USCB's South Korean and Asian Literacy Education (SKALE) Project
(United States Department of Education Grant)
South Korean culture and economic power are impacting the Lowcountry/Coastal Empire, due to the development of a multibillion-dollar Korean automotive manufacturing complex and its affiliates and suppliers in the area. The "Korean Wave" in entertainment and technological innovation also are influencing local culture. Educators in South Carolina and Georgia must be prepared to teach their students about South Korean language and culture.
USCB's SKALE Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program (News Announcement) emmerses educators/students in South Korean culture, language, and daily life during a 4-week educational trip to various institutional and historical South Korean sites in Summer 2024.
In addition to the time spent abroad, participants will complete pre and post activities designed to help educators develop lessons and activities related to South Korean culture.
The SKALE group was in South Korea: June 23 - July 24, 2024. Learn more about their adventure in this SKALE press release after the trip.
Join Us at the Korean Cultural Studies Conference
Date: October 25, 2024
Location: Hilton Head Island Campus, USCB
To celebrate and support the arrival of many Korean businesses to our region and to showcase the findings of the SKALE Fulbright-Hays project, USCB invites the community to the Korean Cultural Studies Conference, an event dedicated to fostering education, understanding, collaboration, and friendship during this period of demographic transformation.
Who Should Attend:
- Business leaders and professionals
- Community members and local organizations
- Students and educators
Anyone interested in cultural exchange and community development
Cost and Registration
The conference is free but registration is required.
SKALE Participants
The SKALE participants selected include high school educators in the Beaufort/Jasper/Chatham/Bryan/Effingham County Areas, USCB faculty and staff, and junior and senior USCB Education students.
SKALE Partners
While overseas, the University of South Carolina Beaufort will be partnering with other American Universities with locations in South Korea to further facilitate the knowledge of South Korean culture as well as engaging with South Korean universities and education centers. The following universities will be providing our SKALE participants with tours, presentations, language classes, and cultural exchange opportunities to heighten the cultural emersion of our participants. Thank you to the following universities:
- The University of Utah Asia Campus
The University of Utah Asia Campus is located in Incheon, South Korea. Since opening
in 2016, the university has provided students in South Korea and around the world
with the opportunity to earn a degree through the University of Utah.
- George Mason University
George Mason University Korea, “Mason Korea”, was established in 2014 in Incheon.
It provides students with an opportunity to receive a degree from George Mason University
within the Metropolitan City of Incheon.
- Ewha Language Center at Ewha University
Ewha Language Center is based out of Ewha Woman’s University is Seoul, South Korea.
Each year, approximately 6,000 students attend a program through the Ewha Language
Center to build their Korean language skills. It offers Korean Language learning programs
to students of all levels. Program durations range depending on the chosen program.
Students at Ewha not only learn about Korean language within the classroom, but have
the ability to take their new found knowledge outside the walls of the classroom into
the city of Seoul.
- Seoul National University of Education
Seoul National University of Education began its roots in 1946 as the Gyeonggi Public
School of Education. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate programs
in different disciplines regarding education. A few of its most recent achievements
include being selected as the Most Excellent University in diagnosis of capabilities
of teacher cultivation (2022) and selected as an excellent university for sharing
and distributing academic information of the university library (2018). A big thank
you to Dr. Sun-Ho Hong, the Director of SNUE’S Language Teaching Center for Creativity
and Character Education for directly offering our SKALE team with an organized lecture
and tour of the University.
Contact Us
Juanita Babet Villena-Alvarez, PhD
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Coordinator, USCB International Programs
Professor of French, Spanish and Global Studies
One University Boulevard
Bluffton, SC 29909
Grayson House Room 100
Patricia Hardin
Assistant to the AVCAA Office
One University Boulevard
Bluffton, SC 29909
