Finnish Student Huttunen Sonja Sofia Finds

Beauty in Korean Language

 

-“ Learning Korean is hard but fun.”

 

 

As frequently noted by domestic media outlets, global interest in Korea and Korean culture has grown markedly the past several years. For international students, residents, and visitors to this country, Yonsei’s Korean Language Institute (KLI) is among the top choices for learning the Korean language.

 

 

 

One of these KLI students is Huttunen Sonja Sofia from Finland. Sonja first became interested in Korea in 2007, when a friend introduced her to a Korean television program. Deciding that she wanted to learn the Korean language, she enrolled as an exchange student at Ajou University in Korea. While there, her interest in the language and culture only grew, and she decided to extend herstay in Korea in order to do an internship and improve her language skills. She was thus led to enroll in the KLI due to its strong reputation. “The Yonsei KLI is one of the most popular institutes among foreigners who want to learn Korean,” she explained, continuing: “I had no doubts about where to attend, and I have never regretted my choice to come to Yonsei KLI.”

 

After beginning as a Level 2 student last September, Sonja is now taking a Level 4 course with an emphasis on speaking skills. For her, the biggest challenge is finding an environment in which to communicate solely in Korean. “While I’m more confident in listening and reading,” she said, “I feel that my speaking is lacking, as I have fewer chances to speak in Korean except during class time.”

 

As for the classes at KLI, Sonja believes that the strength of KLI lies in its excellent teachers: “The instructors pay careful attention to accommodate the students’ abilities by adjusting the learning pace. They are also easily approachable outside class hours, which makes talking to them in private comfortable.” She added: “Although the Korean language is difficult to learn compared to other languages—as a broad range of vocabulary is a prerequisite—I think it is fun to learn.”

 

When she is not taking language courses, Sonja enjoys playing basketball and volleyball and going to Korean music concerts. Being a sports enthusiast, she plans to major in Sports Marketing in graduate school. Sonja’s adopted Korean name is Song Noo-ri.