Globalization and Korean History Education in English in Korea

Abstract

This paper focuses on the intimate relationship between increased English immersion education in Korean universities and the Korean government’s globalization policy. University rankings led to an increase in the number of the foreign professors and foreign students. Korean history departments are no exceptions, and being able to lecture in English is often an important requirement for new hires and foreign professors is teaching in Korean history. We need to find various ways to ensure that there are enough Korean historians educated in Korea who are competent to teach in English. It seems to be essential to nurture scholars who are knowledgeable about both Korean and Western versions of Korean history and who are able to teach Korean history in English from these two perspectives. Additionally, it is important to increase the number of Korean history textbooks which Korean academics write and translate. Such textbooks convey Korean scholars’ perspectives on Korean history. It is not only Korean students, but also foreign students who study abroad, who are able to learn the Korean version of Korean history by using textbooks produced by Korean academics.