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ANU Centre for Korean Studies - Students in perspective

On 28 May I met with two upcoming students of Korean at ANU, Jess Chou and Elizabeth Yoo, and talked with them about their recent success with being awarded Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF) scholarships to study in Korea, their experiences studying Korean and their advice for those starting out with Korean.

Participants

Jess Chou - JC

Elizabeth Yoo - EY

Dane Alston - DA

Interview transcript

DA - First of all, congratulations on your Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF) scholarships. So let's start with the scholarships, can you tell me what these AKF scholarships are?

EY - I applied for the language study in Korea for a year and the scholarship will provide me with funding for my year in Korea program, which will take place next year. The scholarship will help us build up contacts and networks in Korea for our future careers and will help us build a better understanding of Korean culture and language.

DA - And that's for one year?

EY - Yes.

DA - And the scholarship helps with language training?

EY - Yes

DA - And where will you be doing your language training?

EY - At Seoul National University.

DA - Ah, good, I can recommend Seoul National

(all laugh)

DA - (to JC) And is yours the same kind of scholarship?

JC - Mine is a different one. I am doing language study as well, for about six months, and then for the rest of the time there I am hoping to get a internship with one of the Korean firms over there so I can gain some work experience and build my language skills.

Pictured - Ms Jess Chou

DA - Excellent, so you will be doing six months on this scholarship program?

JC- No, I will be doing ten months.

DA - So the scholarship will cover six months?

JC - No, it is like a grant where they give you the money...

EY- ...and you spend it within the year...

DA - Ahh, okay, so the scholarship is a lump sum grant?...

EY and JC - ...Yeah...

DA - ...and you decide how you wish to use it?

JC - Yes, well you have to write down what you are going to use it for.....

EY - ... like airfares..

JC - ... and accommodation, and things like that.

DA - Good, so will this be your first trip to Korea?

EY - Second

JC - Fourth

DA - And how much are these scholarships?

EY - Mine is $5000

JC - And mine is $10,000

DA - And you plan to use it principally for? Airfares...?

EY - Accommodation...living expenses...

JC - ...and the school fees as well, textbooks,...I don't think it is going to be enough!

(All laugh)

DA - Its never enough, is it?

JC - I should have asked for more!

(All laugh)

DA - So do you plan to go to Seoul National as well?

JC - Yes.

DA - That will be good.

JC - Hopefully we will there at the same time.

DA - When do you plan to go?

JC - February next year.

DA - Good, so what did you have to do to apply for this grant?

JC - Basically we just had to fill out the application, it was pretty detailed.

EY - Yeah there were a lot of questions

JC - ...and they ask about how we can further DFAT's goals.......

EY - ...goals and strategies...

JC - ...yeah and of the Australia Korea foundation.

DA - So you have to tailor your answers?

JC and YC - Yes.

DA - Okay, well I think that's fabulous, I think you will both have a good time and Jess is this your first time?

JC - No, its my fourth.

DA - Fourth! So Korea is not new then..

(All laugh)

DA - Let's take a few steps back, what are you doing here at ANU? Elizabeth, let's start with you.

EY - I am doing Asian Studies and Law, and I am in my second year.

DA - At the moment are you doing both Law and Asian Studies?

EY - Yes.

DA - And what are you focusing on in Asian Studies?

EY - I haven't chosen my major yet.

DA - Okay, so at the moment...

EY - I am just doing Korean at the moment.

DA - Any other courses within Asian Studies?

EY - Not yet, just Korean.

DA - Jess, what about you?

JC - I am studying straight Commerce and Korean is just an elective. I am majoring in marketing and management, within Commerce.

DA - Wow, it must be quite a change coming from Commerce and Economics across to Asian Studies?

JC - Yes, its good. A bit of variety.

DA - Excellent, so I guess this is the question everybody asks you: Why did you choose Korean? Jess?

JC - Ahh, well, I think I had a lot of Korean friends when I was in high school and they always talked in Korean, and I wanted to join in too and it would be fun to learn Korean. And I also used to watch a lot of Korean dramas at home with my family. So I thought it would be a fun thing to learn. I have also learned Japanese when I was in high school and I spent a year there after I finished year 12. And then I thought Japanese and Korean are quite similar, so it would probably be easier to pick up Korean than another language.

DA - So you hadn't studied Korean before coming to ANU?

JC - No.

DA - Okay, good, and Elizabeth, how about you?

EY - Well, both my parents are from Korea so I thought that I should go to uni and learn my mother tongue because I wasn't that fluent in Korean. I didn't feel like I fitted in with the Korean community, so I felt that if I learnt Korean it would give me the skills to communicate.

DA - Excellent, good...so tell me, what were the easy and difficult points you had when starting to learn Korean?

JC - I think its easier to listen and understand than it is to ...

EY - ...Write!

JC - ... write. Yeah, writing and...

EY - ....And spelling especially is hard.

DA - I guess English is kind of like that too.

JC - Yeah.

DA - So writing and spelling are the hard parts?

JC and EY - Yes.

DA - Speaking is not too hard?

JC - Not as hard as writing.

DA - What about listening?

JC - Listening is good. I think listening is easier than both of those things.

DA - So, what about for students starting out with Korean Studies, what sort of advice would you give them in their first year? You're both second year students now, right?

JC - Third year.

EY - Second year.

DA - For a student coming in to start Korean, what sort of advice would you give them to set them off on the right path?

JC - We both didn't start in first year.

DA - Oh, really?

JC - Yeah, we both started in second year.

DA - OK, so you guys cheated and skipped a year!

JC and EY - Yeah (laughing).

DA - Even still though, what advice would you give to someone starting off?

EY - Probably to have a passion for Korea and Korean culture. An interest in maybe, something like dramas or something. A lot of people like Korean dramas and that drives them to learn Korean.

DA - It sounds like you are both fans of Korean dramas.

JC and EY - (laughing) yeah.

DA - Do you have any particular favourites?

JC - I really liked Kkotpoda namja: Boys before flowers, it is a recent one..

EY - ...very popular...

JC - ...yeah, very popular. And I also really liked My Name is Kim Samsun (Nae irumUn Kim Samsun).

DA - I'm not very good with Korean dramas.

(All laugh)

JC - That was a good one, not so mainstream because the character was chubby and not so pretty. And I think if you listen to music as well, Korean music, that gets you looking at the lyrics and trying to figure out what they are saying.

DA - And what about you Elizabeth, do you have any favourite dramas?

EY - I like Full House.

JC - Oh, yeah..

EY - I don't know, there's quite a few.

DA - And what things about Korean dramas really attracted you, compared to say Japanese or Chinese dramas?

EY - They are really funny....

JC - ...yeah...(laughing)

EY - And I think Koreans make their dramas really appealing and interesting for foreigners to watch as well.

DA - You think they are able to bridge the gap, so to speak?

EY - Yeah, a lot of Asians watch a lot of Korean dramas.

DA- Jess, what do you think? Are there any features of about Korean dramas that stand out?

JC - Yeah, the male is always portrayed as ...

EY - ...like rich, or sometimes....

JC - ...rich.., like really ideal. A lot of the time anyway. They are portrayed as really ideal so a lot of girls swoon.

DA - Ahhh, okay. So what, like perfect gentlemen are they?

JC - Yes

DA - and do they have mucho guys too?

JC - Yes, they have both. In a lot of ways they are ideal and a lot of girls fall for that.

DA - Maybe that's why I don't watch them.

(All laugh) JC - Maybe! Directed more towards women.

DA - You are both coming to Korean from very different backgrounds and with different motivations, so where and how do you see Korean in your future? And what roll do you think it will play? Say for example, in five years, seven years down the track when you have finished your studies,when you have finished your university degrees, what role or place do you think Korean language, culture or even Korea itself will have in your lives?

EY - Well, at the moment, compared to other languages, I feel like Korean is not as popular compared to like Japanese or Chinese. So maybe in five or seven years it will become more popular.

DA - And you will be at the cutting edge?

EY - Yeah

JC - I guess it would be nice if I could work there for a while. I'm not quite sure doing what, but if I had at least had the language skills, once I get my degree, that would help me to get a job there and work there for a while, then that would be good.

DA - Good, so just coming back to the AKF grants you have just received, do you see those as helping you towards that goal?

EY and JC - Yes, definitely.

DA - So language is the first...

JC - ...yeah, and if I do an intern-ship over there, then hopefully I will get a feel for what it is like to be working with a Korean company. See if I can fit in with the culture and use my language skills.

DA - Elizabeth, do you have any plans to maybe work there?

EY - Yeah, maybe, because I am doing a combined Law degree, maybe I could use my law degree and Korean and go overseas, in Korea and do something there. I am not quite sure yet. That's why I think you should become proficient in the language first and ...

DA - I guess it is like a building block, really, isn't it? Regardless of which direction you go.

EY - Yes.

DA - Good, so you are both enjoying studying Korean?

JC and EY - Yeah

EY- Yeah, its fun.

JC - Our class is pretty fun.

DA - How many people are in your class?

EY and JC - About six or seven.

DA - That's a good size.

EY - Its nice and small.

DA - And you have fun in the classes? Good teachers?

EY and JC - Yeah.

DA - Who are you teachers at the moment?

JC - Ruth Barraclough and Yoon Kyung-joo, she is our tutor.

DA - Excellent, sounds like a fun class. I am envious, I wish I could come back and study more Korean.

JC and EY laugh.

DA - All right, I think that's about all I had questions for, unless there anything else you would like to add? Any final remarks?

JC and EY laugh - No, not really.

DA - Well, thanks very much and if I don't see you before the end of the y ear, good luck with studies in Korea and I wish you all the best. Thanks.

*****

 

Ms Elizabeth Yoo and Ms Jess Chou are supported by the Commonwealth through the Australia-Korea Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.