since I have no difficulty in speaking Chinese, because I majored in the language, I have no big problems living in China.
Ahn: Things are the same with Tsinghua University. As there are several convenience facilities nearby, I have no problems. Just like Prof. Ahn, I also majored in Chinese and have the experience of visiting China before, so I’m quite familiar with living in China.
Bae: Just as I might have thought, you two have no problems here because you have a good command of Chinese and also have the experience of studying in China. I wish I could have had this experience, too. If I did, it would have been much easier for me to adjust to everyday life here.
Moon: If there is anything that you would like to suggest to the university you are working for or to the Foundation, please feel free to let me know about your concerns.
Kang: Currently, I have a short-term visa. I have to submit an application to replace it with a work visa in China, but the university has been preparing the related s for the second month now. The speed of administrative management is so slow. I wish the university could handle problems like this more quickly.
Ahn: After arriving in Beijing, I reported about my arrival and the situation here to the Foundation. But while I have been living here, I feel a frequent need to make contact with the Foundation. It is regretful that I wasn’t informed about the Beijing Office before I came to China.
Kim: I wish I could receive a newsletter about the Foundation’s diverse activities on a regular basis.
Bae: I often thought that it would have been a good idea if I had advance knowledge about what to do when problems occur with the university or my lecture courses. I wonder what kind of help I could get from the Foundation and I wish that there could be official channels, through which I could seek assistance.
Moon: As for the visa matter, I will consult with our headquarters and request a quicker processing from the university. I will also have the Foundation send you a regular newsletter. I hope that today’s meeting has helped to solve your difficulties, if only somewhat. In addition, I will look for more efficient ways to facilitate communication between the Foundation, professors, and the relevant universities. Thank you for giving me so much homework (laughter). I wish you all have a more enjoyable time during the remainder of the semester. The Beijing Office will make efforts to conduct more gatherings like this, so as to maintain closer contact with you, our Korean professors, as well as the other professors at your universities.

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