KOREA FOUNDATION

Hwang Hu-young

Visiting professor
Department of Korean Language and Culture
Gadjah Mada University

Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the first public university and top institution of higher learning in Indonesia, is located in the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the central part of Java Island. Nicknamed the “nation’s university,” the school was launched in 1949 and today consists of the university and a vocational school. As the country’s largest university, UGM has 50,090 students, 3,443 professors, and 4,813 officials who study, teach, and work at 278 departments under 18 faculties and 23 study centers.

This year, 69 of UGM’s 9,210 first-year students enrolled in the Department of Korean Language and Culture, making it the second-most popular department at the school. The competition rate for admission to the department remained as high as 70:1 over the past few years but the school has gradually raised the first-year student quota given a shortage of professors. This year, however, the quota jumped 150% from that of last year.

The amazingly high number of applications reflects Indonesians’ intense interest in Korea, and even more surprising is why they chose the department. I have never met a student who applied to the department for post-graduation employment and career opportunities. Almost all students say their choice stemmed from their interest in Korea through diverse and longterm exposure to Korean cultural content. Perhaps this is why they are hardly eager to enter big companies after graduation and tend to search for jobs they like and can perform, or those that could make them and their families happy. The students are young, but you can sense from them the type of relaxed attitude of people from large, diverse countries.

The Special Region of Yogyakarta is rich in culture and education. While its population is only 3.9 million, its six universities and 103 colleges form a national hub of education. The region is also a center of culture thanks to its unique symbolism. Governed by a sultan despite Indonesia being a republic, it makes great efforts to preserve, maintain, and pass on tangible and intangible traditional culture. UGM’s policy of prioritizing culture is evidenced by the curriculum of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, to which the Department of Korean Language and Culture belongs. Students in the faculty must take classes on culturology, globalization, multiculturalism, cultural practices—including gamelan, batik, and traditional Indonesian dance—and second foreign languages and regional dialects. In addition to their major subjects, students must complete a foreign language course in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Turkish, or Thai as well as study other languages as electives. Students from Java are required to learn the language of another region, and those from other areas must study Javanese. The curriculum is designed to nurture cultural development and understanding of other cultures and a broad perspective toward them in addition to pursuing the fundamental quest for knowledge and research. It also offers a glimpse into the philosophy and policy of UGM in Indonesia, which has many ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups.

Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Gadjah Mada University.

Gamelan class at Gadjah Mada University. Gamelan is a traditional Indonesian ensemble music, made up predominantly of percussion instruments.

Traditional dance class at Gadjah Mada University.