Sup sogŭi Hosu
| Sup sogŭi Hosu | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
11380 Turtle River Lake Rd NE, Bemidji, MN 56601[1] United States | |
| Coordinates | 47°34′43″N 94°43′00″W / 47.57858°N 94.71653°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1999 |
| Founder | Ross King |
| Status | Open during summers |
| Dean | Ross King |
| Director | Dafna Zur |
| Language | Korean |
| Website | concordialanguagevillages.org/youth-languages/korean-language-village |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 숲속의 호수 |
| Revised Romanization | Sup sogui Hosu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sup sogŭi Hosu |
Sup sogŭi Hosu (Korean: 숲속의 호수; lit. Lake of the Woods) is a language immersion summer camp for the Korean language in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States.[2] It is part of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Concordia Language Villages school, and is sponsored by Concordia College.[3] It first opened in 1999,[4] and as of 2023[update] it had over 3,000 attendees across its history.[5]
Its founding dean is Ross King, head of the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.[6] The camp is currently led by Dafna Zur, an associate professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Stanford University.[5]
History
[edit]Early on in the camp's history, there was spare capacity each year for more students. However, after the success of the Korean Wave, the camp has seen a significant increase in popularity, with over a hundred participants each year and a waitlist of 120 students in 2023.[7]
The camp originally did not have its own dedicated facilities; King rented out buildings in the Russian language village for the camp. But in 2018, it received $5 million in funding via a private donation from the Korean handbag company Simone Corporation. This enabled the camp to create its own separate building, which was set to open in Spring 2019.[6] The donation was the single largest in support of Korean language education in North America, and the largest in Concordia's history.[6][4][8] Kenny Park, the CEO of Simone, attributed the donation to a radio interview of King that he heard, where King advocated for greater public and private support from Korean companies to fund international Korean language education.[8] The building was designed with the consultation of Korean architects, who used elements of Korean culture and architecture. The camp was also expressly designed to include a dojang, a training hall for Korean martial arts (notably taekwondo).[8] The Korean camp was the eighth such camp to have its own facilities in Concordia, and the only one for an East Asian language as of 2022[update].[9][better source needed]
In 2024 the first phase of the new site was completed and opened for the summer session. It includes two dormitories, a dining hall, soccer field, waterfront, and more. There is ongoing fundraising for the second phase of development which will add a sports center, more villager dormitories for increased capacity, and a cultural center.[10]
The camp experienced a slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, but by 2022 it reported being back up to 70% of its capacity.[9]
Activities
[edit]As a language immersion camp, counselors are required to speak Korean at all times. All signage in the camp is even written in Korean. Participants engage in cultural activities, including calligraphy, K-pop dance, taekwondo (reportedly once taught by Zur, a fan of the sport[11]), fan dance (buchaechum),[7] Korean paper crafting, and Korean tea ceremonies.[5] Korean food is served at the camp.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Our Site: Sup sogŭi Hosu". www.concordialanguagevillages.org.
- ^ "Korean Residential Language Camp | Concordia Language Villages". www.concordialanguagevillages.org. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Giving | Concordia Language Villages". www.concordialanguagevillages.org. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b Doo, Rumy (2018-04-05). "Korea Language Village receives $5m donation". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c "24년 전 미네소타 설립 '한국어 마을' 방문" [Visiting the 'Korean Village' Established 24 Years Ago in Minnesota]. news.koreadaily.com (in Korean). 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c "Dreams of Korean Village Come True". Concordia College. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c "미네소타 한국어마을 "숲속의 호수" 설립자, 로스 킹 교수로부터 듣는다" [Listening to Prof. Ross King, the Founder of the Minnesota Korean Village "Lake of the Woods"]. world.kbs.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c Hyatt, Kim (2018-04-03). "Korean handbag king donates $5M to Concordia Language Villages". Twin Cities. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b 김, 슬옹 (2022-12-18). ""외국인들의 자발적 한국어 공부... 한국 기업 도움 절실해"" ["Foreigners Voluntarily Studying Korean...Korean Investment Desperately Needed"]. OhmyNews (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Concordia Language Villages celebrates opening of Sup sogui Hosu". Bemidji Pioneer. 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ 추, 인영 (2022-10-04). ""일본학, 돈 남아 도는데…" 한국어 가르치는 캐나다 교수 한탄" ["For Japanese Studies, Money Overflows..." The Canadian Professor Who Teaches Korean [Introduction]]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-09-02.