Korean Studies Internet Discussion List KOREAN STUDIES REVIEW
Korean Composition, by Pong Ja Paik, Ji Young Kwak, and Ji Hyoun Choi, 2002. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. 334 pages. (ISBN 0-8248-2477-6).
Reviewed by Gerard Krzic
Ohio University
Korean Composition, by Pong Ja Paik, Ji Young Kwak, and Ji Hyoun Choi, is a welcome addition to the growing collection of Korean as a Second Language (KSL) textbooks. The text is advertised as the "first book in English for students of Korean language aimed not only at enhancing their writing skills and overall linguistic competence, but also at organizing and developing their ideas and thoughts with grammatically, stylistically, and culturally correct expressions." The authors are true to their intent: Korean Composition is a fine textbook designed to develop the writing skills of KSL learners across a variety of genres.
The text was written under the auspices of the Korean Language and Education Center (KLEAR) as part of the KLEAR textbook series. Prior to publication, the text was field-tested in KSL classes at the University of Hawaii, and based on student feedback, was revised to include English translations of the model writings and table of contents. Members of KLEAR further refined the chapters by adding new grammatical patterns and a Korean-English glossary.
Korean Composition is intended for college-level students who have completed at least beginning and intermediate levels of Korean or approximately five hundred hours of instruction. For students who are using the KLEAR Integrated Korean series, this text is recommended for those who have completed Advanced Intermediate 2. The text is based on the "Guided Writing" method of instruction, a methodology that provides students with ample structure to develop and organize their ideas in a coherent, culturally appropriate manner.
The text is divided into two sections: "Essential Composition" (gibon jangmun)[1] and "Advanced Composition" (gogeup jangmun). The five chapters in the Essential Composition section help students learn to write essays, diaries, letters, documents (including memoranda, invitations, cards and envelopes, and resumes), and expository writing about topics such as recreation, hobbies, and customs. The advanced section consists of five chapters to help students write descriptive compositions (impressions of literature, film and travel), poetry, newspaper articles, academic writing, and summaries. Two other sections at the end of the text include "Steps of Composition" and "Styles of Writing" (jangmunui gwajeong and pyohyeon bangbeop). Appendices include English translations of the model texts. In total, there are forty units in the book.
The general structure of each unit in the chapters includes the following format. First, students are provided with a brief introduction on "How To Write" the specific genre (e.g., diaries, letters, articles, etc.). Then, each unit begins with a list of approximately forty words, phrases, and idiomatic expressions to help students generate vocabulary and ideas to incorporate in their written work. The next two sections include useful grammar patterns and a practice component with guided question prompts, pictures, graphs, and paragraph completion exercises.
The above exercises are arranged in "ascending order of difficulty." The introductory exercises are designed to prepare the students for their writing task through a dialogue with the instructor. The grammatical suggestions and question prompts are provided to help students draft their paragraphs. The final step is for students to compose a complete creative piece of writing.
The content of the text is exemplified in Chapter One, Unit Four titled "Misunderstanding." At the beginning of the chapter, the students learn that the rhetorical pattern of written Korean follows a structure termed "kiseungjeongyeol" (i.e., introduce an issue, elaborate it, turn it in a decisive direction, offer a conclusion)[2]. Then, in the unit vocabulary, the learner is introduced to approximately forty lexical items such as "pyeonggyeon" (bias), "geobukhada" (to be awkward), and "chunggo" (advice). Three sample grammatical structures (i.e., must: " - dorok hada"; pretended: -neun/(eu)n cheokhada" ; almost: "-(eu)l bbeonhada") with examples follow. This grammatical preparation is followed by a "practice" section with a series of questions in Korean to guide the writer: 1) Have you ever misunderstood another person? 2) Why did you misunderstand that person? 3) How did you resolve that misunderstanding? Etc. Based on this practice, students begin their first writing task: narrating a personal experience involving a misunderstanding. The next writing task is an analysis of a dialogue illustrating a cultural misunderstanding between a Korean and an international student who has been asked too many personal questions in a Korean social setting. Finally, the teacher can exploit either a series of pictures depicting a cultural scene on a bus in Korea or a model composition to elicit an essay about cross-cultural misunderstandings.As with all texts for the second language classrooms, Korean Composition may require modifications by the instructor to meet the needs and interests of specific learners. For example, some instructors might find the text overly ambitious with too many genres of written work, too repetitive in format, and too bland in graphic presentation. However, these elements can be easily adjusted by selecting the appropriate units for the students, designing additional in-class activities (e.g., dicto-comp: composition by dictation) and supplementing with other material (e.g., from the internet, colorful brochures) to retain the interests of the young adult learners.
Unquestionably, the authors of Korean Composition have filled a great shortcoming in the KSL literature by providing a useful, comprehensive text for improving students' Korean writing skills and awareness of Korean rhetorical patterns. The latter is perhaps the greatest strength of the text, as students will learn to develop a "schema" for writing in rhetorical styles that are culturally and socially appropriate for the Korean context rather than relying on mental models or translations from their native cultures and languages. In addition, the range of genres and topics allows students to engage in social, personal, literary, and academic writing tasks. Through the use of the guided writing approach, students are given suitable direction for completing structured writing tasks while at the same time gaining the confidence to engage in more creative work. In conclusion, Korean Composition is an excellent text that should in the library of every KSL teacher and in the hands of every KSL learner.
[1] I've chosen here to use the new Korean government system for Romanization (except in the case of authors' names).
[2] A similar structure for Chinese and Japanese written discourse is described in J. Hinds (1990), "Inductive, deductive, quasi-inductive: Expository writing in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai" in U. Connor & A. M. Johns (Eds.), Coherence in writing: Research and pedagogical perspectives (pp. 87-110). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Citation:
Krzic, Gerard 2004
Review of Korean Composition, by Pong Ja Paik, Ji Young Kwak, and Ji Hyoun Choi, (2002)
Korean Studies Review 2004, no. 05
Electronic file: http://koreanstudies.com/ks/ksr/ksr04-05.htm
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