Korean Language Assistant Professor

Profile

The Department of Korean Studies at the University of Delhi has recently welcomed Dr. Sunhee Kim as its Assistant Professor in Korean Language. Dr. Kim earned her Ph.D. in Korean Linguistics from Seoul National University, where she specialized in sociolinguistics and language pedagogy. She joined Delhi University in August 2023, bringing over a decade of teaching experience across South Asia and North America.

My goal is to make Korean language accessible and engaging for Indian students, while fostering deeper cultural understanding between our two nations, says Dr. Kim.

Research Interests

Dr. Kims research resides at the intersection of language contact, identity formation, and digital media. Her current projects include:

• KoreanEnglish CodeSwitching Among Indian Youth: An investigation of how diaspora communities blend Korean popculture terminology with everyday English.
• Accent Reduction in Korean Language Learning: Developing evidencebased pronunciation modules for beginners whose first language is Hindi or other Indian languages.
• Virtual Reality (VR) as a Tool for Immersive Korean Language Instruction: Piloting a VRbased classroom that simulates Seoul street markets and university campuses.

Her work has been featured in journals such as Journal of Asian Linguistics and Language Teaching Research. She regularly presents at conferences organized by the International Association of Korean Studies (IAKS) and the Asian Association of Language Teachers (AALT).

Teaching Philosophy & Courses

Dr. Kim believes that language learning thrives on active participation, cultural immersion, and clear linguistic scaffolding. Her classes combine traditional textbook work with multimedia resources, roleplay scenarios, and projectbased assessments.

Core Courses Offered

• Korean 101 Beginners Grammar and Conversational Skills: 3credit, semesterlong, suitable for students with no prior exposure.
• Korean 201 Intermediate Communication: Focuses on listening comprehension, everyday idioms, and short essay writing.
• Korean 302 Korean Media and Pop Culture: Analyses Kdramas, Kpop lyrics, and contemporary news; encourages critical discussion.
• Special Topics Korean for Business & Diplomacy: Tailored for students of international relations, commerce, and tourism.

All courses incorporate weekly language labs, peerfeedback sessions, and optional field trips to the Korean Cultural Centre in New Delhi.

Selected Publications

1. Kim, S. (2024). CodeSwitching Trends among KoreanLanguage Learners in India. Journal of Asian Linguistics, 32(1), 4562.
2. Kim, S., & Rao, V. (2023). Pronunciation Pedagogy for HindiSpeaking Learners of Korean. Language Teaching Research, 27(4), 389407.
3. Kim, S. (2022). Virtual Reality as a Contextual Tool for Korean Immersion. Proceedings of the 15th IAKS Conference, Tokyo.
4. Kim, S. (2021). Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Korean PopCulture Adoption in South Asia. Asian Cultural Studies, 19(2), 121138.

Contact & Office Hours

Office: Room 312, Department of Korean Studies, North Campus, University of Delhi.
Email: sunhee.kim@du.ac.in
Phone: +91112760XXXX

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00pm 4:00pm (by appointment). Dr. Kim also holds a weekly KCafe on Fridays, 5:00pm 6:30pm, where students can practice conversational Korean in an informal setting.