The London King Sejong Institute has celebrated its 4th year anniversary with a huge event at Richmond American University London campus in Chiswick. The King Sejong Institute is part of Korea’s largest educational institution funded by the Korean government and the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established to promote Korean language education and culture around the world.
As the 3rd generation of president of the Korean Culture Society here at RAUL I have worked closely with the London Sejong Institute to promote Korean language and culture to our students. We have not only helped LSI promote their own events but have also been able to collaborate with them on various events at the university.
Personally, my journey with learning about Korean culture started in 2015 when I was shown some K-POP music videos by a friend. The music videos were so outrageous that you could call them a culture shock of their own. Although, it could be argued that PSY’s 2012 viral song Gangnam Style was actually my amuse-bouche into Korean Culture. When I started my first semester at RAUL, the first president of the society started the Korean Culture Appreciation Society. After the London Sejong Institute partnered with RAUL the name naturally changed to the Korean Culture Society as we started to collaborate on more and more events. As the president of the society now, I have the authority to decide what events to put on, however, I do this based on our society members constant feedback as well as our close relationship with the LSI who also collect feedback from their students. This collaborative relationship means that the events are always a success and have allowed us to showcase Korean Culture.
The partnership between RAUL and LSI was celebrated with a Grand Opening Ceremony on campus at Chiswick Park in 2022. There were Korean delicacies and drinks, K-POP and traditional music performances as week as VIP guests like the Korean Ambassador to the UK Yoon Yeocheol and the (incoming at the time) president of the King Sejong Institute, Lee Haiyoung.
The Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation also visited from South Korea to show students Korean traditional dress Hanbok (한복) and also presented the London Sejong Institute with new Hanboks for use in cultural activities. If you attend one of the events that we host on campus, you are more than likely to see someone wearing it!
Since then, we were able to host a number of events, including a K-POP dance class with a professional dance teacher. Over 30 people attended. The dance teacher flew from South Korea where she has her own dance studio to teach Beginner and Intermediate level choreography from the latest K-POP songs in London. This was part of the Sejong Culture Academy 2024 but requested by one of our Korean Culture Society members the previous semester!
Most recently, to celebrate the London Sejong Institute 4th anniversary, they held a “Experience Korea” event on campus. With the support of Korea Tourism Organisation, they organised LG Household & Health Care Co., Ltd. and Mr. Kimchi to take part with over 130 active participants sampling K-beauty products, making Kimchi, traditional painting and enjoying a tasty Korean lunch!
Even with these larger events, it doesn’t take away from the smaller ones! As the President of the Korean Culture Society, I am frequently asked when the next Korean food event will be. It is a great hit with our students but involves a bit more organisation and planning with the help of LSI. We work with amazing chefs from local Korean restaurants like Mr Kimchi in New Malden.
Apart from events, LSI also runs Korean language classes online and in person at various levels that meet weekly every semester. The 132 students registered this fall semester will go through a final exam for their level and once they pass, they will receive a certificate denoting the level of Korean language proficiency which is recognised by the Korean government! There is also a discount for our students and staff if they wish to take the classes (there are also 2 classes at the 4000 level for students who want credits over certificates).
The response to the LSI’s partnership in events had an overwhelmingly supportive response, with staff, students and wider attendees saying:
“I like watching the process of Korean food being prepared” – S.N., Student
“Looking forward to join more Korean events in the future <3” – T.AP, Student
“Thanks to LSI and the KCS [Korean Culture Society] I have become more open to learning about Korean Culture – especially the food” – R.C., Staff
I would like to thank all the staff and students at LSI and those who we have worked with either directly or indirectly. I would also like to extend this thank you to all of those that have participated in our events in any way and the wider community. Thank you!
In the near future we are working on hosting a Lunar New Year event which introduces the traditions and celebrations that are different than the way the west celebrates the calendar new year. We are always planning more cooking classes as they are the fan favourite! We are also looking to expand to “traditional drinks making” as well as “Taekwondo showcase” next semester so keep an eye out!
It goes without saying that these classes and events are a great way to immerse yourself in a different culture where you can learn a new point of view or discover something completely new, so do join us… and you just may fall in love!
