2019 Activity Report
March Activity Report
March 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
In South Korea, the school year usually starts on March 1 every year, but this year it was postponed for two weeks to March 16. However, there was no sign of an end to the COVID-19 coronavirus situation, so it was postponed for another two weeks to prevent further spread. The Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has restricted access to its campus facilities and canceled all planned ceremonies (entrance ceremonies, orientation, freshman welcome parties, etc.) as well as study sessions and other events that carry the possibility of mass transmission. All events related to Japan that were scheduled to be held have also been cancelled. The GJO Seoul Office also decided to extend its closing period to prevent the spread of the disease. I requested that students contact me through social media or e-mail.
South Korea is calling for stronger social distancing. The GJO Seoul office encourages international students to actively cooperate with the South Korean government’s campaign for safety.
February Activity Report
February 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
The Japan Foundation Seoul Culture Center offers cultural courses designed by Japanese and Korean experts to introduce Japanese culture that is not well known in Korea. The Seoul office has been introducing these courses to students interested in Japan and encouraging them to participate online, as expert-led courses ensure accurate information. In the 2020 Winter Course, there was a course on ancient Japanese history. There was one student who was always interested in classical Japanese literature, so I thought it would be a useful course for him and decided to take it together with him. However, as the COVID-19 coronavirus became prevalent, events that attracted a large number of people were canceled one after another to prevent its spread, and unfortunately, the lectures on ancient history were also canceled. Other events I was looking forward to, such as the woodblock print exhibition, were also cancelled.
In accordance with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response manual, we instructed our staff to refrain from visiting the Seoul office unless necessary, and to communicate with the coordinator by email first. I hope this situation will settle down soon.
January Activity Report
January 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
“If you have any questions, please ask me. Don’t try to solve the problem by guessing with your friends, ask me.” This is what I always tell students studying Japanese. They can ask me questions in bulk, and if they want to solve them on the spot, I recommend them to ask me through SNS without hesitating.
During the winter vacation, the number of students who ask questions via SNS increased compared to the number of students who come to the office to ask questions. Most of the questions were about differences in meaning and nuance of sentences in a text, but there were also questions about the love vocabulary of J-pop lyrics and Japanese expressions, so it is interesting for me to answer these.
The content of SNS communication with students is not only about Japanese study. If you boast about your own studies, you can encourage students so they can improve their motivation to study. It is also a window for the latest information on events related to Japan. Carefully selected news from Japan and Korea is introduced to cultivate education and knowledge on Japanese sociocultural aspects.
The Korean word “jagsimsam-il (作心三日)” has the same meaning as the Japanese word “Mikka-Bouzu”, which means a person who can’t stick to anything. As the first two Chinese characters (meaning “build” and “heart”) of the phrase suggest, in order to continue to do one thing, the will of the individual is important, but I think that the support of the people around them is one of the driving forces in building their hearts. I would like to support the students who are studying hard during winter vacation.
December Activity Report
December 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
In June, I created and distributed verb conjugation cards for students who are having trouble with verb conjugation, which are very useful. Not only do they help students learn, but they also help reduce stress from studying by playing with friends. One student said, “If I had used this type of learning method from the beginning, I might have memorized the numbers without stress and trouble” so I thought that if learners used this method of learning with their friends from the basic steps, they would naturally acquire “reading, writing, listening and speaking” skills.
Those who have mastered kana first learn “nouns” and then “numbers”. I decided to make cards that they can use during this time. I made a total of eight sets of cards and made characters from different parts of the world and different professions so that students could learn at least eight different countries and professions.
A cute picture of the character was added to the front for visual effects and role-playing. I chose familiar names so as not to waste energy in remembering names. With these cards, students can practice saying “I am (Name).”, “Is this/that person (Name)?”, and “Yes, it is./No, it’s not (Name).”. They can also practice “I’m from (country).” and “I’m from (country).” with pictures of national flags. Students can also practice conversations using “What do you do?” with pictures of occupations. With these, the students can now master “noun” exercises.
Next was “numbers”. I had the students use their phone numbers once they could say numbers from 0 to 9. They practiced using the phrase “What’s (name)’s phone number?”, “It is **** – ***.”. Next were two-digit numbers. I made cards with (Age) next to “Name”. Using the question, “How old are you?”, students can use these to make conversation sentences and practice numbers. 20 year-olds say “Hatachi”, an irregular form, so I put it in for practice.
One of the troublesome steps for foreigners in Japanese is learning the special readings for 1-10 days and some dates. I made birthday dialogue to overcome this. Once you master the date, all you have to do is master time. First students can talk about their schedule using particles “from ~ to ~”. If they can talk about their schedules, “What time is it now?” will be easy. Once they’ve learned “from ~ to ~”, they can take it one step further and practice saying how long it takes from home to school or work. The cards will succeed when the students can make a question sentence saying “It takes (means of transportation) from home to school (Time required).” Listening to numbers is very difficult. Students can expect to see results in their hearing and speaking by practicing talking from themselves and listening to other people.
Like verb cards, you write the answer on the back of the card so that you can check the answer immediately if you don’t understand. I wrote the words in kanji and furigana so students can understand how to pronounce them. They can use them as answer sheets when practicing to make their speech into actual words.
If students change cards every time until they master nouns and numbers, one student can use all eight cards. Like verb cards, I think students will use them in their own ways in addition to the usage I explained. I hope these cards will help learners who are starting to study Japanese.
November Activity Report
November 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
Recently, relations between Japan and South Korea have not been very smooth in terms of politics and the economy. But at least all the students I have met hope for improved relations between the two countries. Against this backdrop, in November, the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies invited Mr. SUZUKI Akira of Rikkyo University and held a seminar to the topic of “The Footprint and Environment of ‘Hypocrisy’ Prisoners of War”. ”Hypocrisy” refers to prisoners of war in the Satsuma domain in the 17th century, and this seminar aimed to take a look at the image of Korean people in literature. I introduced this seminar to the students, but it was difficult for them as it was all conducted in Japanese, and it was a difficult topic. So I decided to participate and summarize the material to teach them.
The seminar lasted for two hours. It was not a seminar for the general public, so everything was conducted in Japanese, and it was difficult to understand without background knowledge. I have learned that Japan and South Korea are inseparable from the past, for better or for worse, and that the knowledge we generally know is not the whole of our relationship. Mr. Suzuki’s cheerful talk on a widely unknown aspect of Japanese and Korean history made me feel like I was traveling in a time machine.
As you might expect, it’s impossible to explain all the details of a two-hour seminar to students. However, I wanted to tell them about the little-known history and “The Tale of the Heike”. I think the students who were unable to attend this seminar are looking forward to hearing about it. I would like to make an effort to convey the story of this seminar to the students as if it were an old tale.
October Activity Report
October 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
The GJO Seoul Office supports students studying in Korea as well as those planning to study abroad. I support them in their daily lives so that they can have an enjoyable study abroad life without any inconveniences, such as having difficulties in their daily lives and making language exchange friends.
I received a request email from a student who is planning to study abroad. He was having trouble with the procedures for studying abroad due to an error, but he couldn’t contact the admissions officer. As the GJO office cannot directly handle the content, I contacted the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) on their behalf.HUFS has several departments responsible for studying abroad. You can visit them in person or consult with them by phone or e-mail. First of all, I made a phone call to inquire about the contents of the consultation from the prospective student. The staff was very helpful and showed me how to fix the error, but unfortunately it didn’t work. I went to the International Admissions Management team the next day and talked to the person in charge about the error, and he explained the cause and the solution in detail and wrote it down. He also gave me a business card so that I could email the person in charge directly, as there might have been a problem on the server about not being able to contact him by email. I e-mailed those answers to the students.
Studying and living abroad are challenges that bring different expectations and worries than that of traveling. If you get stuck in the preparation process, your anxiety can increase. In such cases, if you have someone you can rely on, your anxiety can be relieved. I was very happy to be able to help not only current exchange students but also those who are planning to study abroad. Also, I am very grateful for the staff at the school who responded quickly. The GJO Seoul Office will continue to support international students in their enjoyable study abroad lives.
September Activity Report
September 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
AHN Soyon
Every year in September, the “Japan-Korea Exchange Festival” is held in Japan and South Korea. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the festival, which is a representative event of private-sector exchanges. In order to entertain a large number of students, since summer we have provided not only information on the Japan-Korea exchange festival but also information on volunteer recruitment.
I was a little worried because the relationship between Japan and South Korea has been politically cold, but the venue was full of hot energy. Security has become stricter, including inspections of belongings, but the venue was just as busy as usual. Booths hosting kimono experiences and traditional games were very popular. There was a line at the Epson booth as they made name stickers. The Bandai booth was popular among children because they could play with different toys. At the Nagasaki booth, there was a tasting event for udon and castella. Other booths also attracted attention through their interesting attractions.
The students who participated in the festival said, “It was fun to participate last year, so I wanted to participate as a volunteer this year. I was disappointed that I failed the recruitment, but I would like to try again next year.” “I remember when I participated in cosplay here the year before last. A friend who participated with me at that time will come back after finishing his military service at the end of this year. I want to participate together again next year.” “I enjoyed the kimono experience. I want to upload it on Instagram, but I hope Japan-ROK relations will improve soon.” and “Actually, the relationship between Japan and Korea is bad, so I hesitated to come here. But I’m glad I came. I realized that ordinary citizens have the power to solve some things that politics can’t.”
After listening to everyone’s impressions, I thought that we should make a lot more opportunities to meet each other. Through these events, I hope that Japanese and Korean people will understand each other and build a bright future of Japan-ROK relations.
