Korean becomes a “compulsory” subject from grade 3 to grade 12, opportunities and challenges for university training institutions

In March 2021, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision No. 712/QD-BGDDT to make Korean a “compulsory” subject in high schools. Thus, Korean Language and Culture will become a hot major in the university entrance exam. However, in reality, this Decision also causes universities to face many challenges.

Dai Nam University is one of four universities specializing in Korean Language and Culture in the North.

So, what are the opportunities and challenges that higher education institutions face when Korean becomes a “mandatory” foreign language?

Great opportunity for Korean language training institutions at university level

Firstly, improve the quality of learners. The introduction of Korean into high school education will create a solid foundation of knowledge and skills for future generations of students. Along with that, it will help improve the ability to absorb, study skills and apply language in practice of learners; overcome the current situation of students lacking basic knowledge, never having studied or been exposed to Korean when studying at university.

The Faculty of Korean Language and Culture gathers a team of excellent, dedicated and experienced staff and lecturers.

Second, expanding output for students studying majors related to Korean language at universities. In 1992, Vietnam and Korea officially established diplomatic relations. Since then, the two countries have continuously promoted cooperation and exchange activities in many fields: Economy, culture, society... In particular, since 2016, Korea has become the number 1 investor in Vietnam. As of 2020, there are about 210,000 Korean citizens living and working, along with hundreds of large and small companies and corporations operating in Vietnam. Therefore, students majoring in Korean language have many opportunities to do internships and work with higher salaries than some other language majors. The inclusion of Korean in high schools will open up many job opportunities for students studying this major.

Third, it is the motivation for Korean language training institutions at universities to expand their training scale. In addition to the need to recruit Korean-speaking staff from Korean organizations, agencies and enterprises that have invested in Vietnam, and Vietnamese agencies, organizations and enterprises that have cooperative activities with Korean partners, in the near future, high schools will need a large team of Korean teachers to serve the teaching and learning needs of the school when Korean becomes a "mandatory" language here.

Dai Nam University continuously signs training cooperation agreements with large Korean enterprises to create an internship, experience and output environment for students majoring in Korean Language and Culture.

Fourth, increase the attractiveness and position of the Korean language industry in the language industry system in Vietnam. This is a good opportunity for the Korean language industry and university training institutions to seek support and assistance from many sides and in many aspects to promote the process of construction and development.

Fifth, it is the driving force for Korean language training institutions at universities to expand their scale and strengthen their links with domestic and foreign training institutions. Currently, in order to improve the quality of teaching and create more learning opportunities for learners, many Korean language training institutions at universities are constantly promoting their links with domestic and foreign educational organizations. Making Korean a “compulsory” subject is a prerequisite for building a synchronous and quality education system, creating a premise to promote domestic and foreign educational cooperation.

Challenges for higher education institutions

First of all, Korean language training institutions at university level face the challenge of developing a reasonable training program. The training program content must meet new practical requirements. At the same time, it must maximize the learners' capacity.

Second, in the context of students being trained systematically from high school level, perfecting the organizational structure, improving the capacity of staff and lecturers, and innovating teaching methods are prerequisites to improve the quality of education.

Third, build and complete technical facilities to create the most favorable conditions for teaching and learning to achieve the highest efficiency. Especially, in the condition that the number of students may increase rapidly in the near future.

Dai Nam University is the first university to be directly welcomed and worked with by Korean Ambassador Park Noh Wan.

Korean Language and Culture Training at Dai Nam University

Grasping the development trend of Korean Language and Culture, Dai Nam University has built the necessary and sufficient conditions to officially enroll students in this major from 2020. Up to now, Dai Nam University is one of the four university training institutions specializing in Korean Language and Culture in the North.

Students of the Department of Korean Language and Culture at DNU not only have good entrance scores but are also very confident and dynamic.

Dai Nam's Bachelor of Korean Language and Culture training program focuses on practice with 60% of the time to train Korean Bachelors who are proficient in listening - speaking - reading - writing skills; have basic knowledge of Korean culture; have good moral qualities; have solid professional capacity and good attitude.

In particular, the Department of Korean Language and Culture at DNU gathers a team of excellent lecturers who are native Korean speakers and teachers with many years of teaching experience in the field of Korean language and culture.

Affirming to bring students of Korean Language and Culture a modern and civilized learning environment; providing training quality with advanced output standards; ensuring 100% of students have jobs at Korean corporations and FDI companies right after graduation, Dai Nam University has conducted training cooperation with many large enterprises, such as: Samsung Group, LG Electronics Group, Korean Small and Medium Enterprises Association; Delta E&C Vietnam Company; Heesung Vietnam Company, Vietnam - Korea Business and Investment Association (VKBIA) ...

The Faculty of Korean Language and Culture of Dai Nam University has many differences compared to other training units. The Faculty of Korean Language and Culture of Dai Nam is a qualified training unit, recognized by the Korean Embassy in Vietnam, recognized by Korean corporations and FDI companies and ready to create conditions for students to develop. Accordingly, from the learning process until graduation, students will be arranged and accepted to work by Korean corporations and enterprises, Korean FDI invested in Vietnam as well as create opportunities for students to rub shoulders, get acquainted with Korean culture, business processes, so that students can work immediately after graduation...

Career opportunities for Dai Nam students are not only in Korean Language and Culture but also in other fields at present and in the future, which are very open. Currently, Vietnam has about 9,000 FDI enterprises invested by Korea. Dai Nam University focuses on developing business training cooperation activities and has a large foundation with the support of large Korean FDI enterprises such as: Samsung, LG, Huyndai, Lotte, Korean Embassy...