First-Year Korean 1A (5 units) is the first course in the Beginning Korean sequence. This course is designed to help students develop low-beginning proficiency in the Korean language, including skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as well as an understanding of Korean culture.
The course begins with an introduction to the Korean writing system (Hangul) and sound system. The remainder of the course focuses on fundamental grammatical patterns, including basic sentence structures, essential grammatical points, and commonly used expressions.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to handle a limited number of uncomplicated communicative tasks by using the language in straightforward social situations. Conversation will be restricted to basic exchanges and predictable topics necessary for daily survival in a Korean-speaking environment. Students will be able to express personal meaning by combining and recombining learned material into short statements and simple sentences.
Listening: Students will be able to understand limited information from sentence-length speech, delivered one utterance at a time, within basic personal and social contexts. However, comprehension may be uneven.
Reading: Students will be able to understand simple, connected texts related to basic personal and social needs, although misunderstandings may occur frequently.
Writing: Students will be able to meet limited practical writing needs. They can produce simple statements and questions based on familiar material, primarily using memorized vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Prerequisite: None. No prior study of Korean is required.
First-Year Korean 1B (5 units) is the second course in the Beginning Korean sequence. This course is designed to help students develop mid-beginning proficiency in the Korean language, including skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as well as cultural understanding.
LTKO 1B is intended for students who have successfully completed LTKO 1A or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. The course focuses on fundamental grammatical patterns, including sentence structures, basic grammatical points, and practical survival-level language use. Continued emphasis is placed on the development of all four language skills, with particular attention to oral communication.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to handle a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations. Conversation will generally be limited to predictable and concrete exchanges necessary for basic survival in a Korean-speaking environment. Students will also be able to ask and respond to a range of simple questions in order to obtain basic information and meet essential needs.
Listening: Students will be able to understand simple sentence-length speech, delivered one utterance at a time, across a variety of basic personal and social contexts. Comprehension will be most accurate when topics are highly familiar and predictable, although occasional misunderstandings may occur.
Reading: Students will be able to understand short, non-complex texts that convey basic information on familiar personal and social topics of interest. They may also derive meaning from short connected texts involving simple description and narration, although some misunderstandings may occur.
Writing: Students will be able to meet a range of basic practical writing needs. They can produce short, simple communications, compositions, and requests for information in loosely connected sentences on topics such as personal preferences, daily routines, and familiar events.
Prerequisite: LTKO 1A or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
First-Year Korean 1C (5 units) is the third course in the Beginning Korean sequence. This course is designed to help students develop high-beginning proficiency in the Korean language, including skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as well as cultural understanding.
LTKO 1C is intended for students who have successfully completed LTKO 1B or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. The course continues to develop foundational grammatical patterns, including sentence structures, essential grammatical points, and practical survival-level language use. Continued emphasis is placed on the development of all four language skills, with particular attention to oral communication.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to converse with increasing ease and confidence when completing routine tasks and engaging in everyday social situations. They will be able to handle uncomplicated communicative exchanges requiring the sharing of basic information. Students will also be able to narrate and describe events across major time frames using connected discourse of paragraph length, though not consistently.
Listening: Students will be able to understand, with relative ease and confidence, simple sentence-length speech in basic personal and social contexts. They will be able to derive meaning from selected connected texts, although gaps in comprehension may occur due to limited vocabulary and structural knowledge.
Reading: Students will be able to understand short, non-complex texts that convey basic information on familiar personal and social topics of interest with relative ease. They will also be able to comprehend some connected texts involving description and narration, though occasional gaps in understanding may occur due to limited vocabulary, grammatical structures, and writing conventions.
Writing: Students will be able to meet most practical writing needs at the basic level. They can write short compositions and simple summaries related to school or work experiences, and they are able to narrate and describe everyday events and situations across different time frames.
Prerequisite: LTKO 1B or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Second-Year Korean 2A is the first course in the Intermediate Korean sequence. This course is designed for students who have completed Korean 1A, 1B, and 1C or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. It introduces low-intermediate proficiency in Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while further developing students’ cultural understanding.
Students will expand their vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to communicate effectively in a wider range of conversational contexts. They will also write short essays using the language structures and vocabulary introduced in the course.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to handle a variety of communicative tasks and participate in most informal and some formal conversations on topics related to school, home, and leisure activities. They will be able to narrate and describe events across major time frames in paragraph-length discourse and will demonstrate the ability to link sentences into coherent spoken passages.
Listening: Students will be able to understand short, structured narrative and descriptive texts, although comprehension may be uneven. They will be able to identify main ideas and some supporting details, often relying on situational and contextual knowledge to aid understanding.
Reading: Students will be able to comprehend conventional narrative and descriptive texts with clear underlying structures. These texts will primarily contain high-frequency vocabulary and grammatical patterns. Students will understand main ideas and selected supporting details, with comprehension often supported by contextual and background knowledge.
Writing: Students will be able to meet basic academic and workplace writing needs. They can produce simple summaries and compose paragraph-length texts on familiar topics. Students will also demonstrate the ability to link sentences using a limited range of cohesive devices.
Prerequisite: LTKO 1C or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Second-Year Korean 2B (5 units) is the second course in the Intermediate Korean sequence. This course is designed for students who have completed Korean 1A, 1B, 1C, and 2A or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. It develops mid-intermediate proficiency in modern standard Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while further expanding students’ cultural understanding.
Students will continue to expand their vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to communicate with greater fluency and confidence in a wider range of conversational contexts. They will also be expected to write short essays and summaries using the language structures and vocabulary introduced in the course.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to handle a wide range of communicative tasks with ease and confidence. They will actively participate in both informal and some formal exchanges on a variety of concrete topics related to work, school, home, leisure activities, and matters of current, public, and personal interest.
Listening: Students will be able to understand conventional narrative and descriptive speech, including extended descriptions of people, places, and things, as well as narrations of past, present, and future events. Speech will primarily follow familiar patterns, and students will be able to comprehend main ideas as well as many supporting details.
Reading: Students will be able to understand conventional narrative and descriptive texts, including extended descriptions and narrations across time frames. They will identify main ideas, key facts, and many supporting details, and may also derive meaning from texts that are structurally or conceptually more complex.
Writing: Students will be able to meet a range of basic academic and workplace writing needs. They can produce straightforward summaries and short compositions on topics of general interest. Students will demonstrate control of commonly used syntactic structures and a range of general vocabulary.
Prerequisite: LTKO 2A or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Second-Year Korean 2C (5 units) is the third course in the Intermediate Korean sequence. This course is designed for students who have completed Korean 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, and 2B or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. It develops high-intermediate proficiency in modern standard Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while further enhancing students’ cultural understanding.
Students will expand their vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to communicate with greater accuracy, fluency, and sophistication across a wide range of contexts. They will also produce short essays and more developed written texts using the language structures and vocabulary introduced in the course.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Prerequisite: LTKO 2B or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Third-Year Korean 130F (4 units) is the first course in the Advanced Korean sequence. This course is designed for students who have completed Korean 2A, 2B, and 2C or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. It develops low-advanced proficiency in modern standard Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while further deepening students’ cultural understanding.
Students will expand their vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to communicate effectively in formal and informal contexts across both concrete and abstract topics. Emphasis is placed on developing the ability to read and comprehend authentic materials such as daily newspapers and news broadcasts. Students will also strengthen their ability to use Korean appropriately in formal academic and professional settings.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to communicate with a high degree of accuracy and fluency in order to participate effectively in conversations across a wide range of formal and informal contexts. They will be able to discuss personal interests and areas of expertise, explain complex topics in detail, and deliver extended, coherent narratives with ease and precision. Students will also be able to express opinions on a variety of issues and support them with structured, well-developed arguments.
Listening: Students will be able to understand spoken Korean in a standard dialect across a broad range of familiar and unfamiliar topics. They will be able to follow linguistically complex and extended discourse. Comprehension will be supported not only by subject familiarity but also by a developing command of advanced vocabulary, complex grammatical structures, and cultural knowledge. Students will be able to understand both explicit and implied meanings in spoken discourse.
Reading: Students will be able to understand texts from a variety of genres on both familiar and unfamiliar topics. Comprehension will be supported by a broad vocabulary base, knowledge of complex grammatical structures, and cultural context. Students will also be able to make inferences using textual and contextual clues.
Writing: Students will be able to produce a wide range of formal and informal texts, including correspondence, detailed summaries, reports, and basic research papers. They will be able to explain complex ideas clearly and support opinions with coherent, well-structured arguments and hypotheses. Students will demonstrate strong control of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, cohesion, and punctuation.
Prerequisite: LTKO 2C or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Third-Year Korean 130W (4 units) is the second course in the Advanced Korean sequence. This course is designed for students who have completed Korean 2A, 2B, 2C, and 130F or who demonstrate equivalent proficiency. It develops mid-advanced proficiency in modern standard Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while further expanding students’ cultural understanding.
Students will continue to refine their vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to communicate with a high degree of accuracy and fluency in both formal and informal contexts. Emphasis is placed on developing the ability to read and comprehend authentic materials, including newspapers and news broadcasts. Students will also strengthen their ability to use Korean effectively in formal academic and professional settings.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to communicate with accuracy and fluency in order to participate effectively in conversations across a wide range of formal and informal contexts, addressing both concrete and abstract topics. They will be able to discuss personal interests and areas of expertise, explain complex issues in detail, and deliver extended, coherent narratives with ease and precision. Students will also be able to express opinions on various topics and support them with well-structured arguments.
Listening: Students will be able to understand spoken Korean in a standard dialect across a broad range of familiar and unfamiliar topics. They will be able to follow linguistically complex and extended discourse. Comprehension will be supported not only by subject familiarity but also by a strong command of advanced vocabulary, complex grammatical structures, and cultural knowledge. Students will be able to interpret both explicit and implied meanings in spoken discourse.
Reading: Students will be able to comprehend texts from a wide variety of genres on both familiar and unfamiliar subjects. Their understanding will be supported by a broad vocabulary base, knowledge of complex grammatical structures, and cultural context. Students will also be able to make inferences from textual and contextual clues.
Writing: Students will be able to produce a wide range of formal and informal texts, including correspondence, detailed summaries, reports, and research papers. They will be able to explain complex ideas clearly and support arguments with coherent, well-developed reasoning and hypotheses. Students will demonstrate strong control of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, cohesion, and punctuation.
Prerequisite: LTKO 2C or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
LTKO 130P - Advanced Korean: Third Year III
Third-Year Korean 130P (4 units) is the third
course in the Advanced Korean sequence. This course is designed for students
who have completed Korean 2A, 2B, 2C, 130F, and 130W or who demonstrate
equivalent proficiency. It develops high-advanced proficiency in modern
standard Korean across the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading,
and writing—while further deepening students’ cultural understanding.
Students will continue to refine and expand their
vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures and will be expected to
communicate with a high degree of accuracy, fluency, and sophistication in both
formal and informal contexts. Emphasis is placed on the ability to read and
comprehend authentic materials such as newspapers and broadcast news, as well
as to engage critically with complex spoken and written discourse. Students
will also strengthen their ability to use Korean effectively in academic, professional,
and public settings.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be
able to perform the following tasks in Korean:
Speaking: Students will be able to communicate
with a high degree of accuracy and fluency in order to participate fully and
effectively in conversations across a wide range of formal and informal
contexts, addressing both concrete and abstract topics. They will be able to
discuss specialized interests and areas of expertise, explain complex issues in
detail, and deliver extended, coherent narratives with ease and precision.
Students will also be able to present informed opinions on a variety of issues
and support them with well-structured, persuasive arguments.
Listening: Students will be able to understand
spoken Korean in a standard dialect across a broad range of familiar and
unfamiliar topics. They will be able to follow linguistically complex and
extended discourse. Comprehension will be supported not only by subject
familiarity but also by a sophisticated command of advanced vocabulary, complex
grammatical structures, and cultural knowledge. Students will be able to
interpret both explicit and implied meanings in spoken discourse.
Reading: Students will be able to understand
texts from a wide variety of genres on both familiar and unfamiliar topics.
Their comprehension will be supported by a broad and sophisticated vocabulary
base, advanced grammatical knowledge, and cultural awareness. Students will
also be able to make inferences using textual and contextual clues, including
in structurally complex materials.
Writing: Students will be able to produce a wide
range of formal and informal texts, including correspondence, in-depth
summaries, reports, and research papers. They will be able to explain complex
ideas clearly and present and support arguments with coherent, well-developed
reasoning and hypotheses. Students will demonstrate a high level of control
over grammar, syntax, vocabulary, cohesion, and punctuation.
Prerequisite: LTKO 2C or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
Advanced Korean: Readings in Sino-Korean Characters
This course introduces advanced and superior-level Sino-Korean vocabulary and characters, with a focus on developing students’ ability to read and comprehend advanced Korean-language materials while deepening their understanding of Korean culture.
Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to have acquired an expanded vocabulary and a stronger command of expressions derived from Sino-Korean vocabulary and characters, which are essential for advanced and superior levels of proficiency in Korean. It is important to note that Sino-Korean characters differ from their contemporary Chinese counterparts in pronunciation, meaning, and word formation.
Sino-Korean vocabulary accounts for more than 70% of the Korean lexicon at advanced levels. Although modern Korean is written primarily in Hangul, the semantic relationships among related words are often not transparent to learners without formal instruction in Chinese characters. This course therefore supports learners in recognizing patterns in Sino-Korean vocabulary and in retaining new lexical items more effectively over time.
Prerequisite: LTKO 2C or equivalent proficiency in Korean.
