Korean class prepares skilled workers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was already 2 p.m. and Rini Febriani, 16, was rushing to reach her Korean class.

She was a bit late, actually.

"But I couldn't miss this week's special class given by a native speaker who holds a master degree in Korean literature. I'm sure that learning the language directly from a native speaker will be more effective," said the first year student of State High School No. 27 school in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta.

The teacher, Yoon Yeohee, presented her first lessons on Friday at the school as part of a three-year joint program between the Korean Language Education Institute (LPBK) and the school.

Yoon said that she admired the rapid learning capacity of the students.

"Even though they have been studying the language for only two months, they are very quick to understand," Yoon said.

Before she took the job, the class had been taught by an Indonesian teacher hired by LPBK.

Yoon is helping the school's students to improve their Korean language skills on behalf of the International Korean Language Foundation, which sponsors Korean teachers to teach the language across the world.

State High School No. 27 is the only school in Jakarta that offers Korean language classes as part of their extracurricular activities.

The school's deputy headmaster Zainal Arifin said that the program aimed to produce skilled workers in the future.

"Forty percent of our students choose to work rather than further their studies at universities when they leave. So these lessons will be a value-added skill," he said.

The press and cultural attache of the Korean embassy, Kim Sang-Sool, added that the opportunity for the students to work in Korean companies was wide open.

He said that there were millions of Indonesian workers needed by Korean companies, some operating abroad and others doing business here.

"There are 800 Korean companies in Indonesia and the quota for Indonesian migrant workers entering Korea is about 14,000. It could help them to find a job," he explained.

Zainal said that when the class was first introduced in September last year, he did not imagine that the students would be interested.

"There were 100 students who applied for the class. Unfortunately, the school could only accommodate 40 students, who were in the first and second years, because they would only study the language for one year," Zainal said.

Another student taking the course, Dita Handayani, said that she hoped that the class would be extended another year to allow the students the chance to master the language.

"Too bad that the students here can only study it one year. I'm afraid that by the time we finish, we still won't be able to communicate in Korean," the 16-year-old said. (006)