by JAMES S. KIM
When King Sejong brought introduced the Korean alphabet, or Hangeul, in the 15th century, he probably didn’t think his name would be etched somewhere in the U.S. Midwest. But the written language has endured and made its way across the world along with many other aspects of Korean culture.
It was fitting, then, that the University of Iowa marked the opening of its King Sejong Institute on Oct. 9, a special day for Koreans.
“It’s Hangeul Day in Korea, and the King Sejong Institute opening on Hangul Day sounded really fantastic,” explained Professor Sang-seok Yoon, who heads the Korean Language Program at the University of Iowa.
The university became the seventh location in the United States to open a King Sejong Institute and the first of its kind in the Midwest, but Korean culture in the region is nothing new. Professor Sang-seok Yoon, who heads the Korean Language Program at the University of Iowa, said that he petitioned to establish King Sejong Institute due to the increasing interest among students and the local community.
“I’ve met a lot of local people who are interested in Korea, and some have the interest of learning Korean,” Yoon said. “Another group is the Iowa students who are interested in taking Korean language courses but they don’t have the time. … They hesitate to join the Korean program because they are busy with their major courses.”
The King Sejong Institute courses won’t be as intensive, as they are estimated to take up an hour and a half each week, and the curriculum can range anywhere from introductory courses in Hangeul and basic conversations to Korean cooking classes and cultural activities. Yoon said he and the staff will have to test the waters to see what level of language courses to offer and to gauge the interest from the students and the community.
Right now, the Iowa Korean Language Program is already nearing its limits with a surprisingly diverse group of students taking Korean as a language. Nearly half of them are Chinese international students, Yoon said, and about a third of them are Caucasian. The rest are a mix of Asian Americans — not too many Korean Americans, he pointed out.
“If we have more teachers, we can have more students — right now, it’s only me, plus a few TAs,” Yoon said. “I keep asking the school, we need more teachers, and if we’re approved, we can have more students.”
Students take Korean as a language for a variety of reasons — some just for credit, others because they’re dating Koreans (University of Iowa has around 400 Korean international students), and a good number because they want to teach English in Korea. The biggest reason, though, is a common interest in contemporary Korean media.
Yoon had this in mind when he approached the King Sejong Institute Foundation in Korea last year and presented the idea of establishing a KSI in Iowa City. The foundation suggested that if Iowa could find a Korean partner university to jointly apply, it would help their chances.
Fortunately, Yoon didn’t have to look far. The University of Iowa has already maintained a partnership with Ewha since last winter. Last summer, 14 Iowa students participated in Ewha’s international student program where each of them were granted scholarships to cover their tuition.
“We have good relationship with Ewha Women’s University,” he said. “I had a chance to visit the school last December, and I told them my plan — I wanted to have a King Sejong Institute in Iowa City at the University of Iowa campus. They agreed, so we cooperated and started to prepare the documents for the application. We submitted the application in February, and they reviewed our app, and they visited us in June.”
The institute received full approval in July, and it was already running by the end of September with a few pilot courses. The collaboration with Ewha, Yoon said, will now go beyond what they’ve had so far — students can look forward to an exchange of library materials and museum pieces for potentially special exhibits. Through the King Sejong Institute, a professor from Ewha is also slated to teach at the University of Iowa.
Students and members of the community can check out the schedule of King Sejong Institute classes here.
For more information on Professor Sang-seok Yoon, including his contact information, you can check his university profile here.
