Are Korean/Japanese BA worth anything outside of Korea/Japan?

I am really fascinated and in love with Asian culture, specifically Korean. I would love to study it at SOAS and I would LOVE to live in Korea for a few years.

However I am also in love with Spanish culture, the history, language, the people etc the same with Korea. I already Speak fluent Spanish and I know conversational Korean.

The difference between Spain and Korea for me is that I wouldn't want to settle down or live permanently in Korea, whereas in Spain or another Spanish speaking country such as Chile or Argentina; I would.

Given these circumstances is there really any point in me studying at SOAS? I know I'd have an amazing time studying it and the year abroad but with the world's economy the way it is, I don't know what opportunities a BA in Korean would give me outside of Korea.
Does anyone else feel this way? Any advice?

Reply 1

grass mud horse

When trying to chose a subject to study your number one priority should always be whether or not you're interested in it. Unless you're doing medicine, there really isn't a subject that points towards one specific line of work. If you're studying a language, then learning one of the major world languages (like Spanish) is probably a good way to guarantee that you'll use your language in a future job. But the point is you don't need to do that. Studying a language takes a lot of hard work and is a huge commitment. Employers will care more about this than your particular choice of language (unless they're specifically ask for it, of course). So do what you have a passion for, because learning languages is hard work and you need that passion to get you through the difficult parts.

So look at what the Korean course involves, and look at what studying Spanish involves. Go with whichever one interests you the most and/or which one plays on your strengths.

Hope this helps.

School of Oriental and African Studies

London

Reply 2

sufjan

Go for it! You're already fluent in Spanish anyway, so knowing Korean isn't going to hold you back if you choose to move to Spain in future. If you are as interested as you say in Korean/East Asian culture you will have a great 4 years at SOAS!

All of the language degrees at SOAS are very well respected in their own right - they are hard work and will prepare you well any many types of careers, even if you don't end up using Korean in future.

Reply 3

JoeJBB

Original post by lokalokaloka

Given these circumstances is there really any point in me studying at SOAS?

Yes.

Original post by lokalokaloka

I don't know what opportunities a BA in Korean would give me outside of Korea.

Loads. You can have almost any career. But if you wanted a language-related one, given that Western capitalists are now excited/worried about a shift towards East Asia, and increasing amounts of outward FDI coming from these states, your language skills would be much in demand.

Reply 4

Eien

My advice would be to combine it - at SOAS you could do Korean and Politics, Korean and Economics, Korean and History, etc, which will give you an extra edge.