On Thursday, September 1, I gave my first lecture for a class on the novels of the Korean writer Park Jiwon for a class of undergraduates in the department of Korean Literature at Kyung Hee University. It was the first class ever at Kyung Hee University’s department of Korean literature that was explicitly designated for instruction in English and one of few such courses at Korean literature departments in Korea being taught in English.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has recently pressed forward with new guidelines for increasing the use of English at Korean universities. Launching a course in English in the Korean literature department has great significance as Korean literature is perceived as the most immune to change and the most closely associated with concepts of cultural conservatism.
In fact, I was invited to give a talk at the Korean literature department at Korea University back in 2006 as a candidate for a position as an professor. I was also expected to teach classes on Korean literature in English. That opportunity did not pan out, although I learned quite a lot about the internal debate over whether or not to use English in Korean universities.
This time, the justification for a class in English on Korean literature now has significant justification. Not merely as part of some globalization agenda, but also because of the rapidly increasing number of foreign students in the graduate programs, and also the undergraduate programs of Korean literature departments. Whereas Korean literature departments were once exclusively Korean, with an emphasis on preserving Korea’s precious linguistic and literary legacy against the forces of modernization, now they are increasingly playing the role of transmitting Korean culture to foreigners. The teaching of Korean to foreigners has become a significant career opportunity. Students from China, Central Asia and Southeast Asia also see the potential advantages of learning Korean in Korean literature departments.
The class was a great pleasure to teach. Unfortunately, a significant number of students lack the ability in English to actually follow a lecture. We still have a ways to go.