[KF Mailbox]Making Korean a Global Language
I am Dr. Choi Yeol, a KF visiting professor at the Prince of Songkla
University (PSU) in Thailand. In 1986, PSU established Thailand’s
first Korean language course, and in 1999, it was the first Thai
university to open a Korean language department. Ranked among the top
10 universities in Thailand, PSU is a prominent institution. The
school is headquartered in Hat Yai, Songkhla, in Southern Thailand,
and has five campuses in the region. The department of Korean language
is located at the Pattani Campus in Pattani. Many professors and
teachers who currently teach Korean language at Thai universities and
high schools are PSU graduates, as the school has played a significant
role in the establishment of Korean language education in Thailand
since its early stages. Under the influence of Hallyu, many
universities in Central and Northern Thailand have established Korean
language departments, and PSU functions as the home base for Korean
language education in Southern Thailand today.
Southern Thailand, home to the prosperous Islamic culture of the
ancient Pattani Kingdom, shares cultural, societal, and linguistic
characteristics with nearby Malaysia. Unlike other Thai regions, where
Buddhist customs are more established, Southern Thailand is largely
Islamic, and its residents mainly use the regional Malay language
instead of Central Thai, Thailand’s official language. PSU students,
in most cases, use both Central Thai and Malay. Due to frequent
incidents in the region involving armed struggles that aim to achieve
independence from the central government, the Korean Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has issued a travel alert advising Koreans to
reconsider going to Southern Thailand.
Even under such circumstances, the Korean language enjoys steadily
increasing popularity in Southern Thailand. It has been designated as
an elective subject for college examination and is taught in a growing
number of secondary schools. Still, schools in Southern Thailand lag
behind those in Central and Northern Thailand in the number of Korean
language teachers, students’ exposure to the language, and access to
educational materials. In recognition of this situation, the KF has
been offering active support and cooperation to foster excellent Thai
instructors of the Korean language and hold annual Korean Studies
workshops for secondary school teachers in Thailand. The KF also
selects aspiring Korean language teachers in Thailand to complete the
Korean Language Training Fellowship in Korea. Through its collegiate
exchange program between Korean and Thai universities, the KF provides
a semester of language training in Korea and the opportunity to
experience Korean culture to third- and fourth-year students at Thai
universities. This has garnered a positive response from high school
students in Southern Thailand who are applying for PSU’s department of
Korean language. Fourth-year students enrolled in the department
experience teaching the Korean language at high schools in the region,
and the required administrative steps for the establishment of a
graduate school of Korean language education at PSU are currently
being taken. In order to give practical help to graduating students, a
business Korean language class has also been launched to introduce
Korea’s corporate culture and teach effective Korean language skills
for on-the-job activities.
To make the language global, it is best to achieve systematic and
localized Korean language education carried out by excellent Thai
teachers. To this end, the current Korean language education system
led by native Korean teachers needs to be replaced by a system led by
Thai teachers and assisted by native Korean teachers. With the support
of the KF, the PSU department of Korean Language has embarked upon
enormous efforts, including an overhaul of the curriculum, to produce
qualified Thai teachers of the Korean language and to establish a
localized Korean language education system with substance.
KOREA FOUNDATION
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