Third East Asian Vision Lecture with Professor Wang Dan
On the morning of December 20th, 2020, the third East Asian Vision Lecture of the Center for East Asian Studies at the School of International Studies (SIS) was successfully held online. Professor Wang Dan was invited to give a wonderful lecture on Korean and Korean Education for SIS teachers and students. The lecture was presided over by Associate Professor Liu Yu, SIS. Nearly 80 teachers and students from the Center for East Asian Studies and the Department of Korean of SIS participated in this event.
Professor Wang Dan is the Deputy Dean of School of Foreign Languages (SFL), Peking University, Chair of the Department of Korean Language and Culture, Director of Center for the Korean Peninsula Studies, and member of Advisory Sub-committee of Less Commonly Taught Languages Teaching, Advisory Committee of Foreign Language Teaching, Ministry of Education, P.R. China.
At the beginning of the lecture, Dean Chang Chenguang delivered a welcome speech, in which he expressed his gratitude to Professor Wang Dan for accepting the invitation. He also introduced the development status of the foreign language discipline of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) and the school-running characteristics of SIS and expressed his expectation to jointly promote international and regional studies with SFL of Peking University. Besides, Dean Chang affirmed the quality of professional cultivation and the harmonious and united atmosphere of the Department of Korean of SIS. Professor Wang Dan expressed her thanks to Dean Chang Chenguang for his welcome and her expectation to strengthen the cooperation and exchanges between the two institutes in the future and appreciated Chair Liu Yu for her enthusiasm and hard work in Korean discipline construction over the past decade.
(Dean Chang Chenguang (right) delivering a speech)
The lecture by Professor Wang Dan included four parts: the distribution of the Korean Language and the system to which Korean belongs, the creation and characteristics of Korean characters, the main characteristics of Korean, and the history and current situation of Korean Education in China. First of all, she introduced the status of Korean in the world's language landscape and traced the academic discussions about the system to which Korean belongs. From the perspective of the history of Korean, Professor Wang then introduced in detail the methods used by ancient Koreans to solve the problem of inconsistency between speech and writing, the history and principles of Korean character creation. She also summarized the views of international academic circles on Korean’s scientific and original nature. After that, Professor Wang systematically introduced the characteristics of Korean from three aspects: pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. By comparing Korean with other languages such as Chinese and English, she clarified the characteristics of Korean and its similarities to other languages. In addition, she introduced the research system and fields of Korean linguistics. In the end, Professor Wang fondly reviewed the development of Korean education in China, sharing with the audience the school running history of the Department of Oriental Languages and Literature of Peking University and many valuable first-hand historical materials. In 1945, the Korean Department of National College of Oriental Studies was established and later National College of Oriental Studies were integrated with the Department of Oriental Languages and Literature of Peking University in 1949. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992, Korean education across the country saw a large-scale and rapid development. All in all, Korean education in China has embarked on a bumpy yet meaningful journey in the past 70-odd years. Professor Wang was pleased with the current development of Korean education in China, and hoped that the strategic shift could be realized in Korean education from "extensive development characterized by scale expansion" to "connotative development centered on quality improvement".
Group photo of the first graduates and their teachers of National College of Oriental Studies
(April 1948, provided by Professor Wang Dan)
Professor Wang Dan has studied Korean linguistics and Korean education and has engaged in front-line teaching and textbook compilation for many years, which contributes to her good grasp of the language characteristics and teaching rules of Korean. The lecture was systematic yet specific, and comprehensive yet in-depth, helping students absorb and assimilate the information easily. At the end of the lecture, Professor Wang Dan also enthusiastically introduced to the students the admission of the postgraduate program of Asian-African Language and Literature of Peking University. She encouraged them to enhance their professional identity, consolidate their foundation, and work hard for further studies. Then, students can give full play to their advantages as Korean professionals to make more contributions to the country's foreign exchanges and socio-economic development.
(Group photo)
