A Korean class has been officially organized by three Korean-American high school students with their own hands. The Korean Education Center in Los Angeles announced its support for the new Korean language class at Cypress High School.
The Korean Education Center has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cypress High School to provide $30,000 in operating expenses for the Korean language class for three years, as well as support for field trips and learning materials, the agency announced on October 16.
The MOU ceremony, held on Hangul Day on October 9, was attended by Cypress High School Principal Jennifer Brown, three 12th graders Da Eun Kim, Hye In Lee, and Yoon Hwan Sim, the parents’ association, the International Korean Educators Network (IKEN), and the Korean Education Center to celebrate the new Korean class to school.
Kim, Lee, and Shim have been working for the past year to organize the Korean class in their school, which will begin in the 2024-2025 school year. With 74 students enrolled, the Korean class will be instructed by Sonia Kim, who also teaches Korean at Oxford Academy.
“There were moments when I wanted to give up because of the hard work such as creating a promotional video and other activities to open the Korean class, but I am happy that the younger students will be able to learn not only Spanish and French, but also Korean,” said Da Eun Kim.
“We were nervous because it was the first time that a student-led foreign language course had ever been offered, but the students’ well-planned surveys and outreach efforts made it easy to get approval from the Anaheim School District,” said Brown.
“Establishing a student-led Korean language class is a meaningful step in turning the existing district-led paradigm on its head. We are grateful to the Cypress High School students for their persistence and perseverance in difficult moments, and to Principal Brown for listening to their voices.”
The three students plan to form a student organization called the LoveKo Student Union, which will produce a student manual, “How to Start a Korean Language Class at My School,” and provide it to students in neighboring schools.
BY SANGHWAN LIM, HOONSIK WOO [lim.sanghwan@koreadaily.com]
