Program Overview

The CLS Korean Program in Gwangju, 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 sixth-largest city located just south of Seoul. Students receive a minimum of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction where they learn the four major skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in Korean.

Outside of formal classes, CLS Korean students are provided unique opportunities to learn about Korean culture. The CLS curriculum in Gwangju incorporates extensive co-curricular activities including day and weekend excursions to explore significant sites in and near Gwangju, cultural seminars, and community programs where participants utilize their Korean language to learn more about Korea’s culture. Additionally, weekly cultural classes allow CLS Korean students to learn how to make traditional Korean crafts, master Taekwondo, and practice K-Pop dancing.

For the duration of the summer, CLS Korean students live in Korean host families, allowing them to gain insight into Korean culture and form close bonds with their families. Students will also have one-on-one sessions with native-speaking language partners for a few hours a week. 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 is hosted by Chonnam National University (CNU), a conglomerate of 16 colleges and 11 graduate programs with histories dating back more than 100 years. Founded in a period of transition in Korea, CNU students played a large role in the nation’s development and thus put Gwangju at the front of the democracy movement. Gwangju is also famous in Korea for its food and in the past, students have had the opportunity to study how to make their own Bibimbap. You can find out more about CNU on their website.