Previous language study is not required. Students at all levels of language ability are invited to apply.

Korean Summer Program

The Korean summer program gives participants the opportunity to develop their Korean language skills while improving their understanding of traditional and modern Korean culture. Instruction will be provided on all four language skills but will focus on increasing students’ speaking and listening comprehension abilities. Activities and homework assignments will be theme-based and will include structured opportunities to practice language skills outside the classroom. Korean will be the primary language of instruction, and students will be expected to speak only Korean in class and during program-related language events. Participants will maintain a portfolio of their language work and progress.

Program Location: South Korea
Program Dates: Summer programs last six to seven weeks and typically start in mid-June to early July and end in early to mid-August.
Accommodations: Host families or a combination of group housing and host family stays

Why Korean? “[…] Korean is spoken in large ethnic Korean communities in China, Japan, Central Asia, and in the United States where 1.7 million Korean Americans live.” Read more.

Good to know: Respect for elders is an important aspect of Korean culture. For example, when a family sits down to dinner, everyone waits for the oldest person to start eating before they begin to eat. There are also special seats on the subway reserved for the elderly, which no one sits in, even if they are empty and it is a crowded train.

Korean Academic Year Program

The Korean academic year program gives participants the opportunity to develop their Korean language skills while improving their understanding of traditional and modern Korean culture. Korean academic year participants will attend Korean language classes throughout the academic year while also taking other academic coursework in Korean at local high schools. Activities and homework assignments will be theme-based and will include structured opportunities to practice language skills outside the classroom. During the winter break, participants will take part in volunteer and career development activities in addition to their Korean language studies.

Program Location: South Korea
Program Dates: Late August through May or June
Accommodations: Host families or a combination of group housing and host family stays

Why Korean? “While South Korea is a modernized country, it remains a deeply traditional country where knowledge of Korean and South Korean culture and language is a huge advantage to anyone interested in a future in trade, business, commerce, economics, tourism, or international relations in the region.” Read More.

Good to know: When eating Korean-style you will not have a plate for your food. You will generally have your own rice and soup bowls, but everything else is served and eaten from community serving dishes.

Fun fact! In the Korean language, it can be considered as self-centered to refer to things as “my mother,” or “my book.” Instead, people will often say “our mother,” or “our book.”

Pre- and Post-Program Expectations

All participants will be required to participate in pre-program language learning programs, as guided by their implementing organization. All participants will be required to complete a pre-program survey, pre-program language assessments (except for those with no prior target language exposure), and several post-program surveys and language tests.

Find more information on South Korea on the U.S. Embassy site.

Explore multimedia stories about NSLI-Y Korean summer and academic year programs on NSLI-Y Interactive.