KOREA FOUNDATION

We often take for granted the air, water, and other things that we depend on in our daily lives to survive. Likewise, we rarely stop to appreciate the Korean language and Hangeul that we use every day through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. With the advent of Hangeul Day each October, we take a brief yet important pause to feel love and gratitude for our native language. For the October issue of the KF Newsletter, we met a Korean language instructor in France, the faraway European country noted for its pride in its culture and history. Ms. Noh Sun-ju, Principal of Ecole Coréenne de Dijon (Dijon Hangeul School), has been striving to bring Hangeul to Dijon, Bourgogne, a French community well-known for its love of tradition.

Thank you very much for meeting with us for an interview for the KF Newsletter. First of all, would you tell us about yourself and your school?

I would be happy to. My name is Noh Sun-ju and I teach Hangeul in Dijon, France. I have lived in France for about 20 years and in Dijon for a little over 15. Dijon lies some 300 kilometers southeast of Paris and is a small city not far from Switzerland. Our school opened in 2006 and now has six Korean teachers, including me, and some 100 students. Half of the students are Korean, including adoptees, and the other half are French, from the area. Among this latter group, more than a few have adopted children from Korea into their families. The students are from diverse age groups, from a three-year-old child to senior citizens over the age of 70. Not only the students’ backgrounds, but also our activities give the impression of a large Korean-French family. For we are not just studying Hangeul and the Korean language – we do a lot of other things.

We hear that elementary and secondary schools in Dijon began introducing Korean language classes several years ago. It is amazing that students in a small French city can learn Hangeul at all levels of education. Would you tell us how Korean language was incorporated as a regular foreign language subject in Dijon classrooms?

It was in 2014 that a local high school made Korean language into an official subject for foreign language education, and this year elementary schools included Korean in their after-school classes. Our Hangeul School made enormous efforts to introduce Korean language classes at many schools in Dijon. We spoke on the excellence of Hangeul and the need for Korean language education in meetings with Dijon leaders such as the Mayor, the Superintendent, and city congress members. Like salespeople, we went everywhere around Dijon, publicizing Korean Language education.
  For quite a long time in France, there has been a consensus about multicultural education, and we have been helped by many people who were open-minded about learning Asian cultures and languages. At the same time, our educators were surprised and pleased by the students’ almost perfect command of both the French and the Korean languages. I think they were happy to see the students’ efforts to find their Korean roots by learning the language while growing up as French citizens.

When you first arrived in France 20 years ago, there must have been few Koreans and Korea must not have been very well known. What was the most difficult hurdle in your struggle to pioneer Korean language education in France?

Paris has had an association of Koreans for a long time, but Dijon has not. Dijon welcomed its first Korean association in 2002, and there I heard many Korean residents, students, and adoptees and their families talking about their wish to learn the Korean language. As I taught Hangeul to them, I came to open a school and spread the language through various schools in Dijon. It is hard to point out one hardest thing; I began with nothing and everything was hard. As I look back, I can hardly say I could do it all again. I think I have only managed to come this far by continuously running forward.

What would you say is the greatest appeal of Hangeul and the Korean language? There must be some good reason for the growing interest in the Korean language and demand for it in France.

There could be many reasons, and the greatest appeal may be that Hangeul is easy to read and write. For a beginner of a foreign language, it is hard to remain interested if it is too difficult to step across the first threshold. Hangeul is so easy to learn that even a first-timer can read and write in a couple of hours or in seven to eight hours at most. Besides, the French think the Korean alphabet is beautiful and intriguing. They also find it enchanting, from a democratic perspective, that Hangeul was created by a king and his scholars for the people as a whole.

As the principal of Dijon Hangeul School, you must have many plans for the road ahead. Would you share your hopes and dreams with the KF Newsletter readers?

Most of the things I dreamed in the beginning seem to have been realized. I am still amazed and proud of the fact that Korean language classes are running at many schools in Dijon. At the moment, I don’t have any big wishes. I just hope the Korean language education at Dijon Hangeul School and other schools here will be solidly maintained. Through this interview, I would like to express appreciation to all the people in Korea who have supported Korean language education in various ways.
  I would also like to express heartfelt thanks to Dijon FCO (the local football club), our greatest sponsor, and Kwon Chang-hoon, the Korean footballer who fills us with pride. I cannot thank them enough for their direct and indirect support for my school and for the time they spent with our students.
  Together with Korean educational institutions, local administrations, and NGOs, we try to locate the biological family members of the adoptees and to create new families for adoptees. We hope that anyone who sympathizes with these efforts will be in touch with us at Dijon Hangeul School. Thank you.

Interviewed by Kim Daniel