/ 우크라이나 Korean language classes continue in Ukraine even in wartime
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  • Registration Date 2022-06-28
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[Ukraine] Korean language classes continue in Ukraine even in wartime

- A KF professor continues online lectures for Ukrainian students -

A KF professor who had been teaching in Ukraine is continuing to provide Korean language classes to local students even in the midst of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Photo. Professor Kim Seok-won offering his Korean language class over the internet

□ KF sent KF Visiting Professor Kim Seok-won to Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine in 2016 to provide Korean language classes to students. Kim returned to South Korea with the outbreak of the war, but continues to provide his lectures over the internet.

ㅇ Kim served as a KF visiting professor in Kyiv for a number of years as he contributed to the advancement of Korean Studies in the country. Since the Russian invasion last February, however, his life has changed. Concerned about his students, he remained in the country for as long as he could despite KF’s urging to evacuate. As the local situation rapidly deteriorated, however, he was forced to flee through Romania with the help of KF and the Korean consulate in Ukraine. On the very day that he left Kyiv with his family, air raid sirens announced Russian shells landing in the city.

ㅇ In the months since the invasion, about 20 students studying Korean Language and Literature at the University of Kyiv have been taking his class either in Ukraine or from a neighboring country where they have taken refuge. According to Kim, all three Korean language classes that were planned before the war are continuing with the students attending the classes in ways that they can make possible. Some students living in a bomb shelter have replaced direct attendance, which requires stable internet service, with offline assignments. Kim is particularly worried about four students with whom he has lost contact. He hopes the war ends soon and he can go back to Ukraine and reunite with his students.

□ Currently, there are 74 KF-sponsored Korean language and Korean Studies visiting professors working at 73 universities in 42 countries, including Ukraine.

ㅇKF visiting professors contribute to operating and expanding Korean language and Korean Studies courses at universities, conduct activities to promote the field of Korean Studies, and disseminate accurate knowledge and information about Korea around the globe. KF has just embarked on the process of selecting qualified visiting professors to be sent to overseas universities for the 2022 fall semester.


(Source)

https://www.kf.or.kr/kf/na/ntt/selectNttInfo.do?mi=1151&bbsId=1061&nttSn=110753

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