Do I need to know Korean to start BA Korean Language Studies?

No. BA Korean Language Studies offers a beginners' pathway alongside the intermediate-entry track. Beginners take intensive language teaching in year one, with content modules introduced progressively in Korean across years two and three.

Does BA Korean Language Studies include K-content study?

Yes, as a dedicated module. The K-content strand covers the industries, platforms and localisation conventions of Korean film, drama, music and webtoons — and it informs translation workshop choices through the degree.

Can BA Korean Language Studies be studied online?

Yes. The online route mirrors the on-campus degree with live small-group language teaching, recorded content lectures and asynchronous discussion forums. Distance learners complete language immersion through partnered Korean institutions and structured media-consumption modules.

Does BA Korean Language Studies include a year abroad?

For on-campus students, a structured year abroad in South Korea is offered as an option, typically with a partner Korean university. Online and distance students complete a structured remote-immersion semester with tutor-supported language exchange.

Is BA Korean Language Studies useful for the streaming and gaming industries?

Yes. K-content localisation is a major employment area for Korean graduates — subtitling, dubbing scripts, marketing copy, gaming localisation. BA Korean Language Studies covers the working conventions employers in streaming, publishing and gaming use.

BA Korean Language Studies in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA Korean Language Studies at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree for students who want a serious working command of Korean alongside cultural and industry literacy in modern Korea — including the K-content industries that have made Korean a globally consequential language. You will move from beginner or intermediate Korean through to professional fluency, work across translation in both directions, and finish with a research-led final project.

The BA Korean Language Studies takes Korean seriously as a working language — not just a cultural curiosity. By the end of the degree you can read modern Korean news media, translate Korean material to publishable English, and contextualise contemporary Korea for non-Korean-speaking audiences. Seminars are small and language teaching is intensive.

Key Features

UK honours degree aligned with King Sejong Institute standards and CIOL preparatory pathways.
Intensive language teaching from beginner or intermediate level to advanced working proficiency by graduation.
Translation workshops across Korean and English in commercial, media and literary registers.
K-content module — the industries, platforms and translation conventions of Korean film, drama, music and digital media.
Modern Korean studies — politics, society, intellectual life, the peninsula's contemporary history.
Year-abroad option in South Korea for on-campus students; structured remote-immersion alternatives for online and distance students.

What You Will Learn

The BA Korean Language Studies is structured around four working competencies: language, translation, cultural literacy and industry knowledge across the K-content economy and Korean professional contexts. You leave able to work in Korean at a professional level, translate Korean texts into publishable English, and contextualise contemporary Korean culture, politics and industry for international audiences.

Korean language — Hangul, grammar, vocabulary, register, honorifics, sociolinguistic variation.
Translation theory and practice — Korean to English and English to Korean, current functional approaches.
K-content industries — film, drama, music, webtoons and the localisation conventions employers use.
Modern Korean literature — major writers from the colonial period to the contemporary.
Contemporary Korea — politics, society, intellectual debate, North-South dynamics.
Korean business and media — commercial register, news media, op-ed conventions.
Interpreting fundamentals — short-form liaison interpreting between Korean and English.
Research methods — bibliography in Korean, archival sources, citation conventions.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers with strong interest in Korean language, K-content or East Asian affairs.
International students seeking a UK Korean studies degree taught in central London.
Heritage Korean speakers wanting a formal academic credential alongside their existing fluency.
Career-changers planning roles in K-content localisation, Korea-facing business or Korean diplomatic and cultural relations work.

Career Pathways

BA Korean Language Studies graduates move into translation, localisation, commercial and editorial roles where Korean is required. Typical roles include:

Korean Translator (in-house or freelance)
K-Content Localisation Specialist (streaming platform, publisher, gaming)
Bilingual Account Manager (Korean-facing UK or international business)
Korea Programme Officer (cultural relations, embassy, NGO)
Subtitler (broadcast, streaming, K-drama localisation)
Editorial Researcher (Korean affairs, current-affairs publication)

Graduates progress to MA Korean Language Studies, MA Translation Studies or postgraduate work in East Asian studies.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement; prior Korean is welcomed but not required for the beginners' pathway.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.