Korean Course Information

Placement Exam

Contact the program coordinator, Jinsol Cosper A request to be placed into a Spring course will ONLY be considered if submitted before November 10th of the Fall semester. Requests to be placed into Fall courses must be submitted before April 10th of the Spring semester.

Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all core courses for the minor.

KOR 1501 - Beginning Course in Korean I

The goal of this course is to prepare you to use the target language appropriately in the Korean culture and society. In other words, the course is aimed at helping you to be able to communicate in the language instead of merely knowing information about it. Thus, course content is focused on using Korean in various contexts to accomplish common tasks, and it is important for students to prepare and review carefully for each session.

By the end of the course, students will be familiar with basic language usage in Korean and they will have developed basic linguistic strategies to convey meaning and express themselves in everyday situations. Furthermore, you will have learned a considerable amount of information about the Korean culture, including topics related to the way of life.

KOR 1502 - Beginning Course in Korean II

This course is designed for students who finished KOR 1501. The goal of this course is to prepare you to use the target language appropriately in the Korean culture and society. In other words, the course is aimed at helping you to be able to communicate in the language instead of merely knowing information about it. Thus, course content is focused on using Korean in various contexts to accomplish common tasks, and it is important for students to prepare and review carefully for each session.

By the end of the course, students will be familiar with basic language usage in Korean and they will have developed basic linguistic strategies to convey meaning and express themselves in everyday situations. Furthermore, you will have learned a considerable amount of information about the Korean culture, including topics related to the way of life.

KOR 2301 - Second Course in Korean I

This course is designed for students who finished KOR 1502. The goal of this course is to enhance the knowledge and skills acquired in KOR 1502 and achieve intermediate low-level proficiency in the four skills of speaking, writing, listening, and reading in modern Korean by the end of the semester.

The Course objectives are:
a) to enhance knowledge and skills of formal/informal spoken/written expressions in modern Korean,
b) to extend knowledge and skills of Korean vocabulary,
c) to achieve knowledge and skills of extended grammar rules in the modern Korean language,
d) to enhance understanding of the Korean language in a cultural context

KOR 2302 - Second Course in Korean II

This course is designed to further develop communicative skills in Korean as well as insights into Korean culture for those who have successfully completed KOR 2302. Students will practice using Korean appropriately in given contexts and attain proficiency that is equivalent to the first-year level of Korean. It is a proficiency-oriented course, covering all the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

KOR 3306: Introduction to Korean Culture

The goal of this course is to provide students with a foundational understanding of Korean culture and society through an engaging and dynamic learning experience. Students will explore key topics such as Korean history, food culture, shared ideology, the education system, entertainment, and traditions. The course features interactive group discussions, hands-on cultural activities like Korean cooking demonstrations, role-play scenarios, and media analysis, making it both informative and enjoyable. With opportunities to experience traditional customs and contemporary pop culture firsthand, students will gain a deep appreciation of Korea’s unique cultural identity and its global influence.

KOR 4300: Advanced Korean

The goal of this course is to help students further improve their Korean language skills and deepen their cultural understanding by building on the proficiency gained in second-year Korean. Through focused practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, students will enhance their ability to communicate effectively in diverse situations. They will engage with authentic texts and media to explore contemporary Korean society, while also developing critical thinking and analytical skills. Active participation, collaboration, and independent study are essential, as the course aims to prepare students to use Korean at an advanced level and communicate respectfully across different backgrounds.

CMLL 2306 - World Cinema: Korean Cinema

This course introduces the analysis of Korean films & K-Dramas both as works of art, approachable in formal terms as meaning-producing aesthetic structures, and as situated cultural productions, demanding to be understood in their historical, social, and political contexts. Incorporating a substantial amount of group discussion within a lecture format, the course aims to create opportunities to identify, contextualize, interpret, and reflect critically on a wide range of social, ethical, political, philosophical and psychological issues and problems that face the modern world citizen and are represented in Korean cinema and K-dramas.