Korean Studies, BA

Location(s): Main Campus

The Korean Studies program provides students with a solid foundation in Korean language skills and knowledge of Korea’s history, literature, culture, and religions. The program is based on the premise that both contemporary and historical understandings of Korea, its interrelations with larger East Asia, and its global importance today cannot be fully grasped without a deep understanding of its language, history, social systems and culture.

Hence, the program aims to provide students with not only language training, but also a solid understanding of how Korean societies and people actually functioned and interacted with other cultures in both the pre-modern and contemporary periods. The wide range of courses is designed to introduce various aspects of Korean Studies and provide students with the knowledge necessary for business, professional or academic endeavors.

Program Requirements

University General Education Requirements

All Binghamton University undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the General Education page for more information.

Harpur College Requirements

All students in Harpur College must fulfill additional requirements designated by Harpur College to complement and extend the general education requirements. Please refer to the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences page for more information.

Major Requirements

Course Requirements

Students majoring in Korean Studies must successfully complete 11 courses, as follows:

A. Language Sequence Courses

Students are required to successfully complete the following four language courses:

Note on Language Requirements

Depending on prior exposure to the language, KOR 101 and KOR 102 may be required prerequisites for the major. KOR 101 - Elementary Korean I and KOR 102 - Elementary Korean II provide the basic linguistic knowledge and skills required to begin the major, but do not count toward the major.

For students with significant prior exposure: after consultation and proficiency test assessment administered by Korean Program faculty, students who already demonstrate competence at any of the required levels of the Korean language may waive part or all of the language requirements. Waived Korean language courses will not count toward the major and must be replaced with other Korean Studies courses so that the student completes a total of 11 courses for the major.

KOR 305 and KOR 306 will count as two of the six upper-level course requirements for the major.

B. Elective Courses

Students should complete six courses from the list below and/or from other approved Korean Studies courses as they become available.

C. Core Course in Asian American and Diaspora Studies

Students are required to take one core course in Asian American and Diaspora Studies. Students can choose from the courses listed below and/or other approved Asian American and Diaspora courses as they become available.

AAAS 200 - Intro to Asian American Studies
AAAS 275 - History of Asian America
Courses taught by Professors Ramaesh Bhagirat-Rivera, John Cheng, Robert Ku, Cynthia Marasigan, and Lisa Yun.

D. Upper Level Requirements

Of the 11 required courses, six courses must be at the 300 or 400 level. These six upper-level courses must include:

Two 400-level AAAS seminars, at least one of which must be in Korean Studies. The two seminars must: 1) be taught by AAAS faculty members; 2) be non-language courses; and 3) be chosen in consultation with the major advisor and/or the Undergraduate Director
Four other 300 or 400-level courses, including KOR 305 and KOR 306
Note: If a student takes AAAS 491 (Practicum in Teaching), it can count as one of the six the upper level requirements, however it will not count as one of the two required 400 level AAAS seminars.

Additional Information About the Program

Students must earn a C or better for a course to count toward the major, and a course must be three or more credits course to count toward the major.
Language courses cannot be taken Pass/Fail and no more than one non-language course can be taken Pass/Fail.
No more than one course may be an independent study.
Residency Requirement: At least six courses must be taken at Binghamton University.

For more information on the Korean Studies program, visit the AAAS website. To apply to the Korean program, please visit the University Admissions website.