KOREA FOUNDATION

Dr. Soo Jin Shim
KF Visiting Professor
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras

 

“Annyeonghaseyo, gyosunim!” “Annyeonghaseyo, yeoreobun!”

The students’ cheerful greetings and shy gestures; their faltering yet confident chorus, repeating the Korean expressions they are taught; their bright eyes full of curiosity and ardor and their bursts of laughter during role plays; their cheers for Korea and India that fill the campus with the smell of sweat carried by electric fans on a muggy day; the sound of applause, praising good performances; group activities outside the classroom to learn about Korea and Hallyu and so on...

 

The above describes common scenes I observed in and outside the classroom when teaching “Korean 1” at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Chennai. The campus is a protected forest where monkeys and deer share the same air and ground as professors, students, and officials. IIT Madras was recently featured on a Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) documentary as India’s number one institute of technology for seven consecutive years. Its Korean language course is now in its fifth semester. The first year had little more than 80 students, and the number grew to over 130 by the following year. Now, in the largest classroom on campus, I am proudly building the foundation from which Korean language and culture and public diplomacy is disseminated on campus.

Many of you in Korea are curious about the students’ responses to their Korean classes and here I convey their voices:

“It has been really helpful. Always wanted to learn Korean. Professor has a unique way of teaching, which is totally appreciated.” “It has been a really good course! The professor is extremely helpful and teaches new aspects of the Korean language at the right pace. The class is very interactive, even online, and there is a very positive atmosphere.” “Good course, very entertaining and interactive.” “The course is great! I really like the fact that we learn not just from the book but also from actual Korean songs, shows, and so on. The explanations are clear, and the course is enjoyable.” “A ‘Korean II’ course would be great because I genuinely do love learning from her so much. Excellent course, would love to attend ‘Korean II.’ Please make sure it happens.” “A nice course which provides happiness with learning.”

However, not all comments about the Korean professor and her “unique” teaching methods are this positive. Many students at IIT, a top-class institute in India where population density and competitiveness are quite high, are severely stressed out by their academic burden, and this negatively influences the classroom atmosphere. As an institute of technology, IIT requires students to take certain compulsory technology-related subjects, which in turn forces some of them to spend less time than they would like on elective subjects. As a result, discrepancies may appear in the Korean ability of students frequently exposed to Korean media and those who are not. To cope with this kind of problem, I believe that, in the medium term, a teaching strategy should be developed to meet the specific demands of the countries and institutes to which KF visiting professors are dispatched.

As I look back upon the past two years, the most impressive and meaningful moments were when I heard “Annyeonghaseyo.” Students came rushing to me from across the campus to excitedly greet me or shouted the words as they passed by me on their bicycles. A student whom I encountered for the first time asked me if I was Korean, and during our chance conversation I taught her the greeting on the spot. I remember students that wanted to take photos with me at the school festival, Saarang, and the Ethnic Day event. There was also a restaurant employee outside the campus who used to greet me with “Annyeonghaseyo.” She said she wanted to learn Korean, and when I told her that I was producing a free Korean course for the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), the Indian government’s free online education site, she seemed thrilled. All these memories have helped me to overcome the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, slow administration, monkey attacks, a scooter accident, and the hurtful things that some people said or did. Now I will think of the many kind people and the students who visibly enjoyed their Korean studies, as I do my best in the remaining semester and attempt to attract more than 1,000 participants to the NPTEL class. Thank you.