In AY 2017, GLS initiated a four-year pilot of Korean language in response to student demand. Students completing Korean I through Korean IV will have the opportunity to attain a basic level of competency in spoken and written modern standard Korean, with particular emphasis on consolidating basic conversational skills and reading.
Our Korean curriculum uses innovative pedagogical methods integrating language and culture at all levels. Students engage in learning activities that enable them to become proficient in aural comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. In addition to the program of language study, GSL offers several courses in East Asian Studies (taught in English) that take up Korean culture, history and society.
Students can use their Korean subject credits toward a HASS concentration in “Other Languages” or “Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies.”
The surge of interest in Korean at MIT is a phenomenon seen on campuses across the US — a combined result of the global “wave” of Korean popular culture, the growth of career opportunities, South Korea’s reputation for innovation in science and technology, and the dynamism of inter-Asian linkages in the region. The division of North and South Korea is also one of the major unresolved international issues of our time.
