SOAS University of London

Japan & Korea Section, Department of East Asian Languages & Culture

BA Korean and... (combined degree) (2021 entry)

Select year of entry: 2021 2020

  • Combinations
  • Structure
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Fees and funding
  • Employment
  • Apply

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

The BA Korean combined honours degree provides students with the highest level of competence in all aspects of the written and spoken language, as well as an introduction to both classical and modern Korean culture - from the study of pre-modern Korean literature and history, to contemporary Korean cinema and TV.

This Korean degree programme is suitable for both absolute beginners as well as those with some knowledge of the Korean language. Students will spend the third year of study in Korea furthering language proficiency and understanding of the local business practices and culture. Additionally, the nature of the Combined Honours Degree will allow you to create a specialist niche for yourself by studying another subject. All students will spend year three in South Korea at Korea University or Sogang University. 

See Japan and Korea Department

Combine Korean with other subjects

You may combined Korean with other subjects such as Development Studies, Economics, History, History of Art and Archaeology, International Relations, Law, Linguistics, Music, Politics, Social Anthropology, World Philosophies.

Why study Korean Combined Honours at SOAS

  • UK Top 10 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Modern Languages
  • SOAS is home to the largest concentration of Korean specialists in Europe
  • gain essential language skills but also have an opportunity to study modules on culture, history, literature, cinema, politics.
  • spend your third year in Korea furthering language and cultural proficiency

Explore

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

Email: eastasia@soas.ac.uk

Entry requirements

  • No prior knowledge of the language or the region is required.
  • Subjects Preferred: A foreign language at A level, or equivalent, is preferred
  • Interview Policy: Mature students, candidates with non-standard qualifications, Korean nationals, and heritage speakers (ie, Korean raised abroad) who meet the academic requirements may be invited for interview.
A Levels:
AAB - ABB
A Level language preferred
IB:
35 (6/6/5)

View alternative entry requirements

BTEC: DDM

Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction

Scottish Highers: AAABB

Scottish Advanced Highers: AAB

Irish LC: 340 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above

Advanced Placement: 4 4 5 (Two semesters - UCAS Group A) plus US HSGD with GPA 3.0

Euro Bacc: 80%

French Bacc: 14/20

German Abitur: 2.0

Italy DES: 80/100

Austria Mat: 2.0

Polish Mat: Overall 75% including 3 extended level subjects

Featured events

duration:
4 years

Fees 2021/22

Fees for 2021/22 entrants per academic year

UK fees:
£9,250
Overseas fees:
£19,560


Please note that fees go up each year. Further details see 'Fees and funding' (tab on this page) or the Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Convenors


Please see the Unistats data for the various combinations of this programme under the Combinations tab.

Combinations

May be combined with:

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

BA History of Art/Archaeology and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA International Relations and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA Korean and Development Studies (Year Abroad)

BA Korean and Economics (Year Abroad)

BA Korean and History (Year Abroad)

BA Korean and Linguistics (Year Abroad)

BA Korean and World Philosophies (Year Abroad)

BA Law and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA Music and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA Politics and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA Social Anthropology and Korean (Year Abroad)

Structure

Structure

Students take 120 credits per year totaling 480 credits during their time at SOAS. The credits taken at SOAS are normally split 60/60 per academic year. 

  • Year 1: students normally take 60 credits of language and 60 credits from their second subject.
  • Year 2: student continue with language learning and choose modules on culture, history, literature within the Korean syllabus to the value of 60 credits.  The remaining 60 credits will be taken from the second subject.
  • Year 3: students will spend this year abroad at Korea Univeristy of Sogang University in Seoul, where the focus is on further language training.
  • Year 4: student continue with higher level language learning and choose modules on culture, history, literature within the Korean syllabus to the value of 60 credits. The remaining 60 credits will be taken from the second subject.

Programme

Year 1
Core Module

This module must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study

Module Code Credits Term
K100: Elementary Korean 155900842 60 Full Year
Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from the syllabus of the second subject

Year 2
Core Module

This module must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study

Module Code Credits Term
K200 Intermediate Korean 155901472 30 Full Year
Compulsory Modules

Students will take the modules below

Module Code Credits Term
East Asian Imperialisms 155901481 15 Term 2
Contemporary Korean Society 155901480 15 Term 1
Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from the syllabus of the second subject

Year 3

*Year 3 (from 2021) Year Abroad: For more information on the year abroad in Korea, please see the Teaching & Learning tab.

Year 4
Compulsory Module

Students must take the module below

Module Code Credits Term
History and Memory in East Asian Cultures 155903015 15 Term 2
K400: Advanced Korean 155901473 15 Term 1

AND

Guided Option

Choose modules from List A/List B/Central Options List to the value of 30 credits.

AND

Second Subject
Students take 60 credits from the syllabus of the second subject.

Year 4 - List A Guided Option Modules
FHEQ Level 6
Module Code Credits Term
Independent Study Project in East Asian Studies 155901483 30 Full Year
The Other Korea: North Korea since 1945 155901356 15 Term 2
K401: Korean-English Translation 155901414 15 Term 2
Trajectories of Modernity in Korean Literature and Film 155901390 15 Term 1
Year 4 - List B Language Modules

FHEQ Level 5/6

Module Code Credits Term
Chinese 1 A 155906022 15 Term 1
Chinese 1 B 155906023 15 Term 2
Chinese 2 155900829 30 Full Year
Chinese 3 155901097 30 Full Year
Chinese 4 155901144 30 Full Year
Chinese for Business 155903010 15 Term 2
Japanese 1 A 155906026 15 Term 1
Japanese 1 B 155906027 15 Term 2
Japanese 2 155900875 30 Full Year
Japanese 3 155901345 30 Full Year
Japanese 4 155901346 30 Full Year

Programme Specification

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 60, 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are taught over one term or the full year. It also shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.

Contact hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others.

More information is on the page for each module.

Year abroad

As a two-subject student of Korean you will attend one of our partner institutions in Korea in Year 3 of your programme for the academic year. You will be required to enrol in the Korean Regular Course for three terms, sit and pass the local examinations at the Korean partner university. Students will also be required to complete a particular level by the end of the year abroad.

Fees and funding

Employment

Employment

Studying the BA Korean combined degree programme will provide students with competency in Korean language skills, as well as intercultural awareness and understanding. Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills with which to further your studies of Korea, or to make comparative study with other areas. 

Skills gained

  • familiarity with the region through a combination of the study of language and culture
  • communication and presentation skills
  • analytical skills
  • ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources.

Careers

BA Korean graduates leave SOAS not only with language and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector.

Employers

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

  • Bloomberg L.P
  • British High Commission
  • British Council Seoul
  • Deloitte Management Consulting Ltd.
  • Foreign & Commonwealth Office
  • Korea Trade Organisation
  • Korea Broadcasting Corporation
  • Oxford University
  • The British Embassy
  • The British Museum
  • Wall Street Associates

Roles

The types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

  • Financial Analyst
  • Head of Production
  • US Marketing Executive
  • Senior Research Executive
  • Director of Development and Alumni Relations
  • Project Leader, Strategic Planning
  • Solicitor
  • Architect
  • Interactive Designer
  • Freelance Korean Translator

Find out more on our Careers Service website

A Student's Perspective

The best thing about my time here is that there has been a huge improvement in my language skills and I have become more aware of people from various backgrounds. 

Alice Yuen

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