K-Culture is where K-Passion meets K-Learning
If you are fascinated by K-pop music, K-dramas and K-pop culture like Gen Z is, you might consider going a step further by learning the Korean language. You’ll even get a name tag with your name written in Korean.
K-Culture is a Korean language-learning programme in Potchefstroom that accommodates students on all levels of proficiency – from beginners to advanced, Shimnyung Kang, principal of the Korean School Potchefstroom, said. The programme was introduced in 2017 (a year after the school was established).
Keeping Korean roots alive
Kang, whom the students call ‘seonsaengnim’ (teacher in Korean), said that the school started after 20 families, many with young children who needed to learn Korean, came to meet with him. “We need to develop and keep the Korean identity, and the language is [an] important [part] of keeping [our] own culture and identity,”
Commenting on the importance of a Korean school in a foreign country, Kang said, “Children go to normal schools while staying in South Africa; they learn subjects using English, not Korean, losing their Korean identity. Therefore, each parent wants to ensure that their child learns Korean.”
The South Korean government supports Korean schools in other countries through their Overseas Koreans Agency, Kang said. “The agency supports schools with textbooks, depending on the number of Korean students and the teacher’s qualification level.” He added that his school teaches Korean, English, mathematics and special subjects to Korean children from pre-school level up to high school. These subjects are taught in English.
Levels of proficiency
Kang’s K-Culture programme is divided into levels ranging from A1 (beginner), A2 (elementary),
B1 (intermediate), to B2 (upper-intermediate) and C1 (advanced). Now, there are eight students on different proficiency levels enrolled in the programme, seven of them, students at the North-West University (NWU).
Marissa Fourie, an honours student in Afrikaans and Dutch at the NWU, is an A2 student at K-Culture. She is learning Korean because she loves learning new languages and wants, to travel – “maybe get a job there and become an interpreter at an embassy”, she said.
Leandra Ruiz, a NWU alumna, said there are many challenges when you learn Korean. “All the new grammar rules and how the subjects and objects change within sentence construction [is the most challenging], because you can know a hundred verbs but if you do not know how to conjugate them, it is difficult.
Bridging Cultures
K-Culture not only involves teaching and learning the Korean language, but it fosters the
appreciation of cultures between South Africans and Korean communities in Potchefstroom. The school and K-Culture students engage with The Methodist Church during their annual bazaar, where they introduce Korean culture, food, and traditional games to the wider church community.
• Classes take place every Saturday from 09:30 to 12:00 at The Methodist Church on Fleishack Street. The programme runs over 8 weeks and costs R300. Contact Principal Shimnyung Kang at +27 79 403 5975 for more information.