Korean studies

The Korean studies program is designed for students who wish to acquire Korean language skills and understand Korean culture and society. The units offered will be useful to students who aspire to a professional career in business, government, communication, and education, among other fields. Korean language teaching incorporates interactive and multimedia resources to enhance learning and bring Korean culture to the classroom. Introducing Hangul, a phonetic writing system, enables students to type in Korean from the introductory level.

The focus is on enabling you to communicate in Korean in a broad range of situations, and the use of Korean in various genre areas such as business, journalism, science, law and tourism. Sociocultural aspects in these areas are also explored. You may complete a major sequence and honours in Korean studies. Combined honours may be taken in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics and another area of study.

Korean language study caters for students from introductory to intermediate levels. To ensure that students are placed in the most appropriate level according to their individual profile and the best outcome they can expect to achieve, all students, except beginners, are required to undertake placement testing prior to the start of their first semester of language study.

Right of school to determine entry level and approve accelerated enrolment

The Korean studies program convenor retains the right to determine the proper proficiency level for any particular student. Students are not permitted to accelerate their enrolment without first consulting the program convenor.

Overseas study

Students can replace language units with equivalent language study overseas. The Korean studies program has exchange agreements with three prominent universities: Korea University, Seoul National University and Yonsei University. While each exchange has its own features, collectively they provide a wide range of opportunities for students to study in Korea. For detailed information contact the Korean studies program. Credit arrangements vary and need to be clearly verified with the coordinator before a student can be assured of receiving credit. Grants for study may be available through Monash Abroad, to whom applications should be addressed. Third and fourth-year students may also apply for a Korean Government scholarship.

Availability

Korean studies is listed in A2000 Bachelor of Arts and 0202 Bachelor of Letters at Clayton as a minor, major or extended major, A2001 Bachelor of Global Studies at Clayton as a major and A0501 Diploma of Languages at Clayton as a major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major will be able to:

• communicate on topics that are familiar, of personal interest, or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events)
• demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between language and culture, thereby appreciating the validity of other ways of perceiving experiences as well as your own culture, identity and values
• demonstrate advanced learning skills which will support your Korean study to pursue other further studies, e.g. Translation studies, Asian studies or Linguistics
• draw upon discipline-specific language and appropriate genres to demonstrate understanding within a field from a scholarly perspective and for a specified audience.