[KS] littering streets of Moscow and Petersburg....

[Andrei Lankov]

>Like Gari, I too have been impressed with the Korean ability of those who
have been trained in language programs in Russia.  I'd be
>interested in learning more about how to account for their success.
Perhaps some of the native speakers of Russian on board have
>some thoughts, here?  I'm not aware of anything structurally in the Slavic
group that would make its speakers more naturally able
>with Korean than speakers of a Latinized Germanic tongue like English; I
can't imagine that an elaborate case system would make
>much difference.  Quality of textbooks?  Teachers?  A much fuller level of
immersion in Korean even while in Russia?  It occurs to me
>that a possibility is simply that the Russian-trained scholars whom
Anglophone/W. European academics come into contact with
>represent the cream of the crop of the system, and that we just don't get
to see the "failed Koreanists littering the streets" of
>Moscow. Is this in fact the case? I appeal to Russian-born colleagues on
the list for more info about their experience of learning
>Korean. (A side issue: two years ago I did have a chance to meet some
foreign students at Kim Il Sung University.  I'm sure there is
>next to no information on this, but I'd be curious how learners of Korean
do who are in North Korea vs. South Korea.)

Dear Stephen, Gari and list members,

Thank you for your kind words about us, Russia-trained Korean specialists. I
am not sure whether we deserve them. There are at least three reasons for
the above mentioned phenomena. First of all, due to a number of cultural and
economic reasons (long story), from the 1960s onwards the study of foreign
languages and, especially, of Asian languages has been very prestigious in
USSR/Russia. It is still largely the case. This means that the Korean
(Chinese, Japanese etc) departments chose only good students, whose high
school academic records are impressive enough. This also means that students
tend to be highly motivated. Secondly, the entrance exam system in Russian
universities effectively requires every aspiring Koreanist to demonstrate
very good knowledge of English. In fact, they have to be nearly fluent in
English - otherwise their chances to pass exam are zero. This means that
future students begin to learn foreign languages at very early stage - at
early teens, if not earlier. And, last but not least, the traditions of
teaching Korean are quite old. In Petersburg, the unbroken tradition goes
back to the 1930s, in Moscow - to the 1940s. Needless to say, the methods of
teaching were also devised not for heritage speakers of Korean who have
always been a minority (even if active and highly motivated one), but for
absolute beginners with no Korean or East Asian background.

Best regards

Dr. Andrei Lankov
China & Korea Centre,
Faculty of Asian Studies,
Australian National University,
ACT, 0200, Australia
fax 61-2-6125-3144