유학생을 위한 기초·교양 강좌의 운영 현황과 과제 ― 연세대학교의 경우

Abstract

In recent years, South Korea has become a popular destination for higher education across the globe. Although the rate slowed down after 2011, the number of international students coming to South Korea to study in college or higher academic institutions has been increasing exponentially since the beginning of the century. For decades, many young South Korean students have chosen academic institutions abroad for quality education. However, the number of international students coming to Korea to study was limited, causing imbalance in the international service trade for the South Korean government. To alleviate the worsening trade deficit in education, the South Korean government launched ‘Study Korea Project’ in 2005 to position South Korea as an attractive destination for higher education. Coincidentally, various types of Korean cultural products started to garner international fame around the same time. The global presence of South Korean corporates such as Samsung and LG helped revamping the image of South Korea. As everything took effect simultaneously, many Korean academic institutions enjoyed the surge of international students. International students, however, found South Korea and its academic institutions difficult to adjust due to their poor language proficiency, lack of understanding of the Korean culture and limited cultural sensitivity of Korean students, staff, and faculty members. The increasing volume of international students is a big challenge to any institutions in South Korea. In order to secure their academic success, it is imperative to help international students understand the Korean culture and its communication style so that they can fully integrate into the South Korean higher education scene. Customized general education courses and programs for international students should be available as well. In this paper, three courses provided to international students in Yonsei University are illuminated; ‘Basic Korean Writing for Foreign Students,’ ‘Inter-Cultural Communication for International Students,’ and ‘Yonsei101 for International Students.’ Detailed information on each course will be provided as well as problems and shortcomings detected during the operation. As do so, new approaches and suggestions on educating international students in South Korean academic institutions will be explored.