Asian Studies curriculum introduces new Korean studies major

UNC undergraduates can now officially major in Korean studies.

The addition of the major to the Asian studies curriculum comes after many years of Korean language and culture courses being offered.

“We just started the major this year,” I Jonathan Kief, a professor of Korean said. “I believe we have eight students declared at the moment, which is exciting for our first year. In terms of our program as a whole, last academic year we had about 375 students enrolled in our classes – that’s both language and content courses. That’s really a rapid expansion.”

Kief said the Korean studies classes in the Department of Asian Studies began in 2006, with only 23 students enrolled in first-year Korean for the first semester. The program then grew to include a minor. 

He said the language’s growth at UNC has been driven by student interest. 

“We’ve had constantly expanding student interest in especially Korean language classes, but also Korean studies classes, including classes in Korean literature, culture, history, film, etc.,” Kief said.

The increasing popularity of Korean culture in the United States, such as K-pop and Korean dramas, are some of the reasons behind the increase in interest, Kief said.

“One of the things that we try to do is help students take a certain entry point into thinking about Korea and its history and culture, and help them try to diversify their interests,” Kief said. ”Hopefully we can take their passion that they have for whatever that entry point was and refract it in multiple directions.”

Kaitlyn Turner and Muziah Kargbo are seniors who recently upgraded their Korean studies minors to majors. 

Kargbo said she wishes she would have had the opportunity to participate in a Korean senior honors thesis. But she encourages all students with an interest in Korea to pursue it, as the Korean studies department has been a crucial part of her college career.

“It’s definitely worth it, especially if you’re passionate about learning about Korea,” Kargbo said. 

Turner said she chose to attend UNC because of its Korean program. 

“The way the number of students has skyrocketed is crazy,” Turner said. 

While the Korean studies program may be growing, Kief said he is one of only four Korean studies faculty members. He said two of the faculty members teach the language classes and the other two focus on the content-based Korean studies. 

“We have designed a fourth year of Korean language classes, but we haven’t been able to teach it yet, in part because we have only a certain number of classes that our four faculty members can teach,” Kief said. “We would like more faculty, but obviously there’s a variety of things behind that.”

This summer, students will be able to attend UNC’s first faculty-led summer abroad program in Korea.

“Students have been studying abroad in Korea for a number of years already, but we’re starting a faculty-led study abroad program,” Kief said. “Students are going to be able to take second-level Korean with UNC faculty members in Korea. Students are excited about that.”

Turner said those studying Korean should try their hardest to study abroad in the country.

“It’s just a beautiful place to be,” Turner said. “When you speak to Korean people in Korean, in a way, it kind of just blows their mind. For them, to see a foreigner actually appreciate their language and their culture is super cool. When you fully try to embrace Korean culture while you’re in Korea, I feel like it is very gratifying.”

Kief said by the end of students’ Korean studies experience, they will have a much better understanding of the language and culture.

“They’re going to learn Korean language skills, and they’re going to get an in-depth and nuanced understanding of the diversity and complexity and dynamism of Korean history and culture,” Kief said. “More broadly, they’re going to get an alternative perspective on the world, on the diversity of experiences in the world and history.”

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