At the University of Vienna, the list of courses with admission procedures for the coming academic year included the small subject of Koreanology alongside mass courses such as biology or law. The reason for this: K-pop. Since Korean pop music became part of Europe’s youth culture in 2012, the subject has been booming. There have been over 100 new enrollments every year since 2018 – over 80 percent of them women. However, many come with the wrong expectations, and only a third complete their studies.
Korean studies is still relatively young at the University of Vienna, having only been a separate bachelor’s degree since 2009. There were 52 new students at the time, and the gender ratio was roughly balanced. The master’s degree was added shortly afterwards. With the rise of K-pop, Korean film and the pop culture there in Europe from 2012, the degree also became “a bit of a fad,” as the Korean studies professor and vice-director of studies at the Institute for East Asian Studies, Jerome de Wit, admitted in an interview with the APA. Something similar happened for a few years with Japanese studies in the 1980s after the release of films such as “Shogun” or in the 1990s with Sinology when China began to rise to global economic power – only that the boom in Korean studies students continued.
“It needs a brake”
The result was too many students for too few staff, although according to de Wit, investments have been made in the subject in recent years. “To ensure quality, especially in our language program, we really need a brake,” he says, justifying the decision to use an admissions procedure. In the language program, for example, it is not possible to respond to students individually.
But it is not just the sheer number of students that is too high for the institute. Many also expect to only learn the Korean language during their studies. However, more than half of the course involves academic study of Korean history, economy, culture and society. The result: “Many drop out by Christmas.” Only a third complete their studies – and that is despite the fact that, according to de Wit, they are usually chosen as a first degree and not as an additional subject.
The admissions process is set to change this in the future. After 112 new students, there were only 65 applications for the admissions process for the 2024/25 academic year. Although this was still more than the 54 places planned for new students, this time all applicants were accepted without a test. The prerequisite is that they have registered and completed the mandatory self-assessment. This highlights, among other things, that Koreanology is not just about language acquisition but also about academic questions, that it is a course that requires a lot of study – and that K-pop and Korean pop culture in general are not part of the course.
Students’ interests should be incorporated
And another measure is intended to ensure that the dropout rate decreases: With a curriculum reform that will take effect in the fall, the study program management wants to focus more on students’ interests, such as the Korean language in business. In “Digital careers and studies,” students will learn how to handle data in connection with Korean topics and language. The subject will also be easier to study, as all modules will no longer build on one another, which is why a negative grade has previously led to a delay in the course of study.
The successful Korean studies graduates end up in a wide variety of fields: from journalism to international organizations such as the UN to the gaming industry. Many also aim to continue their studies in Korea, says de Wit. The development of an alumni network is currently being pushed forward.
