NEWS ADVISORY Contact: Sang Yee Cheong, (808) 956-2054, scheon@hawaii.edu September 25, 2017 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Korean Language Flagship Students Enjoy Much Success

The Korean program in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures is the largest and strongest in the country in terms of its faculty, curriculum, and degree programs. The program’s Korean Language Flagship Center (KLFC) trains students to be Korean specialists in their respective professional fields. The center offers a BA and MA in Korean for professionals. KLFC faculty strives to enhance offerings and provide varied experiences, as reflected in the latest news that follows. Twenty-one flagship students successfully completed extensive overseas study in Korea: 11 post-capstone students returned to Hawaiʻi after spending the academic year 2016-17 in Korea, and 10 students returned from a 10-week summer 2017 intensive program. Also, six students completed intensive language summer courses at Mānoa. All 27 students showed marked improvement in proficiency by participating in these overseas and campus programs. Hard work has also paid off in the form of scholarships for the following flagship students:

• Aaron Allen (ROTC-Flagship scholarship) • Jennifer Lee, Brianna Leisure, Holly Moehlman, and Benjamin Yi (Foreign Language and Area Studies summer

fellowships) • Ingrid Adams, Kyle Akuya, Emerson Allen, Jerel Berselona, Krystal Lopez, Victoria Meza, Kai Hong So, Adam-

Jacob Sojot, Erica Vinluan, and Jade Young (Korean Language Flagship Center summer scholarships)

Korean Language Flagship Center faculty, staff, friends, and students at the end of the Spring 2017 semester gathering

Five capstone students are in Korea for the current academic year, and each has received an overseas scholarship:

• Lacey Bonner (Center for Korean Studies Dong-Jae Lee Scholarship) • Xiu Ju Conney (Gilman scholarship) • Soo Youn Kim (Center for Korean Studies undergraduate scholarship) • Eloise Morris (Boren scholarship) • Victoria Meza (Center for Korean Studies undergraduate scholarship)

Students also took part in the recent Korean Language Flagship Center’s special public lecture, featuring distinguished artist Sang Lee, by demonstrating the customs embodied in traditional Korean wedding ceremonies. Lee has introduced traditions such as wedding ceremonies, calligraphy, and paintings to the Islands. Graduate Assistant Dianne Juhn narrated the ceremony, which was re-enacted by “groom” Aaron Allen (flagship BA, ROTC) and “bride” Aery Kim (flagship BA, ROTC). Korean drum dances were skillfully performed by Clara Hur (flagship MA) and Annette Lee (business major), with accompaniment by Mary Jo Freshley, director of the Halla Huhm Korean Dance Studio in Honolulu.

The College of Languages, Linguistics & Literature (one of the four Arts & Sciences colleges) of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa offers a broad curriculum in English, foreign and heritage languages and literatures, second language studies, and linguistics. Its Asia and Pacific focused curricula is unique in the nation and its faculty regularly teaches more than 25 languages. If you would like to support the college, please visit www.uhfoundation.org/GivetoLLL.

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Sang Lee (center) presides over the re-enactment of the traditional Korean wedding ceremony with students.