Interest in culture and history grows in Korean language classes at Hylton High School

For some students, it was Korean pop music and Korean dramas they found on websites that drew them into new Korean classes at Hylton High School; for others, it was Teacher Kyung Mi Kay Choi, who also teaches French in Hylton’s Center for International Studies and Languages. She has been teaching French at Hylton since 2006 and Korean since 2015.

Mie Hye Ahn, director of the education center in the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, recently observed students in Choi’s Korean II class. Ahn was impressed with the students’ fluency and comprehension.

“This is testament to the teacher’s methodology,” Ahn said. “Skill building takes time. These students are nearly at Level III already and this is only the beginning of the year. In Korean III classes they will speak only Korean.

Currently, 30 students are enrolled in Korean I classes and 16 are in Korean II. Hylton opened its Korean I class last year with 36 students, 18 of them seniors.

“Students really want to get inside the culture and they want a better understanding, so clearly language gives them access into culture and cultural expression,” said Choi.

Ahn also met with school administrators to discuss school partnerships and student exchanges. She presented a grant from the Republic of Korea to Principal David Cassady in support of the Korean program.