Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (abbreviated as HUFS; Korean: 한국외국어대학교) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. The university currently teaches 45 foreign languages. In addition, it contains studies in humanities, law, political science, social sciences, business, medical science, natural sciences, and engineering.
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History
In April 1954, HUFS was founded as a college for studying foreign languages in by Kim Heung-bae with its first students studying English, French, Chinese, German, Spanish and Russian.
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.
Throughout its history, the university has been visited by numerous foreign dignitaries, including Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Abdullah Gul of Turkey, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of Mongolia, Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland, and many others.
Education
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, 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.
Academic reputation
HUFS regularly ranks among the top universities in South Korea, especially in the fields of humanities and social sciences.
In 2020, eight HUFS students passed the Korean diplomat bar exam, the second most in the country behind only Seoul National University. In 2019, the school ranked third in the country with six successful examinees.
FLEX
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.
There are many languages in FLEX, including English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Indian languages, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch and so on.
Law School
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has a school of law, making it one of the 25 universities in Korea which have a law school.
Graduate School of TESOL
HUFS Graduate School of TESOL is divided into two concentrations: the Department of English Language Teaching and the Department of ELT Contents Development.
The program offers late afternoon and evening courses for working students who are unable to attend classes during the day.
Other fields
Graduate School of Education
Graduate School of Politics, Government and Communication
Graduate School of Business
Campus
The university is composed of two campuses, the Seoul Campus located in Imun-dong of Seoul, and the Global Campus in Yongin.
The Seoul Campus is focused on major languages, humanities, and social sciences, while the Global Campus teaches additional languages not provided in Seoul, namely Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Ukrainian, Greek, Bulgarian, Central Asian languages (Kazakh and Uzbek) and African languages (such as Swahili), as well as engineering and natural sciences.
The university is currently planning on building a third campus focused on artificial intelligence and big data in Songdo International Business District, after having secured 300 billion won in investment funding from Korea Investment & Securities, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and ZINOL D&C.
College divisions
Seoul Campus
College of English
Department of English Linguistics and Language Technology (ELLT)
Department of English Literature and Culture
Department of English for International Conferences and Communication (EICC)
College of Occidental Languages
Division of French
Applied French Linguistics and Literature
FATI
French and European Studies
Department of German
Department of Russian
Department of Spanish
Department of Italian
Department of Portuguese
Department of Dutch
Department of Scandinavian Languages
College of Asian Languages & Cultures
Department of Malay-Indonesian
Department of Arabic
Department of Thai
Department of Vietnamese
Department of Hindi
Department of Turkish and Azerbaijani
Global Campus
College of Interpretation and Translation
School of English for Interpretation and Translation
English-Korean Interpretation and Translation Studies
Interpretation and Translation for International Trade and Relations in English-Speaking Areas
English Literature and Translation
TESOL & 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 Polish
Department of Romanian
Department of Czech and Slovak Studies
Department of Hungarian
Graduate school
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
Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation
The Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation (GSIT) is a postgraduate education institution specializing in the education of professional conference interpreters and translators.
Founded in 1979 in response to the growing demand for international language specialists, GSIT currently offers master's degree courses in interpretation/translation in eight different languages: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. GSIT created the nation's first doctoral program in interpretation/translation in November 1999, to help stimulate research activities in the discipline, and has awarded 26 Ph.D. degrees as of 2012. It became the first Asian education institution to join CIUTI (Conférence Internationale Permanente d'Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes) in 2004.
GSIT is equipped with an international conference hall which provides for simultaneous interpretation services in eight different languages, lecture halls equipped with simultaneous interpretation booths, multimedia classrooms, group study rooms, a satellite broadcast resources center which provides access to 110 channels in 30 languages, a library, and a computer lab.
Graduate School of International and Area Studies (GSIAS)
European Union Studies: focused on the EU's politics, security, economy, society, and culture and those of its member states.
Latin American Studies :contains graduate seminars and special lectures; consists of courses focusing on understanding the macro-region's political development and democracy, political economy, and international relations. The economy/business track is composed of courses on Latin America's macro-economy, the region's interaction with the world economy, and regional economic integration. The society/culture concentration consists of courses providing a broad understanding of Latin American and Caribbean society covering history, culture, social structure, and changes in race and religion. Thanks to a grant from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Latin American Studies Department offers a course each semester alternating between a Latin America Policy Seminar and a Latin American Business Seminar. High-ranking officials from Korean and foreign governments, domestic and international organizations and firms, as well as scholars and experts are invited to present lectures in these courses.
Korean Studies
Chinese Studies
Japanese Studies
Russian and CIS Studies
Indian and ASEAN Studies
Middle East and African Studies
United Nations Peace Studies (dual degree)
Department of Southeast Asia and India covers eleven countries. Mainland Southeast Asia includes Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Islands in Southeast Asia include Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor. South Asia includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The department offers interdisciplinary Master's and Ph.D. degrees in this macro-region. As with the other GSIAS departments, students choose a concentration in politics, economy, or society and culture, and one of the languages of South Asia or Southeast Asia. The department curriculum is designed for individuals who want to enrich their knowledge of the South or Southeast Asia region, taking into account regional organizations like ASEAN and SAARC. Students entering the program are usually interested in careers in the foreign service, government, international assistance/development enterprises, or teaching. The GSIAS program has special strengths in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.
Additional educational organizations
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 educational 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.
Ranking
In the QS Ranking 2024, the university was ranked 575th in the world.
Notable alumni
Politics, government and public service
Cho Kwang-han, mayor of Namyangju
Cho Won-jin, politician
Chung Bong-ju, politician
Kim Byong-joon, politician
Kim Chong-in, former leader of both the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition People Power Party in South Korea
Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul
Pang Ha-nam, former Minister of Employment and Labor
Yu Eui-dong, politician
Academia
Kim Eun-kyung, professor
Yongcheol Shin, economist and professor at the University of York
Joo-Heon Shin, professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and director at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development
Business
Gene Yoon, chairman of Fila
Lee Sung-soo, CEO of SM Entertainment
Moon Kook-hyun, former CEO of Yuhan-Kimberly and presidential candidate in the 2007 South Korean presidential election
Chen Kang, chairman of Assetplus Asset Management
Chung Kyo-sun, vice chairman of the Hyundai Department Store Group
Kwon Oh-gap, chairman of HD Hyundai
Entertainment
Ahn Sung-ki
Go Youn-ha
Ha Jae-sook
Jin Hyo-sang
Kim Ji-seok
Kim Joon
Kim Nam-gil
Kim Seong-hun
Park Sung-woong
Woo Hye-rim
Amyflamy
Hostage
Kim Sun Il
Literature
Kim Nam-il
Son Sohui