From traditional Korean fan dance in colorful Hanboks to Psy’s popular Korean pop culture song “Gangnam Style,” Smith College is in the midst of a growing cultural frenzy. Over the past few years, the interest in Korean culture at Smith College has increased tremendously. Many faculty members in the East Asian Studies departments have noticed this trend with growing numbers of students in their programs and classes.
“The interest in Korea has grown exponentially and in my five years at Smith College,” says Professor Jina Kim, assistant professor of East Asian Studies at Smith College. “I have seen the interest only grow… more and more students have become avid consumers of Korean culture, especially Korean popular culture. Smith College has a summer exchange program with Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, South Korea where we provide a scholarship for six or seven Smith students to study at Ewha for four weeks. This year we had the largest and the most competitive pool of applicants, which also shows that the interest in Korea is increasing.”
Currently, Korean language and literature classes are in high demand. According to Professor Suk Massey, Smith College Korean language and literature professor, interest in Smith’s Korean program has grown since she first started teaching at Smith College in 1998. The graph below shows the trend of Five-College enrollment in Smith’s Korean classes in recent years, from 2007 to 2013:
Smith’s Korean program was established in 1993 with the combined efforts of faculty and Korean-American students at Smith. Back then, the program consisted of a first-year intensive Korean language course, which attracted about 40 students. However, with Smith College’s enrollment limit, only 15 students enrolled in the class. Gradually, with numerous requests from students and faculty in the Five-College area, the program expanded to include more introductory courses and higher level courses at not only Smith College but also Mount Holyoke College and University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2013, the program received a generous grant from University of Massachusetts to hire an additional Korean language and literature professor.
Korean cultural events and activities are also an integral part of the college’s growing interest in Korea. Annual Korean cultural events and activities held by Professor Massey’s Korean class students and the Korean American Students of Smith, such as the Lunar New Year Celebration and Korean Culture Day, have recently been receiving a lot of attention from not only Five-College students but also the Northampton community. At this year’s Korean Lunar New Year Celebration for example, a guest performance by Kyung-Eun Kim, a professional Korean traditional dancer, attracted many viewers.
Both Professor Kim and Professor Massey believe this interest in Korean studies and culture from students and the community will continue to grow. They are looking forward to the years to come.
Leave a Reply