Professors offer Korean class for UTM students

Last Tuesday, Oct. 20, UTM students, faculty, staff and Martin residents gathered in Room 201 of the College of Business Building for the fourth time to learn Korean taught by Associate Professor of Marketing Dr. Michael Park and co-teacher Jisun Collier, who has a Master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  The class began by reviewing the Korean alphabet and then moved to simple words and useful phrases; the teachers were even able to incorporate song and dance (such as “Gangnam Style”) to get the class excited.

"It is a lot of fun," said Senior Computer Science major Andrew Berry.  

Before this class, Berry was learning Korean by himself, but thanks to these free classes, he has been able to improve his learning by far.

So why has Park and Collier decided to offer such important classes?  

 "I figured out the students' needs to learn Korean and wanted to meet their needs.  I believe learning Korean gives UTM students wider opportunities in the job marketplace," Park said.

 Some students hope that this class will spur an interest among others so that in the following semesters, UTM may offer such courses, if popular enough.  With an increasing turnout that night, this seems like a valid possibility.


Park expressed his thanks to UTM for allowing him to use the campus as a means to teach the class.  So take advantage, and join Park, Collier and others on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in Room 201 of the Business Building.