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
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