Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) is a private research university based in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The university was founded in 1954 to promote foreign language education in post-war Korea. The university is located in Seoul and Yongin. The name of the university is derived from the romanization of the Korean word hankuk (Korean: 한국; Hanja: 韓國) which means Korea.
The university is widely considered as one of the best private higher educations in South Korea, especially on foreign language and social science. Numerous diplomats and ambassadors are graduates of HUFS. It has a graduate school of interpretation and translation.
In 2007, HUFS won third place of Korean universities on the National Customer Satisfaction Index, and was placed second in terms of internationalization two years in a row in the university rankings of JoongAng Ilbo. The evaluation also ranked HUFS second in Korea for its research, faculty, reputation and alumni representation among schools without a medical school in 2008. In 2010, the university was ranked as the best Korean university on the subject of globalization in the QS World University Rankings.
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies was founded as a college for studying foreign languages in April 1954 by Kim Heung-bae with its first students studying English, French, Chinese, German, Spanish and Russian. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the college expanded its programmes and became a university in 1980.
In 1981, it opened its second campus in Yongin, a satellite city of Seoul.
In 2012, U.S President Barack Obama, during his visit to Korea, spoke at Hankuk University in Seoul about global progress toward nuclear non-proliferation.
The university is composed of two campuses, the Seoul Campus located in the eastern region of Seoul, and its suburban campus in Yongin which is the Global Campus.
Global campus teaches additional languages not provided in Seoul, namely Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovakian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Central Asian Languages (Kazakh and Uzbek) etc. as well as most subjects on offer at the Seoul campus.
College of English
Department of English Linguistics
Department of English Literature and Culture
Department of English for International Conferences and Communication(EICC)
College of Japanese
Division of Japanese Language, Literature and Culture
Division of Integrated Japanese Studies
College of Chinese
Division of Chinese Language, Literature and Culture
Division of Chinese Foreign Affairs and Commence
College of Occidental Languages
Department of French
Department of German
Department of Russian
Department of Spanish
Department of Italian
Department of Portuguese(Brazilian)
Department of Dutch
Department of Scandinavian Languages
College of Oriental Languages
Department of Malay-Indonesian
Department of Arabic
Department of Thai
Department of Vietnamese
Department of Hindi
Department of Turkish and Azerbaijani
Department of Persian
Department of Mongolian
College of Social Sciences
Department of Political Science and Diplomacy
Department of Public Administration
Journalism and Mass Communication Division (Journalism and Media Studies / AdvertisingㆍPublic RelationsㆍBranding / BroadcastingㆍFilmㆍNew Media
)
College of Business and Economics
Department of International Economics & Law
Economics Division (Economics)
College of Global Business Administration
Business Administration Division (Business Administration)
College of Education
Department of English Education
Department of Chinese Education
Department of French Education
Department of German Education
Department of Korean Education
Division of International Studies
Division of Language & Diplomacy
Division of Language & Trade
College of Interpretation and Translation
School of English for Interpretation and Translation (English-Korean Interpretation and Translation, Interpretation and Translation for International Trade and Relations in English-Speaking Area, English Literature and Culture Studies for Translation and Interpretation, English Linguistics)
Department of German Interpretation and Translation
Department of Spanish Interpretation and Translation
Department of Italian Interpretation and Translation
Department of Chinese Interpretation and Translation
Department of Japanese Interpretation and Translation
Department of Thai Interpretation and Translation
Department of Arabic Interpretation and Translation
Department of Malay-Indonesian Interpretation and Translation
College of Central and East European Studies
Department of Russian
Department of Polish
Department of Romanian
Department of Czech and Slovak Studies
Department of Hungarian
Department of South Slavic Studies
Department of Ukrainian Studies
College of Languages and Literature
Department of French
Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies
Department of Greek Studies and Bulgarian Studies
Department of Indian Studies
Department of Central Asian Studies
African Studies Division (East African Studies, West African Studies, South African Studies)
College of Humanities
Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science
Department of Philosophy
Department of History
College of Economics and Business
Department of International Business
Department of Economics
Department of Management Information Systems
College of Natural Science
Department of Mathematics
Department of Statistics
Department of Electronic Physics
Department of Environmental Science
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Department of Chemistry
College of Information and Industrial Engineering
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Information Communications Engineering
Department of Electronic Engineering
Department of Digital Information Engineering
Department of Industrial and Management Engineering
Open Major Division of Humanities & Social Studies
Open Major Division of Science & Engineering
Division of International Sport & Leisure
Humanities
English Linguistics
English Literature
English Translation
French Language and Literature
German Language and Literature
Russian Language and Literature
Spanish Language and Literature
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
Japanese Language and Literature
Chinese Language and Literature
Middle East Languages and Literature (Arabic Linguistics, Arabic Literature)
Central and East European Languages and Literature
Korean Language and Literature
Comparative Literature
Linguistics and Cognitive Science
Philosophy
History
Information and Archival Science
Global Culture & Contents
Turkic·Central
Social Science
International Affairs
Political Science and International Relations
Public Administration
Law
Communication and Information
International Economics and Law
Economics
Management
Management Information Systems
International Business
Natural Science
Mathematics
Physics
Chemistry
Statistics
Environmental Science and Engineering
Bioscience and Biotechnology
Engineering
Information Communications Engineering
Electronics Engineering
Computer and Electronic Systems Engineering
Industrial and Management Engineering
Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation
The Master's Programs
Two-Language Programs
Korean-English
Korean-French
Korean-German
Korean-Russian
Korean-Spanish
Korean-Chinese
Korean-Japanese
Korean-Arabic
Three-Language Programs
Korean-English-French
Korean-English-German
Korean-English-Russian
Korean-English-Spanish
Korean-English-Chinese
Korean-English-Japanese
Korean-English-Arabic
The Doctoral Programs
Korean-English
Korean-French
Korean-German
Korean-Russian
Korean-Spanish
Korean-Chinese
Korean-Japanese
Korean-Arabic
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has over 50 departments covering Social Sciences, Eastern European Studies, Humanities, Asia-African Studies, and Natural Sciences. The university contributes to regional studies, with graduate courses in international and regional studies.
Since 2004 the closely associated Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, based at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, has been offering online courses in English, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, as well as Business Administration and Journalism and Mass Communication.
HUFS runs a foreign language examination system (FLEX). The FLEX Center is developing examinations for 19 languages in addition to the seven languages currently administered (English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). It plans for 26 languages more.
As of October 2014, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has academic exchange program agreements with 431 universities and 139 institutions throughout 88 nations.
3-3-3-3 Strategy: HUFS is implementing the '3-3-3-3 strategy' to cultivate future leaders. HUFS intends to increase the proportion of international faculty, lectures in foreign languages, international students, and Korean students studying abroad for at least one semester to over 30 percent.
The 7+1 Visiting Student Program: Students study at an overseas university for at least one out of the eight semesters of their undergraduate years to gain a more international focus. HUFS provides support under the following three categories: 7+1 free-competition dispatch students(British-American zone), 7+1 dispatch students selected by departments and 7+1 dispatch students with superior entrance exam scores.
Dual Degree Program: Under the dual degree program, students receive a degree from HUFS and another degree from the University of Delaware, pursuant to an agreement between the two universities.
Student Exchange Program: Under the student exchange program, HUFS and a sister university overseas sign an agreement allowing for students from either institution to complete and receive academic credit for coursework taken on each other's campuses.
Short-term Language Study Abroad Program: Language studies at an overseas four-year university can earn students up to nine credits at HUFS. The program allows students to strengthen their language capabilities as well as become more internationally minded.
Self-financed Study Abroad Program: The Self-financed Study Abroad Program is a plan in which HUFS students may study in overseas universities and get the credits exchanged into the HUFS system. Since the student can choose any university (4-year colleges only) that the dean approves, there are more options compared to those on the Exchange or Visiting Student Program.
Under the foreign language certification system, students who have double majors are required to achieve certain scores on the FLEX (Foreign Language EXamination) test for graduation, apart from graduation certification. In principle, students need to receive certification on their proficiency in foreign language. Many kinds of languages in FLEX: English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Indian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Dutch and so on.
Foreign Language Testing and Training: The foreign language training institute was established in 1974 with support from the government and the Korea International Trade Association to provide language training to public officials and staff of companies who do business abroad.
Center for Interpretation and Translation: The agency specializes in interpretation and translation studies.
Center for Korean Language and Culture: The Center for Korean Language and Culture is an educational institute that provides Korean language education to help people from around the world to achieve a good command of Korean and a correct understanding of Korean culture while also nurturing Korean language teachers.
i-HUFS Enterprise: A school-based business, i-HUFS Enterprise was founded in November 2003 to apply the knowledge and information about languages and culture that HUFS retains for the education of students and for study by professors toward research to develop educational programs that can generate profit.
Global Leadership Academy: The Global Leadership Academy opened in 2001 to produce area experts based on education in 45 major languages used worldwide and the area studies programs available at HUFS.
University Press Center: Established in 1954 together with the university, the University Press Center has published 39 foreign language dictionaries including Korea’s first Russian-Korean dictionary in 1963 and a ‘Practical Malay∙Indonesian-Korean dictionary’ in 2008.
FLEX Center: The center was established to manage and operate FLEX(Foreign Language Examination). FLEX was developed by HUFS and is jointly administered with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Tests are administered in seven languages: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.
HUFS TESOL Professional Education Center: In response to the rising demand for English teachers equipped with language and teaching knowledge, the HUFS TESOL(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Professional Education Center was established as an independent education institution. The center offers all instruction required of English education professionals including teaching methods and application of theory to the field, as well as the evaluation, review, and production of learning materials in addition to English language training.
Seoul Institute for Continuing Education: The Seoul Institute for Continuing Education was established in August 2010 to realize the philosophy of continuing education. It serves local communities by granting public access to HUFS teaching faculty and educational infrastructure.
Alumni who honored HUFS.
Lee Duk-sun: Dept. of German, Entering Class of '58
Lee Yun-sung: Dept. of Spanish, Entering Class of '64
Song Seung-whan: Dept. of Arabic, Entering Class of '76
Jung Eun-ah: Dept. of Korean Education, Entering Class of '84. She became a KBS announcer in 1990 through open recruitment.
Choi Meng-ho: Dept. of Russia, Entering Class of '69. He entered the firm of newspaper(Dong-a daily news) in 1976, and became vice-president of Dong-a daily news.
Ms.Cho Myung-deok: College of Law, honorary alumnus. She has made over all her property to the school. Her subscriptions amount to 4.5 billions.
There are 411 partner institutions in 93 nations.