KF뉴스레터-The KF Global Challengers Program

KF Museum Internship

For the past two months at the museum I have been swamped with research and analytical work assignments. The Victoria and Albert Museum fastidiously maintains its internal collection and is also commissioned by outside institutions to assess various artifacts. My main duties involved analyzing artifacts that were transferred to the museum’s East Asian collection, organizing relevant data, and reporting our findings to the museum’s clients. A few weeks ago, for instance, I analyzed what was assumed to be a counterfeit mapae, a type of medallion that royal inspectors used to commandeer horses during the Joseon period. The internship was a highly valuable experience that allowed me to study unfamiliar Korean artifacts and to acquire additional knowledge.
I even studied pieces of the museum’s Korean collection that were largely ignored, in regard to proper academic research. I researched celadon and Joseon-style paintings by North Korean artists and drafted a proposal to justify the museum’s acquisition of the works. This was part of the museum’s efforts to document the aesthetic and historic value of new additions to its collection. My research on artists’ personal history, artistic viewpoints, and work methods were part of the data that I collected on various pieces, which were reviewed by the museum staff before being incorporated into its archives. I also conducted elaborate investigation into the condition and content of various works and registered them under artifact numbers, which enabled me to personally handle and assess various artworks.
While drafting acquisition proposals for newly purchased or donated works for the museum’s Korean collection during these past two months, I acquired valuable in-depth knowledge on various artists and their works. The internship also gave me the opportunity to understand the propensities and trends of overseas museums in terms of their preferences for Korean artworks.

Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
Yun Hye-jeong

KF Korean Language Education Internship

After students had completed their final exams, and left for vacation, I stuck around to conduct a workshop for the instructors of the Korean Department of the College of Foreign Languages, along with preparing for the fall semester courses. The workshop gathering generated lively discussions about evaluation and methodology in regard to the department’s speaking and writing courses.
After summer vacation concluded, I received my new schedule in August, which required me to teach Korean phonology to third-year students and a Korean speaking course to first-year students. The college’s Korean department has seen a high job-placement rate, which attracts a large number of students, many of whom are unfamiliar with the language. Therefore, to ensure that students can read their texts with less difficulty, I spent the first three to four weeks focusing on basic Hangeul vowels and consonants, and Korean syllabic structures.
In addition to class preparation, I’m also helping to organize a welcoming party for a returning instructor. To be acknowledged as an independent department within the College of Foreign Languages, the Korean department requires a certain number of instructors with master’s and doctorate degrees. Therefore, every year instructors take turns going to Korea to earn their degrees. This time, we’ll be welcoming an instructor who is returning after earning her master’s. The event will gather all department instructors to enjoy a nice meal and to discuss research progress and the future of the faculty.