German as Foreign Language in Korea

Abstract

In 19th century, during the Late Period of the Chosun Dynasty, when Regent Heungseon Daewongun’s national closed-door policy ceased and Western civilization came to Chosun, schools and universities teaching Western culture and education were mainly established by foreign missionaries. In 1889 during an age of fluctuation, the first German education system and school was established in Korea. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1919, German was particularly spotlighted as an important technical language in the field of medical science and law. This was the case until the liberation from Japanese colonization. However, after the Korean War in 1950, English was treated as the most important foreign language. German was the second most popular language in Korean high schools and universities until 1980. But by the 1990s, the influence of English as the number one foreign language was strengthened in Korean education in foreign language and society. Also neighboring countries’ languages such as Chinese and Japanese were becoming popular among students and society. Thus the number of students learning those languages increased. In this social tendency, it is true that German as a foreign language is becoming less popular among high school students and undergraduates. To understand the significance of German specifically in Korean foreign language education, firstly this study covers how the Korean foreign language education has developed during last decades. Then, it covers high schools and universities as educational institution teaching German in Korea and the Goethe Institute as a private institution. Thirdly, it handles German education associations among Korean-German societies and their research activities and trend, especially regarding the endeavors of invigorating the German language. Lastly, when it comes to crisis on dept. German Language and Literature, this study seeks what kinds of plans are available to get through these critical situations.