[Letter from a KF Visiting Professor]Korean Language Education in Finland, the Calm but Tough Country of
Sisu
Korean language students at the University of Helsinki must pass a
highly competitive admissions test.
Greetings from faraway Finland! My name is Bokyung Kim, and I have
been teaching Korean at the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Arts
since September 2019 as a KF visiting professor. The university is the
oldest and most prestigious institute of higher learning in Finland.
Korean language education at the University of Helsinki dates back to
1934, when Altaic languages scholar Gustaf John Ramstedt (1873–1950)
first began to teach the language. For a long time, Korean language
was taught through the Korean studies program, but students can now
major in it as an independent subject in the Asian languages division.
For quite some time, the Korean language program was maintained by the
efforts of a sole professor, but there came a point at which the
subject, in the face of ever-growing demand and diversifying
expectations, needed more support. In 2019, I arrived as a KF visiting
professor, and under our joint efforts, the program is running more
vigorously than ever.
To meet students’ growing demand for courses on Korean language and
culture, we teach such diverse classes as General Korean, Applied
Korean, Advanced Korean, Korean Literature, Korean Composition, and
Speech Styles. In order to provide opportunities for students to
practice conversational Korean, we work with the Language Centre to
organize language exchange events where students can speak with Korean
conversation partners. The number of students seeking to major in
Korean has increased markedly in recent years, casting extra attention
on the subject among the Asian languages taught at the university.
Students who apply to study Korean as a secondary or elective subject
are also rising in number.
The Finnish language has a cultural concept termed sisu that is
difficult to translate into other languages. Sisu reflects the painful
history of Finland, which is located at the tip of Northern Europe,
including its prolonged subjugation by Russia and Sweden. The concept
embraces stoicism in the face of adversity, as well as courage,
resilience, hardiness, and even calmness and stress management.
Since March 2020, all classes at the University of Helsinki have gone
online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much like Korea, which shines
brightly in times of crisis, Finland has been overcoming this
difficult situation calmly, maintaining its status as the happiest
country in the world. Students enrolled in Korean language classes
diligently attend their online courses and complete their assignments.
I myself have been working to make the best use of the online learning
space Moodle to continue to develop students’ Korean proficiency,
building an evaluation module through which students can take tests
online. To motivate them to study and practice in the face of the
isolation induced by the pandemic, I produced a compilation of student
writing titled Korean kirjallinen taito (Korean written skill), which
seems to have boosted their confidence in and sense of pride about
their Korean language skills.
In Northern Europe, there is a saying that goes, “There is no such
thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” I understand that this means
that no matter how severe the weather may be, it is good to prepare
for it and assume responsibility for the difficulties we might face,
instead of blaming the merciless cold that persists for more than half
of the year. Based on such understanding, I strive to find the most
appropriate, if not the best, ways to cope with the given situation. I
hope that the Korean language program at the University of Helsinki
will not only continue to grow but also contribute to people’s
happiness by fostering warmth and affection by means of the Korean
language.
The front cover of Korean kirjallinen taito (Korean written skill) and
an excerpt of the student writing included within.