Korean language schools in Incheon shut doors as pandemic limits foreign student access

In this photo from Jan. 4, 2019, students take part in a Korean essay composition competition hosted by Yonsei University's Korean language school at the school's Sinchon campus in Seoul. Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan

An increasing number of Korean language schools in Incheon are closing as social distancing rules for the COVID-19 pandemic have deterred people from taking classes.

The dip in student enrollments comes as schools across the country ceased outdoor activities teaching Korean culture and traditions and shifted all lessons online to comply with the government's measures aimed at coping with the deadly disease.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Incheon National University's Songdo Campus plans to temporarily close its Korean language school after the ongoing spring semester that runs from March to May is complete. The language school had been running three-month semesters, four times a year.

The school saw an enrollment boom during its fall semester (September to November) in 2019 before the new coronavirus was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, with over 2,000 enrolled students. In the spring semester this year, enrolled students only numbered about 200, down 90 percent.

Yonsei University International Campus on Songdo Island closed its Korean language school earlier this month after completing the last semester in 2020 with 46 students. For students who still have remaining classes to be completed, the school started directing them to the university's Sinchon Campus in Seoul's Seodaemun District.

Yonsei University's Korean Language Institute has been running since the campus was opened in 2010.

A sign at Yonsei University's Korean Language Institute Sinchon Campus advises of the school's temporary closure Jan. 28, 2020. Yonhap

One of the biggest reasons behind the drop in number of students at the schools is the canceled experience-based outdoor lessons focused on Korean culture and social conventions. A school associate from Incheon University was cited as saying there is a "definite limitation when all those hands-on lessons are shifted to online teaching."

Another major root of the problem is inbound foreigners, including international students, started facing more involved health screening at points of entry which the Korean government enforced from early 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 via border-crossing.

The diminishing pool of students has also posed a problem to the school's financial management. All the costs and investment made in providing lessons ― including wages for faculty and staff, equipment and technical support ― couldn't be covered by tuition fees.

The consequence has caused direct damage to instructors, many of whom have lost their part-time jobs. Faculty members at Incheon university's Korean language school, which used to be as many as 300, plunged to 25.

"Contrary to the Korean language's rising global reputation (thanks to K-pop and movies experienced by international audiences and fans), Korean language instructors have been laid bare to unfair and harsh treatment amid the COVID-19 pandemic," an Incheon university Korean language instructor said. "The livelihoods of many instructors are now under threat as schools are no longer seeking to extend their contracts."

Another instructor also complained about losing the job without a grace period: "the situation has become difficult due to COVID-19 … Measures for us instructors, now in a blind spot, are urgently needed."

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