# German Kim. Diaspora and Language: the Case of Koreans in Kazakhstan

German Kim

German Kim, Ph.D., Professor


Kazakh National University


Diaspora and Language: the Case of Koreans in Kazakhstan


Instead of Introduction: Deportation and Liquidation of Korean schools

The deportation of 1937 is, no doubt, is one of key points of the historical fate of the Koreans in Russia and the modern post-Soviet Central Asia. As is known, Koreans successfully integrated into the sovietized society in the Far East. They organized kolkhozes (collective farms) and worked in the industry, developed their institutional and ethnic national culture. In the soviet Far East there were hundreds of Korean schools and other educational establishments with the Korean language of instruction. Newspapers and magazines were published in Korean; there was the Korean theatre, numerous amateurs' groups. The Korean language functioned in many spheres of life: it was used by the community, families, and in the everyday communication of the compactly residing Koreans.

Shortly after the arrival of the deported Koreans in Kazakhstan was published a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party “On Reorganization of the Ethnic Minorities Schools” of January,24,1938, which was duplicated by the resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan under the same title 49-60 of April,8, 1938. It said, “The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan considers it to be well established that some bourgeois nationalists have actively operated in the organs of people's education of Kazakhstan and created special national schools (German, Bulgarian, Korean, Uyghur and others) and transformed them into sources of bourgeois-nationalistic, anti-Soviet influence on the children. It was extremely harmful for the cause of the proper training and education, it separated our children from the Soviet life, and deprived them of the possibility to get closer to the Soviet culture and science, put obstacles on their way to further education in colleges and higher educational establishments”.

The directives of the Party were to be realized and on April, 13, 1938 the government of Kazakhstan adopted resolution 353 "On Reorganization of Ethnic Minorities Schools" which became the guidelines for the Narkompros (People's Commissariat of Education). The so-called “reorganization” consisted in actual liquidation of the whole system of education in the languages of minorities built during the years of the Soviet power and, above all, the school system of education. Totally 377 Minorities schools of all levels were reorganized including 118 Korean schools. In the rural areas where mostly or exclusively Koreans lived the native language became just one of the subjects taught at schools. Because of the reorganization of the Korean schools into ordinary schools, the Korean pedagogical college in Kazalinsk started to work on the basis of the curriculums for ordinary Soviet pedagogical colleges with the Russian or Kazakh languages of instruction.


1. Problems in Teaching the Korean Language at the Schools of Kazakhstan in late 1930-s - early 1950-s.

Among the burning problems of the school education at that times the most complicated issues was lack of teachers. Results of the certification of teachers of schools with Korean students revealed that a considerable number of the teachers were allowed to teach at schools though their qualification was inadequate. This situation took place because of lack of qualified teachers. The Narkompros of the Republic in accordance with the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Sovnarkom( Soviet of People's Commissars) - the government of the Kazakh SSR “ On Cultural and Everyday Service of the Korean Population of the Republic” started to admit the Korean young people to the pedagogical colleges and higher educational establishments. In 1938-1939 academic years in 11 higher educational institutions of the Republic there were 2580 students of different nationalities, the number of Koreans among them being 385 (14,9%).

On May, 4, 1938 the Sovnarkom of the Kazakh SSR adopted resolution 4-23 on approval of the plan of construction of a Korean pedagogical institute in Kzyl Orda. However, the Korean pedagogical institute shared the fate of the Korean schools and the pedagogical college. Besides, in the autumn of 1937 when Koreans arrived in Kazakhstan the number of students of the institute was cut from 830 to 500. From 1938/39 academic year the Korean pedagogical institute started to use Russian as the language of instruction, though during the next 10 years the majority of students and teachers were Koreans.

A separate issue which remained acute during the whole history of the Korean education was lack or poor quality of school textbooks and literature in the Korean language. Shortly before the deportation basic school textbooks numbering several dozens were translated into Korean. In big quantities were published in Korean all kinds of socio-political books, brochures and classical literature.

Leaving behind many necessary and valuable things, the Koreans brought with them to Kazakhstan textbooks and other books with the hope that their children would be able to use them in future. However, after the liquidation of the national schools there was no need in them any longer. On the basis of the resolution of the Kzyl-Orda oblast' committee of the Communist Party of August, 28, 1939 was formed a “commission on checking the Korean literature” which was to go through the lists of books in Korean and make their conclusions. However, the commission had to be guided by the order from the top as to what criteria to use when deciding what books were “good”.

On December, 27, 1939 the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party adopted a special resolution “On the Korean Literature” which stated: To allow all book-selling organizations to write off for recycling all textbooks in Korean and the literature, the content of which is not fit for the conditions of Kazakhstan and is out-of-date.

According to the resolution the Glavlit of the Kazakh SSR - the main organ of censorship for all published materials was to “withdraw from the bookselling network and libraries the books in Korean which are politically incorrect and the authors of which are enemies of the people (the list is attached)”.

Thus all educational literature in Korean was written off for recycling and liquidated: 120,052 copies of textbooks of 134 titles for all the subjects including 17, 325 Korean language textbooks for different levels of learning. A big number of Korean books including rare historical books were destroyed in the libraries of Kzyl Orda pedagogical institute. Many Koreans, who had been repressed before and during the bitter time of deportation, destroyed Korean books in their home libraries themselves as even the mere fact of keeping such books at home was enough for imprisonment.

During the first 1937-1938 academic year after the deportation the Korean settlement schools in Kazakhstan operated on the basis of the curriculum for national schools approved by the Narkompros of the RSFSR. However, taking into account some specific features of the academic work, cultural and everyday peculiarities, and ethnic culture of the Korean population the Narkompros of the Kazakh SSR introduced partial changes in the curriculum. The essence of the changes was - to begin learning the Russian language at elementary and secondary schools with Korean contingent of students from the second grade and to learn it till the 10th grade. There were more classes of the Russian language than in other Minorities schools: 2nd - 6th grades - 6 classes per week; 7th grade - 4 and 8th - 10th grades - 2 classes. Correspondingly to the increased number of Russian language classes the number of classes of the native language was reduced.

In 1930-40s Korean as a subject called “the native language” was taught at nearly all schools with a considerable number of the Korean students. During that period it was possible due to such favorable conditions as compact settlement of the rural Korean population, availability of teachers, textbooks and other literature in Korean. However, the situation was aggravated in the mid 1950-s when Korean language classes gradually started to disappear from the schools of Kazakhstan. It was due to many different reasons. First of all, one should bear in mind that the Soviet policy in the sphere of education, national relations and functioning of languages was aimed at further standardization and unification. It concerned not only “the socialist content but also the national form” of the Soviet literature, art, and people's education etc. Domination of the Russian language in all spheres of life in the Soviet Union was evident; therefore the policy of “russification” in education was of a voluntary-obligatory nature. It revealed itself as follows. According to the school curriculum classes of a native language were not considered as leading subjects and often were optional, there were no final exams. A good command of one's native tongue to the detriment of the Russian language could worsen one's prospects for getting further education and professional career. Thus neither the children nor the parents were motivated to learn the Korean language and they themselves refused to learn it.

However, a part of the Korean intelligentsia was worried about the fate of the national culture and language and they wrote letters to Moscow and the republican Party-government leadership about the necessity of making decisions on many urgent issues related to the activity of Korean kolkhozes, newspaper “Lenin Kichi”, Korean theatre and education of Korean children.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan ordered the Ministry of Education to examine the situation. The Ministry admitted that “children of the Korean nationality should get knowledge and skills in their native language and literature”. However, it considered “introduction of the Korean language and literature in the school curriculum in addition to the existing subjects impossible because children would be overloaded with classes”. Therefore a proposal was made: to introduce classes of the Korean language at schools with Korean students instead of classes of the Kazakh language. On December, 26, 1953 was adopted a resolution of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan “On teaching the Korean language and literature at some schools with Korean students”. It satisfied “the request of the Ministry of Education of the Kazakh SSR” and allowed “to introduce at some schools with students of the Korean nationality classes of the Korean language and literature”.

One of the reasons for such voluntary-forced oblivion of the native language was: from the second half of the 1940-s to the mid 50-s in Kazakhstan there were considerable losses in the number of teachers of the Korean language and specialists in other branches of industry, culture, health protection etc. with a good command of the language. It was connected with sending of the most educated, professional, experienced and loyal people of the Korean nationality on special missions to Sakhalin, Maritime and Khabarovsk provinces and the North Korea for rendering assistance in construction of the new system of the Soviet model.

Thus the end of the 1930-s - beginning of 1950-s the history of Korean education in Kazakhstan is characterized both by great achievements and big losses. Development of the school education among the Korean settlers was taking place in the context of their economic adaptation on the new land where the leading factor was the command-administrative system of management of all the processes in the Soviet state. The war against the fascist Germany and the victory in it, pressing tasks of restoration of the destroyed economy, liberation of the Southern Sakhalin and Korea from the Japanese colonial regime, death of Stalin, revelation of the personality cult and many other events directly influenced all aspects of the education of Koreans in Kazakhstan.

3. Issues of School Education and Learning the Korean Language in 1950 -1990-s.

Both at schools with the Korean contingent of students and other republican schools the universal secondary education was realized in accordance with the Law of 1959 and had two stages: the first stage - 8-year labor polytechnic school; the second stage - getting full secondary education (10 grades). The formerly existing network of 7-year schools and secondary schools with Korean students and their territorial distribution made it possible for all children to study for 7 years. Therefore in order to realize the plan of the transfer to the universal 8- year school education it was necessary to transform all 7-year schools into 8-year schools. From 1959 to 1963 seventy 8-year schools with the Korean students were formed, allowing to study in the 8th grade of 85% by 1960, and by 1961-62 academic year of 93% of all 7th grade graduates. By 1961-62 academic years all 7-year schools had been transformed into 8-year schools. In 1961-1962 academic years in the republic there were thirty elementary schools, seventy 8-year schools and twenty five secondary schools - totally 125 schools numbering 17544 students. By 1964/65 the total number of students at all kinds of schools had reached 18249.

In the 1970s-1990s the school education of the Korean population of Kazakhstan finally lost its organizational specificity, and of the former term “schools with the Korean contingent of students” disappeared from the lexicon of the documentation of the republican, regional and district organs of education. During that period took place the final integration of the urban Korean children in the “Russian schools” at which they constituted the minority as concerned the number. Only in two or three kolkhozes and sovkhozes (soviet farm) of the Karatal region of Taldy Kurgan oblast' there remained some schools with a big number of Korean students. Common stereotypes at that time were that disappearance of compact areas of Korean settlements in the rural regions or multinational composition of secondary schools students had led to impossibility or lack of necessity in schools with the Korean language of instruction.

One of the most important and complicated issues in the sphere of education has always been the issue of choosing the language of instruction. From the second half of 1950s the issue of functioning of the Korean language in the Soviet Union became extremely acute. It was then when in Kazakhstan started the period of an accelerated loss of the native language which was determined by a number of objective reasons and subjective factors.

As one of the objective reasons for it we can conditionally admit the fact that the level of compact residence of Koreans in the rural areas had lowered. In such rural areas used to function national schools and classes and the native language was taught as an academic subject. The paradox of the situation is that if we approach the issue of compact living from purely geographical, space-territorial point of view, then the level of concentration of the Korean population had not reduced but on th contrary increased. The rural population used to live in numerous regions and villages located in dozens or hundreds of kilometers from each other and the urban Diaspora settled within the limits of one town.

The most important was the subjective factor, which found its reflection in the policy pursued by the Party and government and aimed at “socialist nations getting closer”, strengthening the role of the Russian language as “the language of the inter-ethnic communication”. After the death of “the Farther of peoples” and the 20th Congress of the Communist Party which condemned the personality cult, came a short period of “Khrushchev's Thaw” when the first attempts to become free from the totalitarian regime were made. The rights of the deported peoples unfoundedly accused of foreign espionage and treachery were partially restored. Peoples of the Caucuses were allowed to return to their native lands. Creative and scientific intelligentsia: writers, poets, actors, artists, journalists and humanitarian scholars took advantage of the short-term, relative freedom and created new works free from the orthodox, ideologically correct content.

Some representatives of the Korean intelligentsia began to realize their responsibility and found courage to address a request to the central and republican Party-government organs to rehabilitate the Koreans politically and legally and to create conditions for the national -cultural development of the Diaspora. The first requests to the CC of the Communist Party and ministries to assist in solving some problems, or to provide material or financial assistance were written by the editorial board of the newspaper “Lenin Kichi” and the Korean theatre.

The active position of the representatives of the Korean intelligentsia could not fail to attract the attention of the Party - government leadership in Moscow and the republic. On May, 20, 1958 the Bureau of the CC of the Communist party of Kazakhstan adopted the resolution “On strengthening mass-political and cultural- educational work among the Korean population of the republic”. The resolution, first of all, concerned Kzyl-Orda, Taldy-Kurgan, South Kazakhstan, Dzhambul and Alma- Ata oblast' committees of the Party which at the end of May-June, 1958 held Party meetings in order to discuss the plan of events for realization of the resolution of May,20 of the Central Committee of the Communist party of Kazakhstan.

In the above-mentioned oblasts the Party organizations were to organize and strengthen “the mass-political and cultural-educational work among the Korean population in their native language”. A separate section envisaged “introduction from the new 1958/59 academic year in the places of high concentration of the Korean population teaching of the Korean language for the children of the Korean nationality at schools”.

Thus at the end of 1950s - middle of 1960s there was a campaign directed at solving some problems related to the culture and language of the Soviet Koreans. However, the most important demands in the letters and appeals of the Korean intelligentsia: formation of a national-cultural or territorial autonomy, creation of the Korean cultural centers were not satisfied. The events held were of a temporary character and mainly concerned insignificant, secondary aspects of the socio-cultural development of the Korean population. One of the most considerable outcomes of the initiatives undertaken by some representatives of the Korean Diaspora was drawing attention to the problems of teaching the native language.

At rural schools where Koreans lived compactly and there was a considerable number of Korean students the Korean language and literature were re-introduced into the curriculum as separate subjects. However, the whole process looked like a short-term campaign characterized by lack of responsibility on the side of the officials in the sphere of education, lack of qualified teachers with a good command of both Russian and Korean and the methods of teaching languages, poor quality of curriculums, textbooks and dictionaries. Thus it was not possible to radically improve the situation with teaching Korean at schools. However, certain changes had taken place.

In 1959-1966 in Kzyl-Orda oblast' were re-opened and functioned 142 Korean language groups in the 2nd - 8th grades numbering 2 389 students. At schools of Alma-Ata oblast' in the first half of 1960 there were 109 Korean language groups with 2 284 students. Besides, the Korean language was taught at several schools of Chimkent and Dzhambul oblasts. At the schools of Kzyl Orda oblast' there were enough qualified teachers of the Korean language. Out of 14 teachers 3 persons had higher education, 2 - incomplete higher education and 9 - secondary specialized pedagogical education.

Originally in the 2nd -4th grades for teaching the Korean language was used ABC book compiled by Kim Pen Hwa and the grammar of the Korean language for the 3rd grade written by Kim Pen Hwa and Hwan Yun Din. In senior grades they used textbooks and readers published at the beginning of 1950s. At the end of 1950s new books for reading in Korean and a school Russian-Korean dictionary were published. In the early 1960s in the Uzbek SSR they published a new ABC book and a Korean language textbook for 3rd -4th grades consisting of 130 lessons: 65 lessons for the 3rd grade and 65 for the 4th. The textbook had an alphabetical dictionary of 595 units: 274 - for the 3rd and 321 - for the 4th grade. Though the textbook was criticized by many Korean language teachers and not without a reason, it, to a certain extend, helped in teaching and learning the Korean language. Unfortunately textbooks were published in small quantities and there was a deficit of them. Only the Karatal regional department of education needed at least 2 000 copies of textbooks for 2nd -8th grades for 1966-1967 academic year. The Ministry of education of the Kazakh SSR made serious mistakes in the organization of teaching of the Korean language. For instance, the Korean language curriculum was non-existent which meant that each teacher had to make his own plan and work on its basis individually. Besides, two classes per week for learning the Korean language were not enough for getting deep knowledge of it. If a student got a poor mark for Korean, he still could study in the next grade. All this had led to low motivation in learning the Korean language.

In the country there were no specialized institutes, departments, pedagogical colleges for training teachers of Korean. The Ministry of education should have organized training courses for teachers of the Korean language, methodological groups and societies of the Korean language. The Republican and oblast' institutes for improvement of the qualification of the teachers totally ignored the issues of the methods of teaching Korean as a native language at the republican schools.

The problems and difficulties had accumulated and finally the Ministry of education issued an order “On the situation with teaching of the native language for the children of the Korean nationality in Kzyl Orda oblast'.” It outlined a large-scale complex of measures. However, even the full and strict implementation of the resolution could not solve the language problem of the Koreans of Kazakhstan; stop the process of alienation and loss of the national language. The situation of the Korean population in the Central Asian republics was very much the same.

The administrative-command system ignored the national demands including development of the education. A number of forced actions aimed against minor peoples were undertaken; they were incompatible with the announced principles of internationalism and respect of equal rights for all the peoples and national minorities. On a large scale the people were forced to actively use the Russian language and culture, the rights of numerous ethnic groups and nationalities were limited. At the same time the school education in the Russian language made it easier for the young people to get higher education. In 1938 all Korean students, totally 250 persons who studied Korean at the Kzyl-Orda pedagogical institute had to graduate as if they had completed their education though some of them were only in their second or third year. In the second half of 1950s when the limitations for traveling and choosing the place of residence were removed, the Korean youth started to go to study to different towns in Kazakhstan and even far away to the leading universities of Moscow, Leningrad, and Novosibirsk etc.

During the following twenty years - from the mid 1960s to mid 1980s the Korean language sank into oblivion again. The only exceptions were several dozens of students and post-graduate students who learnt the Korean language at the universities of Moscow, Leningrad and Vladivostok. The Korean schools which functioned during the post-war period in Sakhalin had ceased to exist by that time. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan the process of losing the native language had acquired an irreversible character and it became evident not only in the sphere of education but also in the everyday and family life. Koreans, especially of younger age started to communicate among themselves mostly in Russian.

The issues of education are closely connected with the development and functioning of the language as a whole. Changes in the ethno-language behavior of the Koreans in Kazakhstan were characterized by two interrelated tendencies: intensive proliferation of the Russian language and loss of the native language. The share of persons who considered Russian their native language was increasing in the qualitative-quantitative aspect. The data of the 1970 census contains statistics about a free command of a second language of the peoples of the Soviet Union. They reflected the universal knowledge of the Russian language among the Soviet Koreans. In 1970 more than 80% of those who admitted that Korean was their native language actually could freely speak only Russian. There were qualitative changes in the level of knowledge of the native language among Kazakhstani Koreans. The data of the censuses do not provide any information regarding the age and/or professional differentiation of the language behavior of different nationalities in the USSR; however, it is evident that by early 1970s the written form of the literary Korean was familiar to a very insignificant number of Koreans of the older generation. On the contrary, all Koreans of different ages - from school age to pensioners knew the Russian language in both oral and written forms.

If one can rely on the data of the 1989 census, it will turn out that 51, 7% of the Korean population of Kazakhstan considered Korean their native language. Actually the fact that they said that Korean was their native language did not mean that they could speak or write in it. In Alma-Ata the data of the census regarding distribution of some nationalities according to age, native and second language of the peoples of the USSR included Koreans; it makes it possible to confirm this statement. About 40% of the Korean children in the age group of up to 14 years could neither read nor write in Korean but considered it their “native” language.

A new impetus for revival of the interest in the historical past, national culture and language was given by Gorbachev's perestroika which similarly to Khrushchev's Thaw made it possible to discuss openly these sore points. “The ethnic renaissance” embraced all peoples of the country without exception including Koreans. One of the priority issues of the national-cultural revival was the issue of the language. The office of the newspaper “Lenin Kichi” was piled with letters from readers with requests to start publishing lessons of Korean, to help with textbooks, dictionaries and to organize language courses. The active interest of the Korean population made I.P. Khan, editor-in-chief of “Lenin Kichi” to send a letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The letter described the critical situation in teaching and functioning of the Korean language in the republic and his vision of solving this problem.

The Central Committee ordered the Ministry of education to calculate the number of Korean children at schools in Kzyl-Orda, Chimkent, Dzhambul, Alma-Ata and Taldy-Kurgan oblasts in order to determine how many teachers of Korean were needed. The 1988 year plan envisaged training of Korean language teachers in one of the pedagogical institutes.

On May, 25, 1987 the Ministry of education made a report to the Central Committee "On teaching Korean as the native language at schools of the republic". It said that at that moment there were 112 000 Koreans in Kazakhstan concentrated mainly in Kzyl-Orda oblast' - 16 900, Taldy-Kurgan oblast' - 15 800, Chimkent oblast'-15 100, Dzhambul oblast' - 14 900, Karaganda oblast'-13 900. according to the report the Korean language was taught in 7 schools of Kzyl-Orda oblast' - 770 children and in one school in Taldy-Kurgan oblast' - 100. However, the data proved to be incorrect. For instance, in July 1987 it became clear that in Kzyl-Orda oblast' there were only three schools where Korean was taught.

According to the more precise data the Korean language was taught only in two schools in Kzyl-Orda oblast' - 162 children and one school in Taldy-Kurgan oblast' - 29, though the total number of Korean schoolchildren only in 4 oblasts: Dzhambul, Kzyl-Orda, Taldy-Kurgan and Chimkent was at least 4000 people.

The authors of the report came to the following conclusions: firstly, “ as a result of lack of due attention, teachers, poor quality of textbooks” the situation with the Korean language was catastrophical; secondly, it was necessary to improve the situation but there were no qualified specialists who were able to solve the problems in the republic; thirdly, all attempts to get assistance from the Ministry of education of the USSR and Uzbekistan failed as the situation with the Korean language in other republics was analogous.

Thus, the republic could rely only on its own forces. In many oblasts in late 1980s - early 1990s were opened Korean cultural centers; they put as a priority the revival of the ethnic culture and the national language.

In this period first Korean missionary churches appeared in Kazakhstan. They organized groups for learning the Korean language for their parishioners. Pastors provided textbooks, dictionaries and other literature in Korean. Some churches organized the so-called “Sunday schools”.

In 1991 in Almaty the Center of Education of the Republic of Korea was established. It began to play a very important role in teaching the Korean language to the Koreans of Kazakhstan and training Korean language teachers.

The leadership of the republic also made its contribution to the cause of developing the system of teaching the Korean language. The Ministry of education held seminars for Korean language teachers. Korean departments were opened at the Kazakh State University named after al-Farabi and Kzyl-Orda pedagogical institute. There were plans to open more departments in a number of other universities and institutes.

Due to various reasons the Korean national schools closed in 1938 have not been re-opened. Nowadays there is a zero chance for such schools to appear as they are not needed either by the Korean population or by the state demands of the modern Kazakhstan. Korean chldren have been fully integrated into the existing system of the school education and continue to get their education in Russian which has become the native language for the younger generation of the Korean Diaspora.

A typical feature of the Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan is a high level of urbanization as the absolute majority of Koreans live in the cities. According to the data of the first census in the Republic of Kazakhstan out of 100 000Koreans about 20 000, i.e. every fifth lives in Almaty. In some oblasts such as Karaganda, Pavlodar, Uralsk and others the urban Korean population is above 90%; on the whole in the republic it constitutes more than 80%. The urbanized life, traditional striving for getting education, parents' responsibility for the future of their children and the material level of an average Korean family constitute the basis for all Korean children to get a full secondary education. The Korean children usually get good secondary education which enables them to compete for getting a higher education. The number of Korean students has not changed lately. Among Koreans of 16-22 years of age the share of those with higher education and incomplete higher education is about 50%. Koreans occupy the 9th place among the population of Kazakhstan as regards their number but in the national composition of the students of higher educational establishments they are on the 4th place, having left behind Germans, Tatars, Uzbeks, Byelorussians, and Uigurs. By the time when Kazakhstan had acquired the state sovereignty the Koreans had a considerable scientific potential - at least 500 Candidates and Doctors of Sciences.


4. Status and Nature of the” Native Language” of the Koreans of Kazakhstan

Before the deportation of Koreans to Kazakhstan and liquidation of the system of education in their national language, Korean had been considered one of the languages of the peoples of the USSR. Later for a long time the Korean language existed in its oral, colloquial form mainly and had no official status but in the Soviet statistics on the published mater it was referred to the group “Languages of the peoples of foreign countries”. This to a certain extent corresponded to the objective reality as books published in Korean were mainly socio-political, classical Russian and Soviet literature translated into the North Korean language standard.

As the Korean language was not taught at the Soviet schools and is not taught now at schools in Kazakhstan as a separate academic subject, its status as a language of a national minority is radically different from the status of the German language which has always been classified as “a foreign language”. The German language as an academic subject is taught at many schools and universities in Kazakhstan.

The Korean language has the status of “the native language” of the Koreans of Kazakhstan and its functions are quite limited: one weekly newspaper, one 20-minute radio program three times a week and one weekly 30-minute TV program; in the sphere of art - Korean theatre; in literature - 1-2 collections of stories or poems; in the education - Korean departments in some universities and colleges.

What is the nature of “the native language” of the Korean diaspora of Kazakhstan? The language of their ancestors and people of the oldest generation is a unique dialect which roots go back to the 15th century. In the everyday life and also in linguistics this dialect is called “Koryo mar” and its present state is very close to lethal. Koryo mar in Kazakhstan and in other countries of the post-Soviet space is doomed to disappearance and it is not possible to re-animate it today. Thus speaking about “the native language” one should mean the Seoul standard of the modern literary language which for the Korean children in Kazakhstan is none the less “foreign” than English or Arabic. Then we can speak about the modern literary Korean as “a genetically native language” or if we translate it from English precisely - “a hereditary language”. Thus we will speak not about the revival but about learning of the “national”, “genetically native”, “hereditary” etc. in other words different language which only 10 years ago was not known in Kazakhstan.

Using the socio-linguistic terminology of H. Kloss we can speak about Koryo mar as a specific form of a “roofless dialect” (from the German - obdachlos). As opposed to the dialects of the Korean peninsular having “a roof”, protection on the side of the literary Korean, the dialect of the Koreans of Kazakhstan separated from the language nucleus is deprived of such protection. The alien ethnic environment, laws of the language contacts have led to the appearance in the lexical fund of Koryo mar of many loans from the Russian and other languages. Koryo mar practically has no written form, it is not present in radio programs or theatre stage, it is not used in mass media or taught at schools - it is dying. Another 10-15 years and there will be no more speakers of this unique linguistic phenomenon.


5. The Ethno Linguistic Situation among the Korean Diaspora of Kazakhstan.

We should consider at least in general the existing ethno linguistic situation of the Koreans of Kazakhstan and namely its composites: language competence, language behavior and language orientation. The language competence becomes evident in the level of command of this or that language. If we compare the level of command of Korean, Kazakh and Russian it will be clear that for the absolute majority of the Kazakhstani Koreans Russian is the primary language. 90-95% of Koreans can use it freely. Actually there are no Koreans who cannot speak Russian. The share of Koreans who know the Kazakh language well is 2-3% of the total number.

Such changes in the language competence to a great extend depended on the attitude of the Soviet Koreans themselves who were not at all eager to preserve and develop their language and cultural heritage. The Koreans demonstrated a stable interest in learning Russian because it could pave the way to their further career. Such accelerated as compared to other national minorities shift to the language code of the dominating ethnic environment is characteristic of all foreign Korean Diasporas on the whole, the typical feature of which is a high level of acculturation and language assimilation. In the language behavior of the Koreans the Russian language began to dominate already in the 1950s-1970s and the process had been going on for the following twenty years. Functioning of the Korean language was getting more and more limited and at present it is used mainly in the family and communication of the elderly generation.

The census data revealed a decrease in the share of the Koreans who admitted that Korean was their native language: in 1970 - 64%, in 1979 - 56, 1%, and in 1989 - 51, 7%. However, it should be noted that to say that Korean is one's native language does not mean the ability to use it in the everyday life. A language, as is known is not only a universal means of communication, transfer of information etc. It is part and parcel and symbol of the ethnic conscience that is why recognizing the Korean language as their native language was caused by the ethno-psychological factors, the ethnic identity was revealed according to the formula - I am Korean - the Korean language - my native language. The socio-linguistic researches carried out lately among the Korean Diaspora confirmed the a priori conclusion of the nonconformity of the objective language competence with the subjective recognition of a language as the native language.

The language competence and the character of the language behavior differ as to age and social groups of the Korean Diaspora of Kazakhstan which is proved by the data of the questionnaires and censuses. In the age group of 1-25 years the overwhelming majority of Koreans cannot speak Korean at all. The age group of 25-60 years is characterized by a passive command of the language; they can understand simple everyday topics. Only the oldest age group of 60-80 years who lived in the ethno-compact rural environment and learnt the basics of the written national language can, to a certain extend, speak and write in Korean. For generations of the Koreas who were born and socialized in Kazakhstan the native language is Russian and for the majority of the deported generation who can be referred to bilinguals in a certain sense, Russian has become the primary and Korean - secondary language.

As concerns the differentiation of the language competence according to the social status, in the primary division of the people into two groups: intellectual and physical labor the first one, without any doubt, is behind the second as concerns the level of the Korean language competence. Physical labor is characteristic of the Koreans in the agrarian sector and as is well-known, it is the village that is the ethno homogenous reservoir where the ethnic culture and language are better preserved than in a ethnically mixed urban “melting pot”. Among intellectuals the language competence was preserved and developed by those who by their profession were occupied either in the Korean language mass media (newspaper, radio, TV) or in the Korean theatre.

Speaking about the level of competence in the Korean language one should bear in mind that a part of the modern Korean Diaspora of Kazakhstan is composed of Sakhalin Koreans and some former North Koreans. Their knowledge of the Korean language is significantly different from that of the majority of Koreans. Representatives of this group due to their knowledge of the literary Korean used to hold the leading positions in the Korean institutions of culture, art and literature.

The data of the questionnaires of the Korean Diaspora of Kazakhstan show their desire to regenerate their native language as the basis of the ethnicity. A big number of respondents have taken advantage of the opportunity to study the native language which appeared recently. Even a bigger number of the respondents would like to study the Korean language themselves and consider it necessary for their children to know the language. The significance of the issue of the revival of the Korean language is reflected in the fact that the majority of the respondents (over 80%) consider it the priority to develop the system of education in Korean, publish literature, and broadcast radio and TV programs.

Thus general conclusions of the language situation among the modern Korean Diaspora of Kazakhstan are as follows:

-- Qualitative and quantitative indicators reveal the change in the native language for the overwhelming majority of Koreans

-- By force of the political, socio-cultural and ethno-psychological factors the sphere of functioning of the Korean language has narrowed to the sphere of family and everyday relations.

3. Innovations of the last ten years in Kazakhstan, dynamically developing relations with the South Korea, a wave of the ethnic self-conscience and activity of the Korean public organizations have stimulated interest in studying the Korean language.


6. Issues of Teaching the Korean Language

In late 1980s - early 1990s there was a kind of boom in studying the Korean language. Korean cultural centers, missionary churches and societies organized numerous courses of the Korean language. The Korean language was taught in the higher educational establishments, schools and kindergartens. On the whole in 1992 about 3 000 people studied Korean, in 1994 - over 5 000. In 1995-96 academic year the Korean language was taught at 17 schools of Kazakhstan with 95 language groups numbering 1450 students.

A great contribution was made by the branches of the Association of Koreans of Kazakhstan and Korean cultural centers in Taldy-Kurgan, South Kazakhstan and Dzhambul oblasts. Despite some considerable success in teaching the Korean language a number of issues remained unsolved. First of all, the stage of the boom in studying Korean has come to an end. At the beginning the Korean language courses could not admit all those who wanted to study. Now many people doubt whether there is any need in studying it. Strange though it might seem it is the parents who think that it is not worth time and effort of their children to study Korean as today it is not in demand.

Originally textbooks for those wishing to study the Korean language came to Kazakhstan from the South and North Koreas, however, soon Pyongyang stopped to send textbooks because of the economic difficulties. The South Korea, on the contrary, was increasing the number of sent textbooks, language courses and audiocassettes with every passing year.

In the organization of the process of teaching any language one of the most important issues is the issue of training professional teachers. The Central Institute of improving qualification of the teachers in 1990-1991 held first seminars for the teachers of Korean. In 1993-94 the first summer school for the Korean children was organized. They studied at the summer school for 20 days and studied Korean for 60 hours.

Korean Departments in the Universities

Great importance was attached to establishing Korean Studies departments and Korean language programs in a number of universities and colleges. At present students majoring in the Korean Language are trained at the Oriental studies department of the KazNU named after al-Farabi, Department of Oriental Languages of the University of World Languages and International Relations, philological department of the Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abai, Kzyl-Orda and Ust-Kamenogorsk universities, Academy of the Kazakhstan Intelligence Service, Kazakh University of Economy, Kazakh Institute of Management and Business. In a number of higher educational establishments at some departments Korean is taught as a foreign or second Oriental language. The total number of students of the Korean departments in Kazakhstan is about 250 people. The most known in Kazakhstan are two Korean departments - in the KazNU and the Department of Oriental Languages of the University of World Languages and International Relations.

In Uzbekistan there are two main universities with Korean studies programs: the Institute of Oriental Studies and the University named after Nizami. The number of the students is 350. In the capital of Kirgizia - Bishkek there are two universities: Bishkek Humanities University and Kirgiz State University. The number of students is 250. Thus, the Korean language is taught as a main subject or as the second foreign language in more than 15 universities and institutes of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kirgizia, the total number of students being about 1 000.

Students

In Tashkent the majority of the students of Korean departments are Koryo Saram. In Bishkek the ratio - Koreans/Kirgiz is about 50-50. In the AGU named after Abai, Almaty Koreans constitute 70-80%.In the KazNU named after al-Farabi because of the policy of supporting the Kazakh students Koreans constitute only one third. The gender ratio of the students of Korean departments is practically the same in all Universities: female students constitute about 80-90$ and 10-20% are male. The average age of the students is 18-22 years. The students enter Korean departments without any idea about Korea and with a zero level of Korean. Gradually there appear students who have made their choice consciously and who have attended courses either in churches or in the Centre of education of the Republic of Korea. For instance, for the non-Korean students at the Kirgiz State University the choice of the Korean department can be considered a good choice because of the possibility to work in a South Korean company after graduation.

Reasons why the young people enter the Korean departments:

-- Ethnic origin

-- Parents' wish

-- Possibility to go to Korea

-- Possibility to get a good job after graduation

It should be noted that the wave of interest in learning the Korean language has become much smaller by the end of 1990s. The main reason for it is connected with the outflow of the South Korean business from Kazakhstan during the period of the Asian monetary-financial crisis. At that time the demand for interpreters and managers speaking Korean was very low.

The last five years the economy of Kazakhstan has been stable and dynamic. All big cities especially the new capital - Astana and the former - Almaty are going through the period of the construction boom and of the rapid development of the services, which attracted a lot of South Korean businessmen engaged in small and medium businesses. The intensive inflow of the South Korean businessmen caused an increase in the demand for interpreters and other staff speaking Korean for the South Korean companies in Kazakhstan. At present the demand for Korean language interpreters is extremely high and there are a lot of graduates from the universities of Tashkent and Bishkek working in the South Korean companies in Almaty. The number of those wishing to study Korean is increasing with every passing year; however, not all of them can enter Korean departments because of the limited admittance. For instance, in 2007 fifteen persons could not enter the department of the Korean Studies at the KazNU as there were not enough teachers of Korean. In the nearest future the demand for Korean departments' graduates in Kazakhstan will remain stable and will continue to grow. It means that new programs for training Korean language interpreters should be launched different from those of universities. The decision has been taken to set up a two-year school for interpreters at the KazNU which will be sponsored by the National Institute of the Korean Language.


Teaching Staff

The issue of qualified teachers of the Korean language has been and remains acute till today. At the initial stage either elder Koryo saram or Koreans from Sakhalin or former North Koreans used to teach the language. Nearly all of them had higher philological education and experience in teaching.

A sharp increase in the number of Korean departments and students had its negative influence on the quality of teaching. Most of the teachers do not know the Korean language properly; they have little practical experience in teaching and have very insufficient methodological training.

The main reason for permanent shortage of qualified Korean language teachers lies in low salaries of teachers. Interpreters and South Korean company workers who graduated Korean departments get twice or even three times more money than Korean language teachers at the universities. Low salary is only one of the reasons why the best graduates of the Korean departments are not motivated to study further, to get master's degrees and then teach at the university. The pedagogical load (number of classes per week) is incredibly big and is 2-3 times bigger than that of the American or Korean universities. Besides classes all the teachers have to carry out different kinds of work and extra-curriculum activities which consume nearly as much time as classes do. Such kind of activities as being a so-called curator of a students' group are not known at foreign universities except of the CIS countries. The bureaucratic work in the form of different written reports, writing and rewriting of all kinds of documents (plans, curricula, etc) causes discontent among all the teachers. These circumstances make many young teachers of the Korean language leave universities after two or three years of work and go to some South Korean company or somewhere else. Thus the problem is not only in the shortage of teachers of the Korean language but also in the high staff turnover which does not allow to form a stable and qualified staff of teachers. For instance, the department of the Korean Studies of the KazNU has to employ 50% of new teachers every three years. The department has been functioning for 13 years but the average length of service of teachers is about three years. Correspondingly among the teachers of the department there are no Ph.Ds as there are no conditions or motivation for carrying out research. During the last five years at least 10 Kazakhstani students received Master's degrees of the leading Korean universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and others but none of them came to work at Kazakhstani universities or defended a Ph.D. thesis. The problem of lack of highly qualified university lecturers and teachers is typical of practically all universities on the post-Soviet space and it will take a lot of time before it is solved and being a university professor or lecturer becomes prestigious again.

The contribution of the Korean language teachers - native speakers who are delegated by the government of the Republic of Korea cannot be underestimated. At present there are two programs of supporting the Korean Studies in Kazakhstan.

The first one is delegating by the Korea Research Foundation of a professor, Ph.D. speaking Russian for one or two years to the department of Korean Studies of the KazNU. Five professors have already worked at the department and each of them has made a big contribution to improving the quality of the Korean language teaching and training of the students majoring in Korean Studies.

The second one is delegating KOICA volunteers (Korean International Cooperation Agеncy). The KOICA volunteers are young people wishing to work abroad, some of them do not have philological education or experience in teaching Korean at universities. Annually about two dozens KOICA volunteers arrive in Kazakhstan, among them there are teachers of Korean, Taekwondo instructors, specialists in IT programs, choreographers of Korean national dances, doctors for the Kazakh-Korean hospital. They come for one or two years. The KOICA volunteers as native speakers of the Korean language have made and continue to make a significant contribution to the cause of teaching of the Korean Studies program students.


Academic plan

As is well-known, the academic process is carried out according to the academic plan. This plan describes all the subjects taught divided by semesters, with number of lectures, seminars; forms of control - exam or zachet (credit test). After Kazakhstan got its sovereignty, the academic process was freed from the former ideology and the system of education was reformed. The university education for some time was undergoing the transition period. At that time the former Soviet academic plans and curricula were used, later they were substituted by new ones and in 2007 the system of the university education has become three-stage, corresponding to the universal standards: 4 years- bachelor's degree, 4 years - master's degree and 3 years - Ph.D program. In Kazakhstan students get their education in two languages - Russia or Kazakh, correspondingly all the academic plans are made in two languages. Each academic plan is meant for a definite major and is obligatory leaving no choice of subjects for the students themselves.

Typical features of the academic plans of Korean departments of the last decade:

-- Unstable, constant changes. For example, in Kazakhstan the Department of Korean studies have the following specialization: philology, oriental studies, regional studies, study of Korea.

-- Too many general humanitarian disciplines in the academic plan: philosophy, sociology, political economy, history of Kazakhstan, etc. which are not directly connected with the Korean studies.

-- The plans are usually made taking into account available teachers at the Korean departments. There are very few special courses and seminars, as there are not enough lecturers.

Textbooks and Teaching Materials

The problem with the textbooks of the Korean language has been solved with the support of Seoul. However, the issue of good quality textbooks and teaching materials remains acute because there are no good textbooks and computer programs designed specially for Russian or Kazakh speaking students. Still there are no frequency double or triple dictionaries, word books, etc. For Kazakh, Uzbek, Kirgiz groups other types of textbooks and dictionaries are needed than for Russian speaking students.

The Korean Language textbook in 6 Volumes published by the Yonsei University is broadly used and 2 or 3 years ago there was no alternative to it. Nowadays the books in practical grammar of the Seoul National University, Ihwa University and also textbooks of the Korean Language compiled by Russian professors are also in use.

The situation with textbooks on the history, culture and socio-economic system of Korea is even worse. Academic publications about Korea available in the Kazakhstani libraries are out-of-date, the new Russian monographs, books and academic journals on Korea does not reach the Central Asia. Many other sources in Korean or English on Korea are difficult for the students to read and understand.

Modern technologies in teaching and studying Korean are little used - CD programs, Internet, video and audio. One of the most popular kinds of activity used at Korean language classes is viewing and discussing of Korean movies or TV dramas.

Material -Technical Base

In the cause of improving the material-technical base of the of Korean Language programs the great help was rendered by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, Korean governmental foundations, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Centers of Education, KOIKA, and other institutions. Everywhere there are computers, audio-visual, office equipment and teaching materials presented by the sponsors.

The best equipped among the University Korean language programs is the department of Korean Studies of the KazNU. There are 20 computers, 5 printers, 2 TV sets, 2 video-recorders, DVD/CD players, a lot of various office equipment, Internet and phone lines, Video and Photo cameras, all kinds of projectors and a reading room with over 5000 books.

On the whole the Korean language programs at the universities of Kazakhstan have at their disposal all necessary textbooks, teaching materials and equipment thanks to the help of the governmental institutions of Korea and sponsorship of the South Korean companies.

Relations with Korean Universities

On the whole the relations between the Korean language programs at Kazakhstani Universities and South Korean universities can be characterized as weak, under-developed and unstable. The universities in Almaty are in a better position because teachers from some Korean universities come here more often.

Many universities have formal agreements on cooperation with some Korean universities which actually do not work. For example, the KazNU signed agreements with 8 Korean universities but it has annual exchange programs only with the HUFS and Daegu University. The cooperation to a great extent depends on the inter-personal relations and contacts of the leaders of the local universities and Korean universities.

The main problem is that the agreements between Kazakstani and South Korean universities envisage students' exchange programs. The South Korean universities can offer not only free instruction but also a cheap accommodation in the university dormitories and a monthly stipend. Very few Kazakhstani universities can offer the same. The KazNU is the only university in Kazakhstan which has its own campus with relatively tolerable conditions for study and accommodation of foreign students. Instead of a monthly stipend students are offered three meals a day in a students' canteen.

Other types of cooperation with the South Korean universities are episodic. So far there have been no joint researches or professors' exchange programs.

Scientific Institutions and Societies of Korean Studies

The beginning of the activity of scientific institutions specializing in research of the Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan refers to the late 1980s. After the well-known December events of 1989, in Almaty was established a Center for Studies of the National and International Relations. The structure of the Center included a department on national Diasporas where Drs. Khan I.P., Kim G.N. and researcher Lee A. worked. The center existed for three years and did not leave any noticeable trace in the history of the Kazakhstan science.

Professor Kho Song Moo arrived from Helsinki in 1992, and on behalf of the Association of Korean and Cross-cultural studies (Paris) intended to sign an agreement with the Academy of Sciences on setting up of a department of Korean Studies, however, it was not realized. The department of Korean studies was set up in the Institute of Oriental Studies (transformed Center of Korean Studies) in 1996. Kim G.N. was appointed the head of the department. During three years scholars from Kazakhstan and South Korea carried out research, worked at monographs and books and the journal “Newsletter of Korean Studies in Kazakhstan” was published, and several international conferences on Korean Studies were held. The department was recognized and got sponsor's help from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, “Korea Foundation”, “Korea Research Foundation”. Scientific contacts with different foreign scientific centers and universities were developing. A number of Doctoral students, post- graduate students from the Republic of Korea, Japan and the USA were trained at the department. However, because of the changes in the financing system of scientific projects in Kazakhstan the topic “Actual Problems and Prospects of Korean Diaspora” was closed and in 1999 the department stopped to exist.

At present the Center of Korean Studies is functioning at the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the KazNU named after al-Farabi. The Center is not financed by the university or the government of Kazakhstan; it is supported by the South Korean grants of the Korea Foundation, Korea Research Foundation, Academy of Korean Studies, National Institute of Korean History etc.

In 1996 under the Institute of the Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan the Association of Korean researchers was set up. The Korean studies programs in the world, as is known, are united into Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE) and the Pacific Association of Korean Studies (PAKS). Thus the scholars of the post-Soviet Central Asia, who are specializing in Korean studies, have fallen out of the geographical frameworks of Europe and the Pacific region. That is why the idea of setting up an Association for Korean studies in the Central Asia and the Pacific region was born. But again the right idea got the wrong realization. The problem of coordination of Korean studies in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia still remains unsolved.


26


Kim Syn Hwa. Ocherki po istorii sovetskih koreizev.( Essays on the History of the Soviet Koreans) Alma-Ata: Nauka, 1965; Pak B.D. Koreizy v sovetskoi Rossii ( Koreans in the Soviet Russia). M. - Irkutsk, 1995; Pak B.D., Bugai N.F. 140 let v Rossii (140 years in Russia). Ocherk istorii rossiiskih koreizev. Moscow. IV of RAS (Russian Academy of Sciences), 2004

See: CSA( Central State Archive) of the RK(Republic of Kazakhstan), ф. 1692, оп.1, д. 137, pp. 5-7.

CSA of the RK, ф. 1692, оп.1, д. 128, pp. 29-30.

SAKO (State Archive of Kzyl-Orda Oblast), ф. 283, оп.1, д.5, л.3.

CSA of the RK, f. 1692, оп.1, д. 128, pp. 32-33

CSA of the RK, f.1692, оп.1, д.166, pp.14,16.

AP RK, (Archive of President of Republic of Kazakhstan) ф. 708, оп. 1, д. 45, p. 10

See: Shim Young Seob, Kim G.N. (edit.) Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana.( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan) Sbornik arkhivnyh dokumentov. V.1, Almaty-Seoul, 1998, p. 335-355

AP RK, ф. 708, on. 3/1, д. 439, p. 123-124.

AP RK, ф. 798, on. 3/1, д. 147, p. 255-256

Pak Ir. Korean fund of the Almaty library named after Pushkin. // Kratkie soobshchenia Instituta Vostokovedenia, 1951, 1, p. 42-44.

Kan G.V. Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana ( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan) Almaty, 1995, p. 108-109

Kim G.N., Men D.V. Istoria I kultura koreizev Kazakhstana. (History and Culture of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1995, p.212-213.

Newspaper “Lenin kichi” is one of the oldest overseas Korean newspapers. The first issue under the name “Senbong” was published 1923 in Vladivostok. After the Deportation the name of the newspaper was changed to Lenin Kichi. It happened again in 1991 and now it is called Koryo Ilbo”.

Shim Young Seob, Kim G.N. (edit.) Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana.( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan) Sbornik arkhivnyh dokumentov. V.1, Almaty-Seoul, 1998, p. 293-294

See: Kim G.N.. Stereotipy sovetskoi istoriografii I aktualnye problemy issledovania koreiskoi voiny 1950-1953. ( Stereotypes of the Soviet historiography and topical issues of the Korean war research) // Kulturnye i istoricheskie prozessy v stranah Vostoka perehodnogo perioda. Materails of the international conference, May, 17-18, 1999. Vestnik KazGU. Seria Vostokovedenia, 1999, 9, p. 182-196; Lists and characteristics of the Koreans recommended for work in the South Sakhalin, Khabarovsk and Maritime provinces. See: Kim G.N., Men D.V. Istoria i kultura koreizev Kazakhstana. (History and Culture of the Koreas of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1995, p.266-277.

Khan B.I. Pedagogicheskie problemy obuchenia koreiskogo naselenia (na materialah Kaz.SSR). (Pedagogical Problems of Educating the Korean Population). Summary of the Candidate dissertation. Alma-Ata, 1981, p. 15.

See: Kim G.N., Men D.V. Istoria i kultura koreizev Kazakhstana. (History and Culture of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1995.pp.304, 313-314,321.

AP RK, ф.708. оп.31, д.75, лл. 11-13.

See: Shim Young Seob, Kim G.N. (edit.) Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana.( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan) Sbornik arkhivnyh dokumentov. V.1, Almaty-Seoul, 1998, p. 277-281

SAAO. (State Archive of Almaty Oblast) ф. 127, on. 1, д. 408, p.78: Kim G.N., Shim Yeong Seob. Istoria prosveshschenia koreizev Kazakhstana i Rossii. Almaty ( History of Education of the Koreans of Kazakhstan and Russia), Kazak univertsiteti, 2000, p.204-205

See: Kim Pen Hwa. Bukvar'( ABC book) (in Korean). M., 1959)

Kim Pen Hwa and Hwan Yun Din. Grammatika koreiskogo yazyka dlya 3-go klassa (Grammar of the Korean language for the 3rd grade). М„ 1959)

See: Han Dyk Pon, Kim Pen Hwa, Hwan Yun Din. Kniga dlya chtenia( Book for reading) (2-oi klass); Same. Kniga dlya chtenia (3-iiklass). М., 1959)

See: Khegai M.A. Russko-Koreiskii slovar' shkolnika( Russian-Korean dictionary for schoolchildren) (dlya uchashchihsya of 3-10 klassov shkol s koreiskim kontigentom uchashchihsya).Tashkent, 1958.

See: Kim Nam Sek, Khegai M.A. Bukvar'( ABC book) (in Korean). Tashkent, 1964; Same. Textbook of Korean for the 3rd and 4th grades. Tashkent, 1965.

SAAO, ф. 127, on. 1, д. 402, л, 79.

SAAO, ф. 499, on. 2, д. 1321, св. 158, лл. 43,75

See: Yugai I.G. Razvitie etnoyazykovyh prozessov v inonazionalnoi srede (Development of Ethnolinguistic processes in the alien National Environment).Summary of the Candidate of Sciences dissertation. М., 1982

Kim G.N., Men D.V. Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1985,p.21б

Kan G.V. Istoria koreizev Kazakhstana( History of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1995, p. 178

AP RK, ф. 708, on. 135, д. 6, л. 20-22.

See: Sovetskie koreizy Kazakhstana( Soviet Koreans of Kazakhstan) (enziklopedicheskii slovar').Alma-Ata, 1992, p. 101-126; Koreizy v nauke Kazakhstana( Koreans in the Science of Kazakhstan). Almaty, 1997.p. 251.

See: King J.R.P. An Introduction to Soviet Korean. - Language Research. Vol.23, No.2, Seoul, 1987, pp. 233-277; Kho Songmoo. Koreans in the Soviet Central Asia. Studia Orientalia. Vol. 61, Helsinki, 1987, pp. 101-140.

See: Haarman H. Aspecte der koreanisch-russischen Zweisprachigkeit. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, 1982.- 214 S.

Hur Seung-Chul. Language Shift and Bilingualism among Soviet Nationality Groups.- The Journal of Slavic Studies, 1988, Vol.3, Seoul, pp.123-139

See: Khan M.M. Yazyk i etnicheskoe samosoznanie koreizev Kazakhstana( Language and Ethnic Self-conscience of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). - Kunstkamera. Etnograficheskie tetradi. 1996, issue 10, pp. 35-60; Song S.Yu. Soziolingvistichekii analiz funkzionirovania koryo mar i russkogo yazyka v koreiskoi diaspore Kazakhstana( Sociolinguistic Analysis of Functioning of Koryo mar and Russian in the Korean diaspora of Kazakhstan). AKD, Almaty, 1999.p. 31.

Khan M.M. Yazyk i etnicheskoe samosoznanie koreizev Kazakhstana(Language and Ethnic Self- conscience of the Koreans of Kazakhstan). - Kunstkamera. Etnograficheskie tetradi. 1996, issue 10, p. 45

See: Otchet pravlenia na VI s'ezde Assoziazii koreizev Kazakhstana o prodelannoi rabote za period s oktyabrya 1995 po oktyabr' 1999( Report of the Board at the IV congress of the Association of Koreans of Kazakhstan for the period from October,1995 to October,1999). Almaty, 16.10 1999.

Khan G.B. Proshloe i nastoyashchee koreizev Kazakhstana( Past and Present of the Koreans of Kazakhshtan). p. 79


Addenda


DEPARMENT OF KOREAN STUDIES


KAZAKH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: PRESENT STATE AND PERSPECTIVES


Establishment of the Department of Korean Studies

-- The Department was established initially as Department of the Korean philology in 1994

-- The first Head of the Department -Kim Phil Yong

-- First set of Students - 10 persons, Kazakh group

-- South Korean Teachers, 1994-1999: Chang Von Jang, Baek Te Hyong, Kim Sang Uk, Oh Yong Kyo and others


General information about the Department of Korean Studies

-- Department of Korean studies - from 1999

-- Staff: 2 Professors, 2 Assistant Professors, 4 Senior Lecturers, 8 Lectures, 1 Secretary

-- Number of undergraduates Students 96, post graduates - 7, Ph.D. candidates - 3, post doctoral fellows -2

-- Address: 050012, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Amangeldy Street 61а, Rooms 200-202

-- Phone/fax: 7-7272- 674589


Specialization of the Department

-- Oriental Studies

-- Area Studies

-- Linguistics

-- Interpreters


CURRICULUM - 1

Philological subjects:

-- Practical course of the Korean language

-- Morphology of the Korean language

-- Theory of the Korean language

-- Historical grammar of the Korean language

-- Classical Korean literature

-- Modern Korean literature

-- Theory and practice of translation

-- Hanja - Chinese characters


CURRICULUM - 2

Social and Humanitarian subjects:

-- Introduction into Specialization (Oriental and Area Studies)

-- History of Korea

-- Ethnic culture of Korea

-- Modern culture of Korea

-- History of culture of Korea

-- Sources and historiography of Korea

-- Contemporary Economics of Korea

-- History of religions of Korea

-- Economic geography of Korea


CURRICULUM - 3

Special subjects:

-- Socio-cultural Development of Koreans in Kazakhstan

-- Topical Problems of Overseas Korean Diasporas

-- History of National Liberation Movement of Korea

-- Korean War 1950-1953

-- International Relations of Korea 19-20 c.

-- Dialects and Standard Languages in the North and South Korea

-- Foreign lexica in the contemporary Korean Language

-- Traditions and Innovations in the Etiquette of Koreans

-- Others


CURRICULUM - 4

Methods of Teaching :

-- Methods of teaching of History

-- Methods of teaching the Korean Language


CURRICULUM - 5

Practical experiences

-- Archives and Libraries

-- Korean Enterprises

-- Pedagogical (school)

-- Language program in Korea from 6 months to 2 years


Teaching Staff of the Department of Korean Studies

-- Head of the Department - Professor, Ph.D - 2

-- Candidate of sciences, Ph.D. (History), Assistant Professors - 2

-- Senior Lectures - 4

-- Lectures-8

-- Including 4 native speakers from South Korea including delegated from KRF- 1, contracted - 2, KOICA Volunteer - 1


Graduates of the Department 1999-2006

Total number of graduates - 83

-- 1999 - 7

-- 2000 - 10

-- 2001 - 6

-- 2002 - 3

-- 2003 - 4

-- 2004 - 11

-- 2005 - 24

-- 2006 -18


Employment and Professions:

-- In Education and Science -20

-- Business - 45

-- 13 freelanced

-- Government - 5


Space and Equipments -1

-- 5 rooms, in total -100 square m.

-- Readings room - 12 places

-- Multimedia-PC Room - 12 places

-- Complete Furniture Sets

-- PC (Pentium 4) - 20

-- BIM, OHP, Slides projectors

-- Office Equipments

-- Digital Video Camera Sony and Montage table - 1

-- Digital Photo Camera Sony


Space and Equipments -2


-- TV-VHS Set -2

-- VHS Recorder - 1

-- Home Karaoke - 1

-- Samulnory set -1

-- Hanbok - 10

-- Taebok - 10

-- Audio-Visual Materials - 500 tapes and CDs

-- Direct Phone line

-- Internet, USB cable


Library

-- Textbooks, dictionaries - 5000 books.

-- Academic literature in Russian, Korean and English - 600

-- Journals and magazines - 500

-- Reading books, classical literature, stories, fairy tails in Korean - 2500

-- Books on Korean Diaspora in Russia, Soviet Union, Kazakhstan - 300

-- Short Stories and playwrights by Soviet Koreans - 100

-- North Korean books - 200


International Relations and Cooperation

-- Cooperation: Centre of Korean Education (Ministry of Education of the ROK), КOICA, Embassy of the ROK

-- Korea Foundation, Korea Research Foundation, Overseas Koreans Foundation


Partner-Universities: students' exchange programs

-- Hanguk University of Foreign Studies

-- Kyongi University (Suwon)

-- Chungju National University

-- Daegu National University

-- Kangnam National University

-- Chonnam University

-- Kangwon National University

-- Woosok University


Language programs for Students and Lectures in Korea

-- In total from 1999 to 2005more than 75 students finished and are improving Korean at the partner-universities and as foundations fellows

-- All lecturers attended language courses in the Republic of Korea

-- 5 postgraduates are studying in the Republic of Korea


Topical Problems

of the Department:

-- Many different Curricula

-- Many useless courses in Curricula

-- To many groups with a small number of students in different specializations

-- Lack of classrooms, two shifts


General for all Korean Departments in Kazakhstan

-- Lack of Korean language teachers

-- Low salaries in the Universities

-- Lack of experiences in teaching Korean to Russian and Kazakh native students

-- Week cooperation between the Korean Departments of different Universities


Measures fro Improvement of the situation with the Korean Studies

-- Increase salaries of the teaching staff

-- Introduce a contract system between Universities, Foundations and Fellows: after a postgraduate course in the Republic of Korea it is obligatory to teach at the Department of Korean Studies for at least 3 years

-- Hold annual Central Asian Students' Conferences and Korean speech contests

-- Improve activities of the Association of the Korean Language Teachers

-- Establish relations and cooperation with the South Korean employers


Plans and prospects for development of the Department of Korean Studies


In teaching process:

-- To continue to admit of 20-25 students annually

-- To start admission of students for master degrees and postgraduates for Ph.D. degrees

-- To continue admission of the students for the second education program (3 years).

-- Specialization and improvement of teaching of curricula courses

-- Compiling, writing and publishing of teaching and methodical literature.


Teaching staff:

-- Selection of the best graduates for work at the Department of Korean Studies

-- Increase the teaching staff and divide the Department members into 2 sections: linguistic-philological and social-humanitarian

-- Development of research activities of the teaching staff and obtaining of Ph.D. degrees


Research:

-- Development of the Centre of Korean Studies, as a research institution uniting Korean Studies scholars and postgraduates in Kazakhstan

-- Continuation of publishing of the academic Journal " Newsletter of Korean Studies in Central Asia"

-- Realization of individual and joint research projects

-- Publishing of monographs and books in Korean Studies


International cooperation:

-- Conclusion of agreements on academic exchange and cooperation with Universities of the USA, Europe and Asia

-- Expansion and strengthening of cooperation with the Korean sister-universities

-- The invitation of visiting Professors from abroad within the frameworks of the Ph.D. program


©   Ким Герман Николаевич, профессор, доктор исторических наук, директор Центра корееведения КазНУ им. аль-Фараби, Республика Казахстан, Алматы, 050012, ул. Амангельды 61а, каб. 200; тел./ факс раб. 7-327- 2674589, сотовый: 7-701-7551494; e-mail: kazgugnk@yahoo.com gerkim@mail.ru; MSN kazgugnk@hotmail.com

http://www.koryosaram.freenet.kz

©    Prof. Dr. Kim German Nikolaevitch, Director of the Center for Korean Studies Faculty at the Kazakh National University. Republic of Kazakhstan Almaty, 050012,Amangeldy str.61a, Room 200;

Phone/fax: 7-327-2674589, mobile: 7-701-7551494

e-mail:kazgugnk@yahoo.com gerkim@mail.ru; MSN kazgugnk@hotmail.com

http://www.koryosaram.freenet.kz