My Korean Language Course at EWHA Women’s University – highly recommended

Yes, for advanced education and executive programs, EWHA Women’s University accepts males too. I’m taking level 1 Korean and I’m with three young folks from Taiwan, two from Japan, one from Texas (she’s also American :-), and one Italian. Two guys, six ladies.

Lessons are quite un-Canadian

Rules are strict and enforced: Put your cellphone away. No side talk. No eating. Being late three times or leaving early counts as one absence. Three absences and you fail. The teacher is firmly in control. While some of the rules appear too rigid by Western standards, it’s all refreshingly clear! The course is so fast-paced that I can hardly keep up. My fellow students are less than half my age and memorize quicker. In long term retention, I keep up though. Only now do I realize how difficult Korean really is and how long the journey to move comfortably in daily life.

The teachers are excellent

For a total of 60 lessons we have three rotating teachers. At first I was put off by that, but the handoffs between teachers are smooth. Their teaching skills are great, they are very focused and driving us quite hard – which I prefer even if it’s taxing sometimes. I am learning quickly after all. One of our teachers is particularly caring: She started a KakaoTalk group with us to keep us informed, she collected all of our information to get our student ID cards, and she provided us with a link to MP3 listening files. With her, nobody is left behind! Our teachers teach eight hours a day and I admire them for their dedication and energy.

The extracurricular activities are the kicker – carving our own personal seals

I’m not very interested in history so I won’t elaborate about the deep history of such seals (or stamps). Students of all levels got together (37 women, 5 men) to carve our own personal seal out of soft stone. Our craft teachers were marvellous and patient in showing us how to do it. And we had so much fun in our small group that we went to lunch at the Yonsei University’s cafeteria, plus Alice gave us a little campus tour.

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Yesterday we had Korean cooking class – it was a riot: 2 guys and about 50 ladies. Our kitchen skills measured up big time! See my separate blog post.

Corona – I like the beer much better than the virus

Seriously: While other universities cancelled their Korean language programs altogether, EWHA managed the risks using common sense: While they cancelled some gatherings, the classes themselves did happen. I am grateful for that, thank you EWHA! The virus broke out after I arrived in Korea. Apart from masks and hand sanitizer being sold out in many places, people are mostly going about their daily routines. Mask-wearing on the street increased from an estimated 10% to 30%, and from 20% in the subway to 90% – and to 100% in class, which makes speaking exercises difficult. There is also a lot of disruption in travel, supply chains and university life. Over 70,000 Chinese students are returning to Korean universities at the beginning of March, and solving the conundrum between keeping everybody safe and discrimination is difficult.

It’s very unfortunate that concerts are affected too – many are cancelled and attendance is down. But most artists are fighting on in good spirits. So was Boheme Singer with her fantastic CD-release concert.

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A 5 out of 5 for EWHA’s short-term Korean language program

I was looking for a course that teaches me to learn and speak everyday Korean – not academic but practical. This is exactly what’s happening, and the course book is first class. The value for money is excellent (I paid c$ 930). Thank you teachers, thank you EWHA!