World Languages and Cultures
Korean Language and Culture
Everything you need to know about the Korean Language and Culture Program at CWU
Welcome to the Korean Language and Culture Program at CWU
We offer a First-Year Korean, in small, student-centered classes. Our program offers classes on Korean language and Korean culture, arts, history, and society. We collaborate with other departments to bring students courses on Korean film, history, geography, and political science. Our classes also pair with the Asian Studies Major/Minor program as well as the Asian Business Minor which will assist you in a core introduction into contemporary Asia.
Why Take Korean?
- Korean is one of the world's oldest living languages: Korean is spoken by nearly 80 million native speakers worldwide. There are several different theories, linking the origins of the Korean language with Japanese, Chinese and even Tibetan, though most linguistics classify Korean as the largest language isolate in the world. The earliest historical records of the language implicate that there were two different languages spoken in Korea and it was only in the 7th century that the Silla dialect became the dominant language in all of Korea. Due to the separation of the two countries North and South Korea have evolved distinct vocabularies, pronunciations and grammar.
- Korean Pop Culture has become immensely popular in the last decade: K-Pop bands such as BTS, G-Dragon and Red Velvet which have gained huge international popularity, with fans traveling from overseas to see them in concert and sold out world tours. K-Pop is characterised by a mixture of Western sounds with an Asian performance. The most popular singles even come with their own choreography, including a key dance move, that fans can learn at home. The most well-known Korean dance move is from Psy’s Gangnam Style. As of 2018 the music video has a whopping 3 Billion views on YouTube and is one of the most watched YouTube videos of all time.
- Hangul is one of the youngest alphabets worldwide and linguists love it: Hangual is often described as being the “most perfect phonetic system” with an alphabet that fits the language like a glove. That is partially because the shape of the letters actually mimics the shape of your tongue while pronouncing them. The language is so popular with native speakers that both South and North Korea have a national holiday to honor their language.
Korean Culture Resource Center (KCRC)
A weekly space on-campus to meet, hang out, get help from your peers, and practice Korean! Learn About Korean Culture, Society, Movies, Dramas, K-Pop, and History. Meeting times change every quarter, so check in at the office to see when it's meeting this week!
Korean Study Abroad
Take advantage of study abroad programs and scholarships. Participate in many cultural events on our campus! Visit the Study Abroad website for current information.
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