HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF UKRAINIAN STUDIES AT THE HANKUK UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES: ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

The article deals the achievements of the Department of Ukrainian Studies for 12 years of its work, as well as outlines the prospects for the future. The peculiarities of the education system in the Republic of Korea, the form of education, the attitude of students to the educational process, the problems of the first years of teaching the Ukrainian language at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies are highlighted. Today there are 3 teachers and 2 lecturers and about 100 students at the Department of Ukrainian Studies. The education system in Korean universities is built on the American model: training lasts 4 years. The academic year coincides with the calendar year. The first semester begins on March 1 and lasts exactly 16 weeks, as well as the second semester begins on September 1 and also lasts 16 weeks. The Department of Ukrainian Studies trains only bachelors. The curriculum at the Department of Ukrainian Studies meets the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Korea and the general university regulations on study at the faculties of regional studies. Disciplines taught at the Faculty of Ukrainian Studies include Ukrainian language (beginning, intermediate and advanced level), history of Ukraine, culture, literature, art, politics, economics, translation, as well as comparative disciplines related to Ukraine in local lore, philosophy and pedagogical aspects. Another aspect to focus on is the peculiarities of Korean students’ education and their attitude to education in general. Features of the Korean education system related to Confucianism, so Korean students: (a) prefer grammar-/vocabulary-based rote learning to higher-order thinking (problem-solving, critical thinking, etc.); (b) are passive absorbers of information, rather than active discoverers; (c) are unable to use the target language; and (d) have their ability for creativity and risk-taking burned out of them by a hierarchical, teachercentered, test-driven, memory-based education system. Special attention is paid to scientific and methodological activities (development and publication their own textbooks) and publishing activities at the Department of Ukrainian Studies, in particular, the Korean Journal of Ukrainian Studies (KJUS, 2020) – the first journal of Ukrainian studies not only in Korea but also in the world. Among the prospects that need to be addressed as a matter of priority are: certification of knowledge of Korean students, the problem of state scholarships (exchange programs at the expense of Ukraine) and support of Ukrainian studies centers abroad by state institutions of Ukraine. Key words: Department of Ukrainian Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, education system, Korean students, Ukrainian as a foreign language.