Professor Lee Yong at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia

Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, is spreading around the world on the strength of the dramatic rise of Korea’s national standing based on its remarkable economic growth. Lately, the overseas craze for Korean pop culture was centered around “K-pop” music and TV dramas, but there are also people who are working quietly to make Korea and Korean culture known abroad. Prof. Lee Yong, 45, who teaches Korean language in Slovenia, is one such little-known “PR ambassador” of Korea. After earning his doctorate in Korean literature at the University of Seoul, he lectured at the University of Seoul and Sungshin Women’s University before leaving for his teaching position in Slovenia in October 2008 with support from the Korea Foundation. Currently, he gives three lectures on Korean language to some 80 students a week at the University of Ljubljana. The following are excerpts from an e-mail interview with Prof. Lee.

How did you come to teach in Slovenia?

In 2006, when I visited Budapest to present my thesis, I had a chance to travel to neighboring countries with other professors. Upon crossing the Hungary-Slovenia border, we found picturesque houses lining the road, which gave me an impression that Slovenia was a beautiful and clean country. So, I said to the other professors, half-jokingly, that if there was a chance for me to teach Korean Studies in Slovenia, I would love to do so. Then, two years later, like magic, I saw a recruitment notice of the Korea Foundation looking for a visiting professor of Korean Studies for the University of Ljubljana. So, I applied for the position.

Please tell us about the University of Ljubljana.

Slovenia became independent from the former Yugoslav Federation. It is a small country that borders Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. Its population is about 2 million, and the size of its territory is similar to that of the Jeolla provinces in Korea. But its per capita income is about $30,000. Ljubljana is the country’s capital, where about 270,000 people reside. The country has two universities, one in Ljubljana and another in Maribor.

The University of Ljubljana was founded in 1919 and now has some 63,000 students, 4,000 faculty members, and 26 colleges, so it is no exaggeration to call Ljubljana a city of education. Psychologist Slavoj Zizek, who is well known in Korea for his books, such as “Mythology, Madness, and Laughter” and “Umbr(a): War,” is among the famous graduates of the university’s College of Liberal Arts. Korean Studies courses are administered by the Department of Japanese Studies at the College of Asian and African Studies We are preparing for the opening of a Korean Studies department in 2013.

Tell us about your students. Why do they study Korean?

I conduct my Korean language courses in three levels, giving four hours of classroom instruction for each. At the moment, the majority of my students are Japanese Studies majors. They seem to find it easy to understand my lectures because of the linguistic similarities between Japanese and Korean. But there are also students from other departments, such as those for Chinese Studies, East Asian Studies, French Literature, and Sociology.

How do they respond to hallyu?

The response of students here has completely changed in the past couple of years. I have seen an article about the K-pop group Super Junior in a local newspaper and a high school student who was fascinated with Korean B-boys even attended my Korean language class. Many students are familiar with popular K-pop groups, such as TVXQ (Tong Vfang Xien Qi) and Big Bang. If you play a music video of famous groups like SHINee or TVXQ, they can dance like the singers.

I think a lot how to build on their interest and introduce Korean culture in my classes as frequently as possible. At first, I would play current hit songs, but gradually switch to traditional folk music, such as samulnori (percussion quartet), in order to broaden their interest to Korean culture in general.

What kinds of instructional materials do you use in your classes? How about the access to Korea-related publications in Slovenia?

I use textbooks published by Seoul National University’s Language Education Institute, but my students find them boring. This is because these textbooks consist of sentence structure exercises and grammar. But we are actually under too much burdens to consider other choices. I hope Korean language educational materials will be developed in the Slovenian language soon.

The availability of Korea-related publications at this university is very limited. We have about 1,550 books, mostly donated by the Korea Foundation. These resources are so meager compared to those for Japanese and Chinese Studies. I look forward to greater assistance from home.

Tell us about your ideas as to how the Korean government or the Korea Foundation can extend help in this regard?

Quite frankly, Korean Studies lags far behind Japanese and Chinese Studies in terms of academic development and distribution. I know that the our government as well as the Korea Foundation tries to offer assistance but I can’t help but feel isolated while working overseas. Let’s take the example of scholarship grants. Slovenian students visiting Japan and China (or Taiwan) for exchange programs do not need to spend their own money. But those visiting Korea should pay for airfare, housing, and living expenses on their own. Eventually, Korea loses good students to other countries.

My hope is that the Korean government will refine its policy measures by studying the cases of Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. There is an old saying that you should “review the old to know the new” (ongo jisin, or wengu zhixin in Chinese). I would say that you should “review others’ experiences to know the new.” I hope our policymakers would pay more attention to the voices from the field. People who are engaged in Korean Studies at overseas universities, like me, have many ideas attained through their diverse on-site experiences. The Korea Foundation will greatly benefit from listening to them.

What are your plans as an individual as well as a Korean language professor teaching at a foreign university?

Teaching Korean Studies abroad, I have come to realize that there are so many books we need. I want to write some myself. The world is getting smaller and smaller, and I believe it won’t be long before prominent talents emerge from abroad in the field of Korean Studies to scholars at home. For example, some of my students studying Korean in Slovenia speak as many as six or eight foreign languages. What would happen if they focused their study on Korean Studies? I look forward to the day when these students devote themselves to research in Korean language. And I hope to play a certain role in the process. It’s not possible only in Korea to experience the delight of uncovering outstanding talents and helping to educate them.

Thanks to the Internet, Prof. Lee says, he can watch all the latest Korean TV dramas and Korea-related news practically on a real-time basis in Slovenia. And he pointed out that all engaged in Korean Studies need to ponder ways to take advantage of the surging interest in Korean culture among the global community. He is concerned that this unprecedented phenomenon has led to confusion over the development and distribution of Korean cultural content. It is hoped that Prof. Lee’s opinion as an advance guard for the promotion of Korean studies is accorded proper attention.

Kim Sung-hee Columnist