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Korean Language Education and Korean Studies in Bulgaria
Sofia University, a national university founded in 1888, is in Bulgaria, a country in the southeastern Balkans. Bulgaria established diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1990, and Korean language education started at Sofia University in 1992. Over the past 31 years, the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University and Korean language education in Bulgaria have achieved notable growth. In recent years, Bulgarian teenagers and those in their 20s have formed fandoms for BTS and other K-pop groups, and along with their growing interest in Korea, more Bulgarians are now willing to learn Korean.
Currently, four universities besides Sofia University and elementary, middle, and high schools in Bulgaria offer Korean language classes as regular and non-regular courses. The number of applicants taking the Korean Language Proficiency Test administered by the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University is increasing every year in line with the expansion of Korean language education in the country. Based on the fair recognition of the importance of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), students who earned Level 3 have been allowed to enroll in the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University without taking the written entrance examination since 2021. It was the first time that a European university offering a Korean studies course had recognized TOPIK and replaced it with its own entrance examination. This shows that Sofia University fully reconizes TOPIK and that Korea's reputation has gone up along with the expansion of Korean language education in Bulgaria. In addition, Korean was added to the foreign languages for the Bulgarian university entrance exam in 2022, which allow students to choose one foreign language from Korean, Japanese, English, German, and French.
Currently, there are 70 undergraduates and 2 doctoral students in the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University. It has nine full-time professors, which is the largest number of full-time professors in a Korean studies department in Eastern Europe. This shows that Sofia University recognizes the importance of the Korean Studies Department and wants to further develop it. It also shows the potential for Korean studies to establish itself as an academic discipline in Bulgaria by interacting with mainstream Bulgarian academia on an equal footing and strengthening education and research networking.
A two-day conference on Korean studies and a workshop for university students were held at the Oriental Language and Culture Center of Sofia University on May 26 and 27. The international conference, which was part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University, brought scholars from Europe, the United States, and South Korea who participated both online and offline. The conference, supported by the Academy of Korean Studies, had the theme of "In the Focus of Korean Language, Culture and Society - 20 years of Tradition in the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University." All the 21 papers presented at the conference will be compiled and published in a single volume by Sofia University Press.
The day after the conference, a workshop of the students of the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University was organized under the guidance of Professor Park Noja from the University of Oslo in Norway. The topic of the workshop was "South Korea's Migrants: between Bloodline Nationalism and Citizen Community Belonging." Students read papers related to the topic and organized their thoughts before the workshop. The Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University does not have any professors specialized in history or sociology, so it was the first time that the department organized a student workshop on such a topic by inviting foreign specialists from abroad. The students' interest and enthusiasm for the workshop exceeded expectations, and many felt the time for questions and answers was insufficient.
Currently, four universities besides Sofia University and elementary, middle, and high schools in Bulgaria offer Korean language classes as regular and non-regular courses. The number of applicants taking the Korean Language Proficiency Test administered by the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University is increasing every year in line with the expansion of Korean language education in the country. Based on the fair recognition of the importance of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), students who earned Level 3 have been allowed to enroll in the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University without taking the written entrance examination since 2021. It was the first time that a European university offering a Korean studies course had recognized TOPIK and replaced it with its own entrance examination. This shows that Sofia University fully reconizes TOPIK and that Korea's reputation has gone up along with the expansion of Korean language education in Bulgaria. In addition, Korean was added to the foreign languages for the Bulgarian university entrance exam in 2022, which allow students to choose one foreign language from Korean, Japanese, English, German, and French.
Currently, there are 70 undergraduates and 2 doctoral students in the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University. It has nine full-time professors, which is the largest number of full-time professors in a Korean studies department in Eastern Europe. This shows that Sofia University recognizes the importance of the Korean Studies Department and wants to further develop it. It also shows the potential for Korean studies to establish itself as an academic discipline in Bulgaria by interacting with mainstream Bulgarian academia on an equal footing and strengthening education and research networking.
A two-day conference on Korean studies and a workshop for university students were held at the Oriental Language and Culture Center of Sofia University on May 26 and 27. The international conference, which was part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University, brought scholars from Europe, the United States, and South Korea who participated both online and offline. The conference, supported by the Academy of Korean Studies, had the theme of "In the Focus of Korean Language, Culture and Society - 20 years of Tradition in the Center for Korean Studies at Sofia University." All the 21 papers presented at the conference will be compiled and published in a single volume by Sofia University Press.
The day after the conference, a workshop of the students of the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University was organized under the guidance of Professor Park Noja from the University of Oslo in Norway. The topic of the workshop was "South Korea's Migrants: between Bloodline Nationalism and Citizen Community Belonging." Students read papers related to the topic and organized their thoughts before the workshop. The Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University does not have any professors specialized in history or sociology, so it was the first time that the department organized a student workshop on such a topic by inviting foreign specialists from abroad. The students' interest and enthusiasm for the workshop exceeded expectations, and many felt the time for questions and answers was insufficient.
In addition to Korean language education and Korean studies research, Sofia University plays a major role in the dissemination and promotion of Korean culture in Bulgaria. On June 11 this year, the students of the Department of Korean Studies at the university organized a Korean Culture Festival. In the morning, they ran Korean cultural activity programs such as calligraphy, samulnori, traditional Korean plays, Korean food, origami, and Jeju Island dolharbang making. The afternoon programs included taekwondo, K-pop, introduction of hanbok, samulnori, and seonban seoljanggu, and a concert. The event drew about 300 people, including students and professors from Sofia University, middle and high school students, and the general public.
Korean language education and Korean studies in Bulgaria, built around Sofia University, are achieving increasingly greater results, and the university is endeavoring to revitalize and deepen Korean studies through academic communication and exchange with scholars from Europe and South Korea. The efforts of local professors to foster the next generation of Korean studies and cultivate core personnel, as well as the continued interest and support from South Korea, will ensure the stable, continuous development of Korean studies in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe.
Korean language education and Korean studies in Bulgaria, built around Sofia University, are achieving increasingly greater results, and the university is endeavoring to revitalize and deepen Korean studies through academic communication and exchange with scholars from Europe and South Korea. The efforts of local professors to foster the next generation of Korean studies and cultivate core personnel, as well as the continued interest and support from South Korea, will ensure the stable, continuous development of Korean studies in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe.
