A Belarusian in Love with Traditional Korean Culture

 

KLI Student Viktoryia

 

 

Viktoryia, a twenty-two-year-old from Belarus, is a passionate student of Korean language and culture. Her interest in Korean was triggered by videos of Korean traditional drumming and mask dances, which she viewed on Youtube. She then began to investigate Korean traditional culture at school, learning about Korean myths, percussion instruments, mask dances, and Buddhism. Eventually she visited Korea to experience the culture firsthand. Her admiration for Korean culture has only grown; today, she is an active member of the pungmul (Korean drumming) club at Yonsei.

 

 

To experience Korean culture and learn the language, Viktoryia chose Yonsei’s Korean Language Institute (KLI). “Besides helping students learn the language,” she said, “KLI provides us with opportunities to experience diverse Korean cultural activities, through classes on cooking, literature, and mask dance.” She added: “Motivation is a key factor when learning something. Experiencing the culture alongside learning the language is a good motivation when studying the language.”

 

Learning Korean is challenging, and Viktoryia admits that she has difficulties understanding complex grammar and vocabulary when discussing Korean society and economics during her language courses. Nevertheless, for her, the sense of achievement in learning outweighs the difficulties. She feels this sense of achievement when she uses grammar correctly or understands Korean television programs without the help of subtitles.

 

As for her remaining time at KLI, she hopes “to have more simulation exercises to practice the grammar and vocabulary learned in class.” She also said: “It would be even better if we could practice with Koreans.” Viktoryia concluded the interview by expressing her desire “to contribute to better relations between Korea and Belarus” and emphasizing her resolve to “persevere in mastering the Korean language.”