Some classes are held for exchange and international students every Saturday at 11 A.M. in Dongguk University for free. They are provided by Haram which is a club teaching Korean for 13 years. If you join the class, you could choose the class depending on your levels; Beginner, Basic, Intermediate class. Here are six experiences of Korean and foreigner students

About Haram from Korean Students

Choi Jeong-moon (Economics, Junior)

I have been the member of the club for a year. I belong to Education Bureau and I teach class. I could figure out what was hard on foreign students when they learn Korean. Especially in Intermediate class, we usually make cultural exchange; go around the table to talk about one topic. Haram is different from other clubs in school since we do have sense of duty.

Ko Hyeong-bin (Division of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Freshman)

I belong to Management Bureau and we manage Korean students and prepare events and activities. At first, I was surprised to meet international students who speak Korean well and even my Korean friends didn’t notice he was foreigner. We got close one other and we had a housewarming party. Many foreign students have class in the late afternoon and do not have much time to meet Korean friends. I recommend Haram for them.

Kim Hyeong-jin (Division of English, Freshman)

Since my dream is to be an English teacher, I would like to do educational service. It seemed interesting to teach Korean for foreigners when I saw the poster of the club. I just joined in this semester and I am participating classes before deciding bureau. It is an unusual volunteer work to Korean students. Also, it is a rare opportunity for foreign students to learn Korean.

Experience in Haram from Exchange and International Students

Imane Holuigue (Political Science, Senior) from Université de Lille, France

On the first of day of orientation the teacher from Haram presented the club. I am taking Basic Korean class in Dongguk this semester, but I needed more learning. I joined the first day of the club and it was interesting, so I kept joining. Other international students also agree with me and that is why we keep coming back.

On October 5th was sports day; running, rope jumping, and playing dodge ball. I expect that this would help for learning since we can get closer and know each other well. Plus, it is careful that there are different levels. You can have a social life in Korea when you don’t know anyone.

Chen and Wu Jiakun (from left to right) in Intermediate Class

Chen Hsiang Nerng (graduate student of Division of Electronics and Electrical Engineering) from Malaysia

I have participated the class for 2 years. We learn Korean that we can utilize in real life and outside of that there are lots of activities including Temple stay, cup painting and picnic at Hangang River. I have learned exact pronunciation in the class though I studied Korean for years in my country. It is important that the class is totally free, and all of the Korean teachers are nice and kind.

Wu Jiakun (graduate of Department of Korean Language and Literature) from China

As I am from China, I mostly hung out with other Chinese students. There was less opportunity to communicate with Korean. However, in Haram I could make many Korean friends in such an informal atmosphere. Not only I learned inter siot (사이시옷), one of the rules Korean spelling, but also experienced dining culture in the club for 3 years.

If you need more information, please visit Haram official site

http://dguharam.com/

Hwang Hae-su

dhfl00@dongguk.edu