Why Korea?

In a little under four decades, the Republic of Korea has been transformed from a war-ravaged, agricultural country into one of the leading trading nations and economies of the world. Korean goods are exported to developing and industrialised countries, and Korean companies have set up sales networks and built factories all over the world. The Koreans' response to the economic crisis in 1997 has been to speed up their efforts to create a more globalised, open economy. Consequently, Korea recovered rapidly from the problems encountered in those years.

But Korea's economic success is only part of the story, and an understanding of her history, society and culture helps us to appreciate how it was that the Koreans could achieve this miracle. A centuries-old struggle against more powerful neighbours, the painful division of the country into communist north and democratic south in 1948, and the lasting influence of Confucian ways of thinking have all played an important part in Korea's modern history. In addition, the Koreans have a cultural heritage of which they are justifiably proud. Surprisingly, Korea remains something of an unknown quantity in the west, but its rapid rise to join the ranks of the world's industrialised nations will create a demand for people who understand this fascinating country. And don't forget that Korea is making a name for itself in all kinds of surprising areas - for example, co-hosting the World Cup in 2002!

The Korean Studies degree

Korean Studies began at Sheffield University more than 25 years ago, and the Centre for Korean Studies has developed into one of the leading teaching and research centres for Korean Studies in Europe. Recognizing this achievement, the British government announced in 2000 major funding to support the further development of our Korean Studies programme.

The variety of modules offered at Sheffield and the flexibility of our modular degree system allow you to tailor your studies to your own needs and career aspirations:

• If you want to focus on studying about Korea through language and lecture modules, we can offer a single honours degree in Korean Studies.
  
  

• If you want to combine your study of Korea and the Korean language with a major discipline such as Business or Music - or perhaps with Japanese Studies - you can register for a dual honours degree.
  
  

• Even if you are not reading for a single or dual honours degree in Korean Studies, you can still add a Korean dimension to your degree by opting to take modules in Korean language or other areas of Korean Studies.
  
  

The degree programme

The single honours and dual honours degrees in Korean Studies are all four years in length and all include a year of study at a university in South Korea. In your first year at Sheffield you will be required to take core modules in Korean language during both semesters. This means that for the first year of your degree you will spend about 6 hours each week in Korean language classes learning grammar and developing writing, speaking and other skills. You will also be expected to spend a substantial amount of time revising and practising what you have learnt in classes.

As well as language modules, you will also be required to take ‘studies modules’; these are modules which are not language-based and cover topics such as history, society, business and literature. These modules involve lectures on specific themes, and seminars or tutorials in which you discuss these themes with tutors. Studies modules involve far less class time than language modules, but you will need to spend time out of class writing essays or preparing for class discussions or presentations. If you are doing a dual honours degree in Korean (e.g. Korean and Management) you will be required to take modules from the other department.

Your year abroad

The second year of the Korean Studies degree is spent at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea and is a core requirement of your degree. At Yonsei, you will continue to take intensive courses in Korean language, building on the skills you learned during your first year. Prior to leaving for Seoul, the School will hold a number of workshops to help you arrange for your Year Abroad and advise you on all relevant issues, from visa applications to student life in Korea.
You will return to Sheffield in the third year of your degree. Language learning will continue to form an important part of your studies in your third and final years and will develop new skills such as precision translation, but you will also be required to take further studies modules relating to Korea or to your dual subject (e.g. management) if you are doing a dual degree.

Your final year

If you are doing a single honours Korean degree, an important component of your degree in the final year will be a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice relating to Korea. You will work on the dissertation over the course of the year with a supervisor from the department, using both your Korean language skills and the analytical skills you have developed through your studies modules in earlier years, to produce a high-quality piece of research. If you are doing a dual honours degree, you may choose to do a shorter version of this dissertation (approximately 7,000 words in length) if you wish, though this is not obligatory.

Developing your individual interests

At most levels of your Korean Studies degree, you will also have the opportunity to take modules which are of interest to you but which do not relate to Korea. These are known as ‘unrestricted’ modules, and are important in that they allow you to tailor your degree to include areas of study in which you have an interest or which you see as important but which are not ‘core’ to your studies.

Our staff

Through the expertise and experience of the Korean Studies staff, we can offer a wide range of modules in Korean language and Korean Studies.

Members of staff contribute to both the language classes and studies modules, as well as pursuing their own research interests.

As the publication of books and journal articles is an important part of our work, we encourage students to develop their own research skills through their essays and dissertations.