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.
What made you choose this degree programme?
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.
In which respect have or haven’t your expectations been fulfilled?
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.
Which aspect of your degree programme do you enjoy most?
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.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
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.
What would you like to become after completing your degree?
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.
Which advice would you like to give to students who consider enrolling in this degree programme?
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, sixth semester student in Korean Studies. She is pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree, 2-subject programme. Kristina’s second subject is Sinology.
What made you choose this degree programme?
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.
In which respect have or haven’t your expectations been fulfilled?
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.
Which aspect of your degree programme do you enjoy most?
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.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
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.
What would you like to become after completing your degree?
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.
Which advice would you like to give to students who consider enrolling in this degree programme?
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.”
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