UH gets $1 million grant for Korean studies program

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

The University of Hawai'i has received a $1 million grant from the National Security Education Program for an advanced Korean language studies program.

The three-year grant comes through a Department of Defense initiative designed to produce university graduates with advanced levels of proficiency in languages critical to national security.

UH will be the national flagship program in Korean studies.

The Korean peninsula has been a flash point in international relations for years, and attention on the area intensified with the announcement from the communist regime that governs North Korea that the nation would no longer abide by a 1994 accord that halted its production of nuclear weapons.

Michael Long, professor of second language studies at UH, said the university will test an advanced curriculum. The first group of 12 undergraduate and graduate-level students will start the program this summer and stay in for up to two years. Classes will be small and intensive, and students will have the chance for overseas internships.

UH will also host an invitation-only conference in March for people from other flagship language programs in Arabic or Chinese, he said.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, said the grant award recognizes UH's language program as one of the best in the nation.

"The federal government has made it a priority to build on the university's strong program to educate a work force with advanced professional expertise to communicate and understand the languages and cultures of world regions critical to national security," Case said. "I am particularly pleased the UH will be an integral part of the solution to our nation's serious deficit in language expertise."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.