KOREA FOUNDATION

[Letter from a KF Visiting Fellow]Prospects for Korean Language Education in Mexico and a New Method of Teaching

Greetings! My name is Andrii Ryzhkov, and I teach the Korean language at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). As a participant in the KF fellowship program, I previously worked as a guest researcher at Korea University’s Research Institute of Korean Studies in 2010.

Amid the steady increase of human exchanges and trade between Korea and Mexico, the KF and UNAM signed a mutual agreement that served as a new milestone for bilateral cooperation in the field of education and helped expand the basis for Korean studies research. In the future, Mexican interest in Korea is expected to grow even further. Reading this trend, UNAM’s University Program of Studies on Asia and Africa (PUEAA) is committed to continued research on how to grasp the hearts of Mexican youths and students through Korean studies education.

For a long time, Korean language classes at UNAM have been conducted in the traditional way. PUEAA aims to enhance Korean studies research through innovative and dynamic ways by using Korean entertainment and other cultural content, including various aspects of Hallyu, the Korean Wave.

Many young Mexicans want to learn the Korean language, but not all of them seem to be interested enough to take up systematic classes at colleges or language institutes. Therefore, Korean studies research in Mexico needs to focus on the diverse features of Hallyu, fully motivating students and enabling professors to respond, on the basis of established teaching methods, to the fast-changing times and demands. I am confident that by adopting Hallyu, which flows into Mexico in real time, Korean studies education can benefit both recipients and providers.

Against this backdrop, PUEAA has begun to offer Korean language education using Hallyu. From February through June, classes were conducted that dealt with globally successful Hallyu stars and music. PUEAA is developing a curriculum using various K-pop songs, which will be used in classrooms from August onward. PUEAA’s Korean studies program is still in its toddler stage, but I believe that a great synergy will be created when Korea’s dynamic cultural industry and the endeavors of UNAM, the educational center of Latin American talent, are combined. I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the KF for its full-fledged support for the expansion of Korean language education.

National Autonomous University of MexicoAndrii Ryzhkov (Mexico)

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