[462 Interview] A Club That Spreads the Beauty of the Korean Language and Culture Through Education: Haram

   "Haram" is a centeral club in Dongguk University that teaches Korean language and culture to foreigners, including exchange students. Haram informs and spreads the beauty of Korean culture to foreign students, helping them understand and adapt it naturally. "Haram" is a bridge between foreigners and Koreans in the small world of university and plays an important role in forming the university's a multicultural society. The Dongguk Post met the president of the club, "Haram." Let us look at the purpose of the club's operation and activities, as well as its future direction.

Q1. Please introduce yourself and the club, Haram.

   Hello, I am Won Seung-yeon (Department of Public Administration 20), who is the president of the Korean language school Haram. The Korean language school Haram is the center club of Dongguk University’s volunteer division established in 2006. We provide Korean language education and Korean culture experience activities to help foreigners living in Korea adjust to life in Korea. Currently, there are 77 members of the club, and about 150 foreigners are freely participating in Haram.

Q2. Please introduce about Haram of Dongguk University’s Hangeul School.

   First, regular classes are the main activities of classes, which are educational activities that are conducted on the subject of Korean language or culture. The regular class activities have one homeroom teacher and assistant teachers. The homeroom teacher conducts the class in front of the class, and the assistant teachers are in charge of helping foreign students fully understand the class by listening to the class together with the foreigners. Regular classes are held every week under new themes, and we are aiming for classes where foreign students can enjoy participating. Additionally, after regular classes, club members and foreigners will have lunch together. Lunch time is also a part of Haram’s activities, where students can review what they have learned, talk to each other, and get to know each other better.

   Next, Event Day is a Korean cultural experience activity that is held once a month in lieu of regular classes. Through event day activities, students "Haram" is a centeral club in Dongguk University that teaches Korean language and culture to foreigners, including exchange students. Haram informs and spreads the beauty of Korean culture to foreign students, helping them understand and adapt it naturally. "Haram" is a bridge between foreigners and Koreans in the small world of university and plays an important role in forming the university's a multicultural society. The Dongguk Post met the president of the club, "Haram." Let us look at the purpose of the club's operation and activities, as well as its future direction. can directly experience Korean culture. They are designed to help foreign students feel Korea’s own culture and are mainly conducted with activities that can be experienced in Seoul. This year, activities such as Seoul Plaza Ice Skating, Visiting the National Museum of Korea, and Ttukseom Hangang Park Picnic have been held from January to March. Furthermore, there have been activities such as Gyeongbokgung Palace Hanbok Experience, Board Game Cafe, and Traditional Market Tour during the same period.

Q3. How do you work according to the Korean proficiency of foreign students?

   Haram offers regular classes in three levels: Beginner, basic, and intermediate, depending on the Korean proficiency of the students. In the case of the basic class, classes are for students who are new to learning Korean or who are not familiar with Korean. This level mainly deal with basic Korean. In this case, the class is conducted in slow Korean and English explanations are provided in the class materials.

   Intermediate level class is for students who can speak Korean well. Classes are mainly conducted on the subjects of more difficult Korean expressions or culture. Students are free to join whatever level they feel comfortable, and in fact, their Korean skills have improved while doing Haram activities, and sometimes they move from basic class to beginner class.

Q4. What were some difficulties you have had teaching Korean language and culture to foreign students?

   The difficulty of teaching Korean language and culture to foreign students seems to be when they have to explain something that is obvious in Korea but difficult for foreigners to understand. In every language or culture, the question of why sometimes does not work. This is especially true when languages and cultures that have existed for a long time have hardened and are used conventionally without a reasonable reason.

   For example, in Korea, the phrase “Let us eat together next time!” does not really mean to eat together, but is used as a goodbye. As such, there are Korean expressions and cultures that are difficult for foreigners to understand. In this case, I think the best way is to help people become accustomed to it by showing more diverse expressions and examples that are related to it. Rather than persuading cultural differences as a reasonable reason, I think it is most important to let them know that this is Korea’s natural expression and culture, and to make them learn its cultural identity correctly.

Q5. What is the most important thing when you communicating with foreigners?

   I think the most important thing when communicating with foreigners is the effort to understand and learn the differences between each cultures. In Haram, people from various cultural backgrounds gather in one place. In this case, smooth communication is possible only when you are more curious about the others’ culture and make efforts to understand it. In particular, I have seen many people willingly try to let foreigners know their own culture if they are interested first. My own tips for communicating with foreigners are that I would like to talk to foreigners by learning simple greetings and self-introduction methods in that country’s language, or if I have the right background knowledge I have the right background knowledge about that country, I would like to talk about it first without hesitation. If you want to communicate with foreigners naturally, it is a good idea to accumulate cultural knowledge of various countries, or to bring up the story first if you have experiences related to that country.

Q6. Among the activities you have conducted, what is the most popular activity among foreign students?

   Among all the activities that we held , the most well received were the event day activities. Students can experience Korean culture directly through event day activities such as Gyeongbokgung Palace, Han River Picnic, and Board Game Cafe. These activities can remain as new memories for foreign students in Korea. Moreover, they are popular in that both foreign and Korean students can enjoy themselves together. Among them, the Han River Picnic was the most popular because the Han River Park Picnic was actually a popular place for Korean university students and it seems that the Han River Park was an activity that they could enjoy freely. I felt that activity of sitting in the Han River Park together, eating delivery food, and talking together would have been more comfortable for foreign students.

Q7. From the perspective of teaching, what is the most memorable experience while working as a club?

   I would say that the most memorable experience from the perspective of teaching is when foreign students express their gratitude for Haram’s activities. When I hear that Haram’s activities were actually helpful to me in living in Korea and that it was good to be able to work in Haram together, I feel more proud than ever. In addition, there are moments when foreign students return to their country when they are engaged in Haram activities. At that time, I felt a lot of regret at the thought that a friend who learned Korean and enjoyed Korean culture together was leaving to a faraway place. As we made precious memories together in Haram, the moment of separation was also one of the most memorable experiences.

Q8. Can you tell me about future projects or activities?

   In the future, regular weekly classes and event day activities are expected to continue. Since Haram conducts three regular classes every week and event day activities every month, we tend to focus on these two activities as much as possible to provide high-quality regular classes and event day activities to foreign students. Furthermore, on April 13th, a rice cake museum tour and a rice cake making experience are being planned as event day activities.

Q9. If you could describe Haram in one sentence, what do you think it would be?

   I think Haram is “a home for foreigners living in Korea.” The word “home” refers to the place where birds lay and raise their eggs. Just as a baby bird grows up hard in the home and leaves the home afterwards, I hope that Haram will continue to be a home for foreigners who come to Korea to help them adjust to life in Korea and leave with a proper understanding of the Korean language and culture. Our school, Haram, has been carrying out educational activities consistently and diligently, in keeping with the name of the educational club. If you want to get to know Korean students and learn about the Korean language and culture in a fun way, please visit our school, Haram. 

Q10. Do you have any plans or goals to further develop Haram?

   As a plan to further develop Haram, we first want to correct the system of the club so that we can consistently provide good classes and cultural experience activities to students. Accordingly, from this semester, we are making efforts to create our own site to manage the club schedule and receive feedback from students. Furthermore, we are paying a lot of attention to the subject of the class and the way we participate in the class so that we can provide more friendly and interesting classes rather than hard classes. In the future, we aim to develop Haram as a space where foreign students make good memories in Korea and teach Korean culture better. Furthermore we wish to develop Haram as a local community for foreign students.