Jeeyoung Ha, director of the Korean language program for the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures, has been selected by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences awards committee to receive the LAS Academic Professional Award.
Ha is one of six staff members and academic professionals who are being recognized for their particularly noteworthy efforts in advancing the mission of the college in 2021-22. All six awardees will be honored at a ceremony in March.
As the director of the Korean language program for EALC, Ha designs and teaches the Korean language curriculum. In addition to hiring, training, and supervising TAs within the department, Ha develops teaching materials, tests, and other supplementary materials. Since 2020, Ha has also served as the director of undergraduate studies for the department. Ha has co-authored a set of Korean textbooks with the University of Hawaii Press that contribute tremendously to the teaching of Korean by filling gaps in an area desperately in need of suitable teaching materials. According to her colleagues, Ha is vital to providing an amazing environment for students to learn language and culture.
Ha said her favorite part of the work she does is meeting new people every semester and getting to know her students, especially, by communicating in Korean.
“After more than 20 years of teaching Korean, now I have come to think of teaching as an opportunity to ‘learn’ about each other even in class settings,” said Ha. “I love when students try to communicate their message in Korean not as a practice but as in a real-life conversation, and I get to learn new things about them in every class.”
He said her colleagues have also played an important role in her career.
“In this line of work, having good colleagues to share your concerns and challenges with and learn from has become an essential part of why I love my job,” said Ha.
Ha said she is now focused on keeping up with changes to the demographics and linguistic repertoire of learners of Korean and accommodating anyone who wants to learn the language.
“Meeting their interests and needs in an optimal learning environment to the best of my abilities has been my primary goal these days, and I will continue exploring and integrating new resources including technology to accommodate them,” said Ha.
Dania De La Hoya Rojas
Editor's note: A version of this story first appeared on the College of LAS website.