After long semesters of translation, oral quizzes and subtitled movies to fulfill Tufts' heavy requirements, many students have had more than their fill of foreign languages by the time they graduate.
But for the Korean Students Association, requirements are just the beginning. After years of lobbying for the addition of more Korean culture and language courses to the Tufts curriculum, the organization has taken matters into its own hands, offering its own weekly Korean language classes taught by fluent members of KSA.
Junior and KSA president Jon Kim, who is currently leading the classes, said he got the idea for teaching Korean when he noticed some fellow students had an interest in the language.
"Whenever I'm hanging out with my friends, they always ask me to teach them certain Korean phrases," Kim said. "One day I just thought, 'Why don't we ... offer classes instead so people who are genuinely interested get the chance to learn the language?'"
Kim said classes were a way to fill the void that was created when Tufts stopped offering its few Korean culture courses in the fall semester of 2005. Across the world, he said, Korean is becoming an increasingly important language.
"The popularity of Korean pop culture [is] spreading throughout East Asia," Kim said. "Korean music, dramas, movies, fashion and food are now favorites among East Asian countries."
On the Web site of the U.S. State Department, Korean is listed as a "Critical Needs Language" due to a shortage of U.S.-educated fluent speakers. According to a February 2006 report by the independently-run Committee for Economic Development, Korean speakers are in high demand as businessmen and government officials in today's global economy.
According to Kim, though, the classes, aimed at beginners, are more about opening a new door than ensuring future success.
"Who knows? Fluency in Korean could get you a job with Samsung or LG," he said. "But the most important fact is that, now, Tufts students have the option of taking Korean. It's a great opportunity for those who want to learn something new."
The KSA classes are taught weekly, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoons in Braker 001. Kim described the classes as "very casual" and said anyone can sign up. "[There are] no homework assignments, no exams, so it's something students can practice whenever they have some free time," Kim said. "Korean is probably one of the easier languages to learn. After one class, I'm positive anyone will be able to read and write simple Korean words; it's that easy."
"They give us handouts with whatever we're doing that week, and we're supposed to practice on our own time, but there's no official homework," said sophomore Lauren Schnupp, who began attending classes last Saturday. "We just did the alphabet and practiced writing and sounding out words."
According to Schnupp, the small classes and relaxed atmosphere have made sure the experience was "not intimidating," which she said gave her confidence.
"I think most of the people in the class are at the same ability level, so it's easy to ask questions," she said.
For Schnupp, the Korean classes have given her an opportunity to reconnect with her ethnic culture.
"I'm Korean, but [I] was adopted, so I don't really know anything about the culture," she said. "[My Korean friends] have been promising to teach me for a while but that never happened, and Tufts doesn't offer any classes. If you want to learn Korean you have to go to [Boston University], which is really inconvenient."
Schnupp said she had been planning to put her desire to learn Korean on hold when she received an e-mail from the KSA about the classes. According to her, she jumped on the opportunity.
"I really want to go to Korea at some point in my life so it would be nice to know the language," she said. "This seemed like a really fun way to learn in a laid back environment."
"It would be nice to get credit for it," she added, "but beggars can't be choosers."
Still, Schnupp said, she's happy that she has an opportunity to learn Korean in a lighthearted atmosphere. According to her, the idea to start teaching Korean was an important one for the organization.
"The KSA has been trying to get Tufts to add Korean classes for a long time," she said. "It's nice that they've stepped up to fill the gap."
