Middlebury College students learn Korean with BTS

The Korea Foundation on Tuesday said that it has launched a lecture series using ‘Learn! KOREAN with BTS’ at Middlebury College, a liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont that is known for its foreign language programs.

In August, the KF, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies announced that they were working together to develop and provide Korean language learning programs. The e-school lecture at Middlebury College is the first project by the three groups.

The lectures are conducted jointly by professors of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Middlebury College. The textbook, “Learn! KOREAN with BTS,” was co-developed by HUFS professor Heo Yong and Big Hit Edu to help K-pop fans learn the Korean language through BTS-related cultural content.

“In general, the maximum number of students in a foreign language class are 14, whereas for the BTS Korean class it is being conducted with 20,” Sahie Kang, a language professor of Middlebury College, said in a statement. She added that class enjoys a 100-percent attendance rate.

According to the KF, freshmen at Middlebury College are taking a three-hour online class twice a week. The foundation added that the classes are taught by professors in Korea through live streaming despite the 13-hour time difference.

Other universities overseas, including Thang Long University in Vietnam, Ecole Normale Superieure and EDHEC Business School in France, have also launched the same program this year. Additional universities in Vietnam and Egypt will open e-lectures starting mid-October.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)