There was only enough room to stand in Claxton 310. It was the first lesson of the beginner Korean class the Asian Studies Club coordinated this semester. It is a free class open to any student who wishes to learn Korean.
The Asian Studies Club invited instructor Young Ayer to teach the course. Ayer is the instructor for the Korean Language School of Clarksville, sponsored by Clarksville Church. To start the class, Ayer had the students introduce themselves in Korean and gave a historical context to how the Korean language, Hangeul, was first formed.
“I have a strong affinity for Korean culture so I wanted to learn the language so I can better understand the media from Korea that I watch,” junior communications major Emily Foster said.
The room was so full, some students eventually left because the room proved to be to stifling with all the body heat. However, most were able to make it through the entire introductory lesson.
“I am absolutely floored by how many students are here today,” junior English major and coordinator of the Korean class Ashley Kohel said. “I only expected something like 10 students to come but we filled this room to absolute capacity.”
Kohel said she had two clear missions in mind when she organized for the class to come to APSU’s campus. She said the Asian Studies Club wants to broaden the demographic make-up of the university and show the university there is a strong desire for a Korean language program.
“If this many students are willing to sacrifice their free time for a free class, then clearly there is clear interest in an official language program here on campus,” Kohel said. “Also, there is a fairly large Korean population in the community so it could be possible bring more of those people to campus.”
The class will continue throughout the rest of the semester every Tuesday at 3 p.m., followed by a more advanced class in the spring semester. Kohel said the meeting room may have to be changed because of the large turn-out for the first lesson.
Students can email Kohel at [email protected] to find out the new meeting area.
