KF뉴스레터-Diversified Efforts to Promote Korea’s Language and Culture

Diversified Efforts to Promote Korea’s Language and Culture

The thought of promoting Korean language and culture in the Middle East and Africa might seem strange or curious to most people, but in fact related efforts have been steadily gaining ground in these regions. For example, Korean-language educators from the Middle East and Africa recently gathered at the University of Jordan (November 17-18) to participate in the region’s first workshop for Korean-language education.

Introducing Korea to the Middle East and Africa
The Workshop for Korean Language Educators in the Middle East and Africa was hosted by the University of Jordan, under the co-sponsorship of the Korea Foundation and the Korean Society of Bilingualism. This event included the participation of 21 Korean-language educators from ten countries of the region - Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Georgia - as well as Korean-language scholars from the Korean Society of Bilingualism and program officers of the Foundation.
The opening ceremony for two-day workshop was attended by the Korean Ambassador to Jordan, a number of management staff of Korean companies doing business in Jordan, and Korea-related students and professors of the University of Jordan, including the former and incumbent deans of the Faculty of Arts, demonstrating keen interest in promoting Korean-language education in Jordan.
To provide an overview of the current status and development direction of Korean-language education in the Middle East and Africa, the workshop’s primary discussion topics focused on matters related to “curriculum and teaching methods” and “textbook development and utilization.” The workshop sessions included presentations by the Korean-language educators of this region, informational lectures by the linguistic scholars from Korea, and in-depth discussion of relevant issues.

Regional Challenges
In particular, the participants pointed out the urgency of addressing such issues as the development of suitable textbooks, reference materials, and curriculum for Korean-language programs, in consideration of the overall curricula and administrative policy of individual universities and specific regional characteristics, along with the dispatch of Korean-language educators and opportunities for advanced training. Above all, they called for this kind of workshop to be held on a regular basis in order to facilitate the building of personal networks among the Korean-language instructors in the region.
The workshop event was especially meaningful for the Korean-language educators of this region, who are rather isolated from the mainstream flow of recent developments in this field, as compared to their counterparts in other areas and countries. With a majority of countries in the Middle East and Africa having Arabic cultures, which share little common ground with Korean culture, there has been a general lack of understanding between the peoples of this region and Korea, due to their geographical and cultural distance. Moreover, the local circumstances of this region are noticeably different from that of other areas.
Accordingly, Korean-language education in the Middle East and Africa present difficult and unique challenges, as compared to other regions, which necessitates a more customized approach. The Korean-language instructors in the region, therefore, have to be willing to put forth even greater efforts in order to overcome the relative lack of support from Korea and to promote systemized cooperation between related individuals and countries.

As such, the workshop served as an opportunity for these educators to realize that they were all dealing with common concerns of this field, in the region and worldwide, and the potential for joining hands to advance Korean-language in the Middle East and Africa. Indeed, the participants were enthusiastic about the continued spread of the Korean language throughout the region and beyond.
In reality, the challenges of promoting Korea-language education in this region are truly daunting, and it would not be surprising for these educators to be burdened by this heavy responsibility. However, I felt that this workshop served as a notable source of encouragement and hope for the participants, who can now deal with their respective problems with greater confidence and renewed dedication.
Finally, I sincerely hope that this workshop event can take root as a regular activity in order to build a stable foundation for the enhancement of Korean-language in the Middle Eastern and African region as well as more cooperative relations between Korea and this region.

한국국제교류재단

Diversified Efforts to Promote Korea’s Language and Culture

SEARCH

Diversified Efforts to Promote Korea’s Language and Culture

SEARCH

전체메뉴