Korean Studies

  • How can I get to know Korea by studying documents in the original language?
  • Which role has Korea played in the history of East Asia?
  • Where does traditional and modern Korean culture figure within the East-Asian and global context?
  • What view of Korea does the Western world hold and how has it changed within the last 150 years?
  • Which political role do the two Korean countries play in East Asia and on a global level?
Anna Witzke

The great thing about the Faculty of East Asian Studies is that your uniqueness is accepted and valued, no matter how crazy you might be.

Anna Witzke Bachelor's degree
Anna Witzke
Anna Witzke is a third-year student of Korean Studies. She is pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree, 2-subject programme. Anna's second subject is Japanese Studies.

Wieso haben Sie sich damals für Ihr Studienfach entschieden?

Music opened the gates to the Korean world for me and I was spell-bound. This may sound lame to some, but I’m proud of it. K-Pop has a lot to offer, in my opinion, being the result of hard and diligent work – and I’ve always been crazy about Asia anyway. I always knew that I would one day follow my Asian calling. Korean music had torn my eyes and ears away from the manga shelves and broadened my horizons.

An welchen Stellen haben sich die Erwartungen an Ihr Studienfach erfüllt, an welchen nicht?

I never had any expectations, to be honest. Therefore, none has been fulfilled or not fulfilled. The unpleasant surprise of sorts was the fact that Korean still very much depends on Chinese characters. As a result, you have to struggle with them in the degree course. But it’s worth the effort, and it’s by far not as tedious as in Chinese or Japanese.

Was macht Ihnen in Ihrem Fach am meisten Spaß?

The ongoing learning process. I think that studying a language is very gratifying, because week by week you notice the progress you have made, the words you have learned, and many things more. Also, you meet many people at tandem parties, as tandem partners and at various Korea/Asia-related events. The great thing about the Faculty of East Asian Studies is that your uniqueness is accepted and valued, no matter how crazy you might be.

Was war bisher die größte Herausforderung?

Time management; because you mustn’t underestimate the time and effort it takes to study a language. Every week, there’s a new lesson with new grammar, new vocabulary and hanjas. To accommodate all these things and to study another subject at the same time really takes it out of you.

Was wollen Sie einmal damit werden?

Be happy. To be honest, I haven’t really given it much thought yet – which is not to say that I don’t have any ideas, because I do. But a career that is tailor-cut to accommodate a Korean studies graduate doesn’t exist, except perhaps lecturer. To me, it is important that I must be fluent in at least 5 languages by the time I get my Bachelor’s degree. Thus, I hope my future perspectives are going to be good.

Welche Tipps geben Sie den Leuten, die auch überlegen, Ihr Fach zu studieren?

Previous knowledge is certainly useful, but not crucial. You should be interested in the culture and language, because that will not only facilitate the first steps in the degree course, but also make it much easier in the long term. You should have the ability to pay attention in class, because you will be lost if you don’t. Stamina is also necessary. Most importantly – you should enjoy it!

Kristina Dudda

I like that we were introduced to the full range of topics covered by Korean studies (literature, history, religions, language) in the first semesters.

Kristina Dudda Bachelor's degree
Kristina Dudda
Kristina Dudda, sixth semester student in Korean Studies. She is pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree, 2-subject programme. Kristina’s second subject is Sinology.

Wieso haben Sie sich damals für Ihr Studienfach entschieden?

Asia (especially China, Korea and Japan) fascinated me even as a child. After my A-levels, I could take my pick. I therefore gathered information about many different degree courses and applied randomly for every programme that I could imagine pursuing. I knew from the outset that I wanted to study something that I’m interested in and where I would not have to struggle through. This is why I eventually opted for the two East-Asian languages that I’d found fascinating for a long time.

An welchen Stellen haben sich die Erwartungen an Ihr Studienfach erfüllt, an welchen nicht?

I didn’t have any particular expectations, apart from the fact that I wished to learn as much as possible about the cultures. Korean studies provides a very good overview over many subjects relevant for Korea; consequently, it met that requirement to a great extent. The scope of the language courses, however, is not quite so satisfying, especially when compared and contrasted with the very comprehensive language courses in sinology.

Was macht Ihnen in Ihrem Fach am meisten Spaß?

I like that we were introduced to the full range of topics covered by Korean studies (literature, history, religions, language) in the first semesters. In the following semesters, we had the option to choose courses according to our interests. I like this freedom of choice very much, as well as the small study groups (Korean studies is a relatively tiny degree course). Moreover, Korean studies is very unique and I am often asked about it at parties.

Was war bisher die größte Herausforderung?

The greatest challenge was/has been completing the degree course within the stipulated standard period of study. Both my degree courses are very demanding. Without excellent prior knowledge, which enables you to skip some of the language courses, it is almost impossible to complete these two degrees within 6 semesters.

Was wollen Sie einmal damit werden?

I am planning to pursue an academic career. That means I am going to enrol in the Master’s degree course after getting my Bachelor’s degree (which is something that I very much recommend, as only the Master’s degree gives you freedom of choice), and then I will continue to research, with the aim of getting a PhD. I can very well imagine working as a lecturer at university or as a teacher at a language school.

Welche Tipps geben Sie den Leuten, die auch überlegen, Ihr Fach zu studieren?

Definitely do something that you care about. Even if there is a class on occasion that you don’t find very interesting, you should try to carve out a small area of interest that you enjoy, or else a semester might be a drag.
Don’t give up the moment your degree course seems too difficult. A lot of work lies ahead, but the workload is not so great that it will overwhelm you. You must not procrastinate, and you should revise vocabulary during the holidays. As one of my fellow students used to say: “Studying is like swimming against the tide; if you stop doing the crawl, you’ll drown.”

Studiengänge in diesem Fach