Program Overview

The CLS Korean Program in Busan, Korea provides students opportunities to learn Korean both inside the classroom and in an immersive cultural setting during an intensive 8-week language program set in Korea’s second most-populous city after Seoul. Students receive a minimum of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction during which they learn the four major skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in Korean. Formal language instruction is supplemented with weekly cultural classes that allow CLS Korean students to learn Taekwondo and traditional Korean calligraphy, all while being taught in Korean.

CLS Korean students in Busan are provided unique opportunities to learn about Korean language and culture through extensive co-curricular activities including day and weekend excursions to explore significant sites in and near Busan, cultural seminars, and community programs. Some of these activities will teach students about aspects of Korean lifestyle such as etiquette and cooking while others explore sites of cultural and historical significance in Korea. Students are paired with native-speaking language partners for one-on-one sessions for a few hours a week to employ their language skills outside of the classroom through activities such as trying local food, singing Karaoke, and even grocery shopping. CLS students will live in dormitories that they share with local university students for the duration of the summer while spending a couple of weekends with Korean host families. These experiences allow students to gain insight into Korean culture and form close bonds with various members of the local community. Altogether, students will cover the equivalent of one year of Korean instruction at a U.S. institution during the course of the summer.

The CLS Korean Program in Busan is hosted by Pusan National University (PNU), Korea’s first national university, established in 1946. PNU is one of ten national universities in Korea and is made up of 13 colleges offering 103 majors to its students. Busan is considered the educational, cultural, and economic center of Southeast Korea and is well known in the global film industry for hosting the annual Busan International Film Festival. You can find out more about PNU and Busan on Pusan National University’s website.