Asian Language Major (Korean)
| Offered By | Faculty of Asian Studies |
|---|---|
| Academic Contact | Dr Roald Maliangkay |
Korea is a country rich with cultural heritage that stretches back thousands of years. Through periods of calm and turbulence, unique Korean cultural traditions were established and developed in the areas of literature, art, music, education, government and social values and structures. Korea is also an unparalleled success story in the economic and social history of the 20th century. Once unknown to the larger world, Korea is now one of the world?s fastest growing economies and one of Australia?s largest trading partners. Yet to be developed, is further cultural interaction between Korea and Australia that involves individuals from industry, trade, politics, government and education.
Korean is the official language of North and South Korea. Nearly 70 million people use the language as the main medium in education and all socio-cultural and business activities. While the majority of Korean speakers live on the Korean peninsula and islands, 6 million Korean speakers are outside Korea, particularly in China, Russia, Japan and the US.
The Korean Program at the ANU offers Korean language courses from beginner?s level to an in-country internship. These language courses are supplemented by a range of courses on Korea offered in the Centre for Asian Societies and Histories, some of which include traditional as well as modern histories, gender issues, international relations and North Korean affairs. Our aim is to equip students with the linguistic and cultural competence needed to function effectively in Korea, and the education to enable them to understand the country in depth.
The core of the Korean language courses are Modern Korean 1 to Modern Korean 6. The aim of these courses is to give students with no previous exposure to the Korean language a good working competence in the modern language, including the ability to communicate orally with fluency and confidence, to read freely the standard modern written language, and to have practical writing proficiency. The normal pattern of completing the Korean language major is to undertake Modern Korean 1 and 2 in Year 1, Modern Korean 3 and 4 in Year 2, and Modern Korean 5 and 6 in Year 3.
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Asian Studies (Korean) normally undertake their Year in Korea after completing Modern Korean 4. On returning from their Year in Korea, they enrol in the Korean Seminar courses, which maintain and develop further (particularly in their area of specialisation) their Korean language skills.
A ten or twenty-week internship course, Practical Assignment in Korea, is also available to those who completed the Year in Korea. This is a half-time placement with a private sector organisation in the Republic of Korea, during which the student undertakes an agreed project or duties that will provide experience in extending their linguistic and cultural competence in an organisational context.
Prerequisites
Beginners and students with existing knowledge of Korean
First-year Korean is taught on the assumption that students are starting from the beginning. Those who have studied the language before may be allowed to begin at a level higher than Spoken Korean 1.
Students with a background knowledge of Korean, who have less than secondary education from Korea, are also able to study and/or major in Korean at the ANU. Because everyone is different intending students should note that they need to take a placement test and obtain permission from the coordinator of the Program.
Requirements
The Asian Language Major (Korean) may comprise courses from the Summary of Courses page and beginners must include Spoken Korean 4 and Written Korean D.
The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.
