Overview of Korean Language Education in Russia

This paper aims at presenting current situation with Korean language education (KLE) in Russia. It was prepared by considering a wide scope of materials, and bases at the classification level, analysis of the related studies, Internet materials, objects (manuals, educational programs, advertisements) and situations the author faced, as well as the information received from Korean language educators and students. After introducing the historical background, the paper considers various spheres where the Korean language is taught (elementary, middle and high schools, University programs (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.), foreign language schools as well as KLE in non-educational institutions). The cases vary from the “Korean language as a second language” to Korean studies with over 30 related subjects taught. For each field, problematic spheres are traced, and in the conclusion, an attempt is made to determine the main problems general for the KLE in Russia and to suggest some methods to solve them. In the situation of the development of Russia-Korean relations and growing interest to the Korean Language and Korean culture, Korean language specialists should put their efforts to not just develop KL education but to develop it successfully and in a right way. The paper shows, that the current changes in the field demonstrate a definitely positive character, and the related problems have been steadily solved.