Oriental languages and civilizations

Educational Goals The curriculum of Korean studies at ISO aims to provide international and national students with a better understanding of Korea not only on the linguistic but also cultural profile. The invention of a writing system represented a crucial event in Korean history. The course aims to present the various stages of the history of the Korean language and deepen the various methods of pre-alphabetic writing such as Idu, hyangch'al and kugyŏl, up to the invention of the alphabet Hunmin Chŏngŭm (correct sounds for the education of the people). Specific Goals. The course will deepen the evolution of the written language until the eighteenth century. The course will be mainly structured in two parts: a series of lessons on the history of the Korean language and a section dedicated to the understanding, learning and practice of the Hanja. Through the study of the Korean language from its origins to its development, the course will build the student's skill to understand how the birth and evolution of the Korean alphabet happened, passing through the pre-alphabetical writing systems. The student will also master a basic knowledge of the Chinese characters Hanja.