KOREA FOUNDATION

Several universities were merged in the 1990s in order to create Vietnam National University (VNU). Would you tell us briefly about VNU?

During the French colonial period, the Indochinese University was established under the French Governor-General. After the August Revolution of 1945 and subsequent proclamation of an independent Vietnam, several new national universities were established in the north with a new sense of mission and purpose. The University of Hanoi, which opened its doors in 1956, was one such institution that was established to carry on the tradition of the Vietnamese national university. In the late 1990s, approximately 100 universities were established in Vietnam with the support of the Communist Party and the national government as a strategic measure to stimulate national growth. During this process, the University of Hanoi and several other schools were combined in 1993 to create VNU Hanoi. In 1996, VNU Ho Chi Minh City was established in the country’s southern region.
  VNU Ho Chi Minh City and VNU Hanoi are autonomous institutions for which separate rules of operation and administrative bodies are in place in accordance with prime ministerial ordinance. Because they are incorporated institutions, the Prime Minister personally designates the schools’ presidents and vice presidents. VNU Ho Chi Minh City and VNU Hanoi are managed by the national government, the education ministry, and related agencies for the fulfillment of their mandates as institutions of research and higher learning. Today, they are pioneers in Vietnam’s educational sector, continuing to advance as research-centered universities and recognized as two of the country’s most representative educational institutions.
  In 1992, the year that Korea and Vietnam established bilateral diplomatic relations, Korean studies courses were established at public institutions in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Korean studies courses were established in Hanoi in the Faculty of Foreign Languages under the University of Hanoi. In 1993, they were integrated into the newly created Faculty of Oriental Studies, and a Korean Studies Department was opened in 1995, launching what is today the Korean Studies Department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The Korean studies program at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City officially became the Korean Studies Department in 2015, the first university department of its kind in the region.

How has the field of Korean studies developed since the establishment of Korea-Vietnam bilateral relations in 1992?

In 1992, when ties were first established, there were few Vietnamese who were familiar with Korean. This made study of the Korean language and Korean studies in general extremely difficult. Due to difficulties with finding Korean language instructors, classes were taught by adjunct instructors, such as Vietnamese citizens who had studied in North Korea two decades earlier, Korean students in Vietnam, and KOICA volunteers in Vietnam. Korean studies lectures on subjects like Korean culture, literature, and history were taught by Vietnamese professors of world history, world literature, and world languages and culture, making in-depth exploration of these areas difficult. Moreover, there were hardly any Korean studies resources available at the time, whether in Vietnamese, Korean or English.
  But today, 25 years later, Korean language and Korean studies programs in Vietnam have developed at an unprecedented rate. Vietnam is the first country in Asia to have created Korean languages and Korean studies departments. Nineteen higher-education institutions in the country, including public and private universities as well as technical schools, offer regular Korean language and Korean studies programs. Even if you exclude language schools and foreign language centers, there are over 200 local instructors providing instruction in these subjects to approximately 5,500 students.
  This growth was influenced to some extent by the popularity of Korean culture and the Korean Wave, but another major factor has been the development of the bilateral economic partnership and Vietnam’s importance to Korea as a partner in entering foreign markets. As a result, Korean majors now have an advantage over students in other fields in finding employment. Also, students have had more opportunities to study abroad in Korea than in other countries by paying their own way or receiving scholarships.

Could you tell us briefly about the situation regarding the publication of Korea-related books and university-level textbooks in Vietnam? Also, could you briefly explain the project on translating the KF publication Introduction to Korean Political Economy into Vietnamese?

Recently, a few Korean novels were translated and published in Vietnamese, providing an opportunity for people to learn about Korea and the lifestyles of Korean people. But these titles cannot be considered scholarly texts. It is not easy to find reliable scholarly sources, especially texts translated into Vietnamese for undergraduate and graduate students and researchers. Having these kinds of resources would be helpful also to experts in other fields who do not possess Korean language skills.
  This is why our institution is planning to publish a series of Korean studies resources. Of course, producing academic texts is by no means an easy task. It requires time and the right people. Instructors have to teach classes and attend school functions, not to mention do their share of busywork, resulting in little time to write. Thus, in the short term, we will translate and publish existing high-quality Korean books, and in the long term, we will train scholars in the field and work to create the conditions in which they can devote themselves entirely to research and writing.
  In line with these efforts, we have submitted a request to publish a translation of the KF’s Introduction to Korean Political Economy. This book, put together by the KF’s team of researchers for the publication of introductory-level social science texts, is an important resource that provides a general overview of Korean politics and the Korean economy over the course of history. The translation project poses some significant challenges. The text is quite long, so the translators at our school have their work cut out for them. But we are confident that the final product will be invaluable to future Vietnamese researchers and scholars in the field.

Could you tell us about the intercollegiate festival that was held in October at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in commemoration of Hangeul Day? What did participating students think of the event?

The Hangeul Day event is the biggest cultural event for Korean-language and Korean studies institutions. It’s held annually as an intercollegiate festival, attended by students in the related departments from universities around the country, who come together to participate in competitions and interact with and support one another. This year’s event, held on the 570th anniversary of the promulgation of Hangeul, was hosted by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities with attendance by 14 universities and secondary schools from the northern and central regions. Thanks to the partnership of the KF and several other Korean organizations in Vietnam as co-hosts and sponsors, this year’s event was a success.
  The cultural events were especially popular this year. Participating students gave presentations on what they had learned about Korea or performed songs, dances and plays. It was a meaningful opportunity for students to experience Korean culture, including samulnori, Korean food, and calligraphy, and learn more about 24 years of friendship between Korea and Vietnam. I hope that the students who attended developed a greater fondness for Korea and will devote themselves more diligently to their studies and contribute to positive outcomes in the future of Vietnam-Korea bilateral relations.

Considering how rapidly Korean language education has grown in Vietnam, what areas do you think need to be improved?

As I mentioned earlier, both the number of institutions offering Korean language and Korean studies programs and the number of students in these programs are quite high. The Korean Studies Association in Vietnam, which was established 16 years ago, has produced and conducted over 2,000 related papers and projects. So the field is definitely seeing tremendous growth. Despite such rapid quantitative growth, however, problems with the teaching and learning environment persist. First, compared to the increase in students, teachers are in short supply. As a result of the low pay for university faculty in Vietnam, there is a trend of degree holders who studied in Korea going on to apply for jobs with private companies instead of returning to Vietnam. There is an especially serious shortage of faculty in Korean studies fields, including Korean culture, literature, society, history, and economy. There are no networks through which instructors can support one another and share their experiences or workshops where they can continue to be trained.
  Another potential problem is the establishing of a balance in Korean language and Korean studies education. Much of the current focus is on Korean language education, while Korean studies programs are gradually losing their competitiveness and popularity due to the difficulty of these programs and challenges in finding employment. But I believe that Korean studies is absolutely vital to the advancement of friendly relations between our two countries. It is essential that we train and equip Korean studies educators and researchers and provide the necessary human resources to develop this field.
  Lastly, there is a shortage of educational and research materials on Korea. The KF and other Korean organizations provide a number of Korean-language resources, but there aren’t many resources in Vietnamese that are designed for students and the general public and suited for widespread transmission of knowledge about Korea. Materials for Korean language instruction in particular should be selected in consideration of the needs and characteristics of the institution, with the program of instruction planned around these materials. But at the moment, there are no consistent standards for evaluating such programs.

Hanoi Office