Sakha-Korean School
Encyclopedia
The Sakha-Korean School is a school in Yakutsk
, Sakha Republic. It was founded in 1994. , it enrolled roughly 280 students at the primary and middle-school levels (up from roughly 200 in 2002).
had been in discussions with the government of the Sakha Republic to set up a Korean-language school, and began to look for teachers in South Korea
. Gang Deok-su, a professor of Russian at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
and head of the Sakha-Korea Friendship association, agreed to assist. The Yakutsk Korean Association, founded in 1989, had previously set up Sunday schools for the teaching of the Korean language, but due to the increasing demand for specialists of the language, powerful supporters threw their weight behind the move to set up a full-time school, including president of the Sakha Republic
Mikhail Nikolayev
. Then-head of the Yakutsk Department of Education Evgeniya Mikhailova
provided early local leadership for the project; the Sakha Republic government has continued to provide financial support to the school as part of its wider plan to improve foreign-language education in the republic. Other early local supporters of the school included head of the Institute for Advanced Education Studies Olga Chorosova and chairwoman of the Yakutsk Korean Association Vera Shamayeva.
In 2006, the school established a branch in Aldansky Ulus
.
Roughly 250 students have graduated from the school since its founding. In December 2009, they celebrated their fifteenth anniversary, in a ceremony attended by Mikhailova (who by then had risen to the position of vice-president of the Sakha Republic), minister of internal affairs Georgy Nikonov, and South Korean consul-general of Irkutsk
Choi Seok-in.
as a second language
, taught by the native Korean teachers; teaching begins in the 5th grade, with 3 contact hours per week. It is one of two schools in Yakutsk which offers Korean to young students, the other being School #16
. The teachers experience some culture shock
at the different style of education, including the relative lack of age-based hierarchy at the school. The school also introduces other aspects of Korean culture to students, such as taekwondo
, Korean music
, and Korean cuisine. Japanese
and Chinese
languages are also taught. Each summer, the school sends about 10 to 20 of its students to Seoul
, South Korea
, on study-abroad and homestay
programmes. Graduates have gone on to work in a variety of Korean-related fields including in translation and as language instructors at Yakutsk State University
; others earned places at South Korean universities for further studies.
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
, Sakha Republic. It was founded in 1994. , it enrolled roughly 280 students at the primary and middle-school levels (up from roughly 200 in 2002).
History
The origins of the school go back to May 1994; a South Korean ethnographer doing research on the indigenous peoples of SiberiaIndigenous peoples of Siberia
Including the Russian Far East, the population of Siberia numbers just above 40 million people.As a result of the 17th to 19th century Russian conquest of Siberia and the subsequent population movements during the Soviet era, the demographics of Siberia today is dominated by native speakers of...
had been in discussions with the government of the Sakha Republic to set up a Korean-language school, and began to look for teachers in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Gang Deok-su, a professor of Russian at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies is one of the leading universities in the Republic of Korea.HUFS has been consistently ranked as one of the most prestigious higher education institutes in Korea, especially being ranked as a top in the field of Foreign Language...
and head of the Sakha-Korea Friendship association, agreed to assist. The Yakutsk Korean Association, founded in 1989, had previously set up Sunday schools for the teaching of the Korean language, but due to the increasing demand for specialists of the language, powerful supporters threw their weight behind the move to set up a full-time school, including president of the Sakha Republic
President of the Sakha Republic
List of Presidents of the Sakha Republic.The Sakha Republic is a federal subject of Russia .Below is a list of office-holders:...
Mikhail Nikolayev
Mikhail Nikolayev
Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev , was the president of the Sakha Republic from 1991 to January 2002. He was succeeded by Vyacheslav Shtyrov. He graduated from the Omsk State Veterinary Institute in 1961.-References:...
. Then-head of the Yakutsk Department of Education Evgeniya Mikhailova
Evgeniya Mikhailova
Evgeniya Isayevna Mikhailova is the vice president of the Sakha Republic. She graduated from the Physics-Mathematics Faculty of Yakutsk State University in 1972. She served as deputy director and then director of the Yakutsk Department of Education , and then went on to become the Sakha Republic's...
provided early local leadership for the project; the Sakha Republic government has continued to provide financial support to the school as part of its wider plan to improve foreign-language education in the republic. Other early local supporters of the school included head of the Institute for Advanced Education Studies Olga Chorosova and chairwoman of the Yakutsk Korean Association Vera Shamayeva.
In 2006, the school established a branch in Aldansky Ulus
Aldansky Ulus
Aldansky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the thirty-four in the Sakha Republic, Russia. It is located in the southern part of the republic on the right bank of the Lena River near the mouth of the Aldan River and borders with Khangalassky and Amginsky Districts in the...
.
Roughly 250 students have graduated from the school since its founding. In December 2009, they celebrated their fifteenth anniversary, in a ceremony attended by Mikhailova (who by then had risen to the position of vice-president of the Sakha Republic), minister of internal affairs Georgy Nikonov, and South Korean consul-general of Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
Choi Seok-in.
Staff
Olga Kimovna Potapova was promoted from vice-principal to principal in 2002, when her predecessor Gennady Kim decided to take another job. The school have a teaching staff of 25 full-time teachers and 5 part-time teachers. Their staff includes four South Korean teachers.Programme
Among other subjects, the school offers KoreanKorean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
as a second language
Second language
A second language or L2 is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas ....
, taught by the native Korean teachers; teaching begins in the 5th grade, with 3 contact hours per week. It is one of two schools in Yakutsk which offers Korean to young students, the other being School #16
Yakutsk School Number 16
Yakutsk School Number 16 is a state-run school in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic. It was set up in the 1940s. , it had roughly 700 students. It is a UNESCO Associated School. The principal is Aleksandr Dubinin, who has worked in the school for fourteen years; his wife, Roza Hanbeevna Dubinina, is also a...
. The teachers experience some culture shock
Culture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
at the different style of education, including the relative lack of age-based hierarchy at the school. The school also introduces other aspects of Korean culture to students, such as taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
, Korean music
Korean music
Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times....
, and Korean cuisine. Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
languages are also taught. Each summer, the school sends about 10 to 20 of its students to Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, on study-abroad and homestay
Homestay
Homestay is a form of tourism and/or study abroad program that allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better learn the local lifestyle as well as improve their language ability. While homestays can occur in any destination worldwide, some countries do more to encourage homestay...
programmes. Graduates have gone on to work in a variety of Korean-related fields including in translation and as language instructors at Yakutsk State University
Yakutsk State University
Ammosov North-Eastern Federal UniversityNEFU in figuresThe total number of employees - 3,622.The faculty • NEFU all together – 1,239 peoplePh.D...
; others earned places at South Korean universities for further studies.