Korea’s First Korean Language Educational Institute & 93,000 Pro-Koreans The Yonsei Korean Language Institute (KLI) held its 200th graduation ceremony at the Yonsei 100th Memorial Hall on March 21st. Established in 1959, KLI was the first educational institute to teach the Korean language to foreigners. Over the past 53 years, more than 93,000 foreigners and overseas Koreans have studied at KLI, where they not only learn the Korean language but understand the Korean society and experience the Korean culture as well. A majority of the overseas and international pro-Koreans, including scholars, politicians, and journalists, have chosen Yonsei KLI for their learning and experience of Korea and Korean language. Through word-of-mouth, Yonsei KLI has become a-must course for foreigners and overseas Korean who seek to acquire the Korean language and culture. A representative alumna of KLI is Ms. Ida Daussy, a broadcaster who is from France and has outstanding command of the Korean language. In 1992, she entered KLI to learn more about the dynamics of Korea. She became nationalized as a Korean in 1996 and is taking the lead in introducing Korea to European countries through her publication and business. Another eminent alumnus is Mr. Wakamiya Yoshibumi, the editor-in-chief of The Asahi Shimbun. He studied Korean at KLI for one year in 1981. In 1993, he established the Korea and Japan Forum, in which major Korean and Japanese figures in political, financial, academic, and journal sectors participated. Mr. Haku Shinkun (Korean name: Baek Jin-hun), who is a Japanese politician and member of the House of Councilors, is also a symbolic alumnus of Yonsei KLI where he studied in 1986. While he acquired Japanese citizenship in 2003, he has put special effort in supporting the political rights of Korean Japanese in Japan. Other alumni include Dr. Won Han-gwang, descendant of the Underwood’s and former professor at Yonsei University; Dr. Hilary Finchum-Sung, professor of Korean Traditional Music at Seoul National University; Dr. Kim Yong, President of Dartmouth College and the first Asian-American to undertake the position of president at an Ivy League institution; and Dr. Kang Sang-jung, professor at the University of Tokyo.