December 1993
East Wind
Page 3
Instructor Kwinan Jeong, who recently came to the U.S., teaches
both levels of Korean classes offered on Tuesday evenings.
Korean Language Students
Just Don't Get Any Credit
Classes Start at UNC, but remain
unofficial.
By Alex Lee
Demand for Asian culture and language classes at the
University is growing. The latest requests have been for Korean
language classes, which started Sept. 27.
“Most of the demand has come from second-generation
Korean American students,” said Jennifer Whangbo, vice-president
of the Korean American Students Association (KASA). “These
students are interested in learning more about their heritage,” she
said.
The two people responsible for initiating the idea of Korean
language classes were sisters Hye Kyung Yu and Hye Won Yu. Last
fall, they presented their idea to KASA. The organization shared the
sisters’ interest in the creation of Korean language classes and formed
a committee to oversee the endeavor.
The classes, which are still not official, have not come
without a struggle. The new committee ran into difficulty when they
learned that the University's lingustics department did not have the
resources to create and support the classes. As a result, they sought
the aid of IBM employee Sang Woo Lee, an active member of the
Korean conununity who helped Duke’s Korean language classes
acquire funding.
“His help has been very crucial,” Whangbo said. This past
summer, he organized a voice recital to raise money, enlisting the
help of two famous Korean singers, including Hans Choi, a gold
medalist in the Tchiakovsky competition. The recital raised a little
over $3,000 for KASA, Whangbo said. That money is being used to
pay for this year’s classes.
Finding a teacher was the next obstacle that the students faced.
After much searching, Lee found and convinced Kwinan Jeong, an
education graduate student at North Carolina State University, to
teach the new classes. Jeong, who arrived from Korea last year,
taught at the Korean Language Institute of Yonsei University for three
years.
“I took the job because of my love of teaching the Korean
language to foreign students,” she said.
There is a beginning level one class and a beginning level two
class. Both meet for an hour and a half Tuesday evenings. The
beginning level one class covers the Korean alphabet, basic grammar,
vocabulary, basic greetings, reading and writing. The level two class
focuses on the specifics of the Korean language, practical conversa
tion and culture.
Students do not receive credit for the course since it is not an
official class. But they say they enjoy learning Korean anyway.
Son Ho Yun, a senior economics major, took a Korean
language class at Duke and wanted to continue learning at UNC. “I
really enjoy the class, but because [the class] only meets once a week,
we can’t go at as fast a pace as I’d like,” he said.
“KASA has a lot of hopes for the classes,”Whangbo said.
“Our two most important goals for the future include making the
classes official and acquiring more funding.”
Over the summer, the issue was transferred from the linguistics
department to the East Asian studies department. To meet their
requirements for making the classes official, KASA must be able to
support it for two full years.
Whangbo said the estimated cost is $100,000. Toward that end,
KASA is applying for a grant from the Korea Foundation in Seoul,
which has provided about $30,000 to Duke’s Korean language
program.
Although both goals may take a few years
to achieve, the students remain hopeful, Whangbo
said.
Anyone interested in signing up for the
unofficial classes next semester should contact
Jennifer Whangbo of KASA.
The beginning level one class covers the Korean alphabet, basic
grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing,as well as basic greetings.
The level two class focuses on the specifics of the Korean language,
practical conversation and culture.
Stephen Snyder, a
1992 UNC graduate
in mathematical
sciences, carefully
reviews his notes.
Snyder is one of five
beginning-level
students studying
Korean in Jeong's
class.
“/ took the
job because
of my love of
teaching the
Korean
language to
foreign
students. ”