History of Korean Langauge Program at Indiana University

Korean language courses at IU were first offered in 1962 when the department of East Asian Languages and Literatures was established.

After a few years of experiment, Korean language instruction discontinued in the 70's.

Korean language instruction was resumed in 1981 with the financial support of the East Asian Studies Center and Korean language courses were offered in a limited capacity.

Prof. Kenneth Wells (Korean History) began a full-fledged Korean language program in 1985.

In 1993, Prof. Hyo Sang Lee was hired as a tenure-line faculty for Korean language program. Prof. Lee was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999.

In 2005, Korean Conversation Club launched; weekly meetings for conversation practice, movies, TV dramas, and food.

Currently, four years of Korean language courses are offered along with courses on Korean language and culture as well as on Korean linguistics.