In the 2016-2017 school year at ERHS, for the first time students will have the option to take Korean, in addition to the school’s already-offered Japanese, Spanish, French, and Italian classes. A new Spanish class, Spanish for Native Speakers, is also being offered for the first time.

“We decided that as the world shifts to be more and more globalized, that offering more language courses are vital to the success of our students,” said Foreign Languages Department Chair Mr. Tetsuo Ogawa when asked about the decision to add the new courses.

The new Korean class will be taught by Mr. Sun Huh, who is also part of the school’s ESOL department. “Ever since I was transferred to ERHS in 2014, I have been thinking about starting a new Korean class,” Mr. Huh noted, adding that the success of the new Korean Club, which began in 2015, helped him to become confident that the class could be offered. The course will focus not only on the history and foundations of the Korean language, Hangul, but will also incorporate a variety of cultural experiences, such as Taekwondo and K-Pop. “Korean is often considered the most scientific writing system in the world,” Mr. Huh pointed out, explaining that it is “the only language in the world that was invented from scratch rather than evolving from pictographs or imitations from other writing systems.”

ERHS junior Anna-Kay Murray said she is also excited about the class. A member of the Korean Club, she said that she was interested in the new course because she listens to Korean music. “I’m trying to learn about the culture,” she said, adding that she’s also excited about “learning how to pronounce the words.”

Junior Daniel Douglas expressed a similar interest in the culture, adding that he wants to go into international studies for a career. “I don’t know what to expect” of the class, he said, but added that he believes offering new languages and courses to students is “a great idea.”

Freshman Jaime Yen will not be taking the new Korean class next year, but when asked about the addition of the two new courses to the Foreign Language Department, she responded, “I feel like it’s a good idea,” adding that “there’s been more focus on Korean arts” in recent years.

The class will be a level one course, and guest speakers will also be invited to the class in order to embrace the Korean community in the D.C. area. “Korea has so much to offer to the world in terms of language and culture,” added Mr. Huh. “It has 5,000 years of rich history to share with ERHS community.”