With the end of the summer semester and the academic year 2020/2021, the academic year at the newly opened Sejong Korean Language and Culture Learning Centre ended as well. All our students have successfully passed the final exam and had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony for their amazing efforts and achievements.

Instead of simply handing out graduation diplomas, the Institute decided to provide its students with an unforgettable ceremony to encourage them to continue learning the Korean language and further achieve excellent academic success. The said ceremony took place this summer at the Esplanade Hotel on June 26 at 6pm while abiding to COVID-19 regulatory measures. Upon their arrival, each student was presented with a ceremonial Sejong hat and robe. After putting them on, they could head to the magnificent Emerald Hall of the Esplanade Hotel.

Before the start of the ceremony, guests could see a short video about day trip to National Park Plitvice Lakes and a painting competition that was held there. You can read more about it here.

After the video, the Dean of the Faculty of Croatian Studies, Prof Stjepan Ćosić came to the podium. Mr. Ćosić first thanked all the students present and expressed his gratitude to the Korean lecturer EunGyeong Kim and her associate Lina Seonghyun Kwon. The Dean further expressed great satisfaction with the academic results of Sejong’s students and expressed support for the Institute in the following semesters. He also announced further cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and its associates. He especially thanked the Korean ambassador for his friendly cooperation and support before he gave him the main word.

Immediately upon receiving the microphone, Ambassador Dong-chan Kim expressed his delight at the students’ turnout and their success at learning Korean language. As the representative of the Republic of Korea in Croatia, he admitted that the Embassy did not expect such turnout for the Korean Language and Culture course and conveyed pride in the excellent results achieved by the students despite the ongoing coronavirus situation. He wants students to continue to show interest in Korea, its culture, language and customs and hopes for continued cooperation between the Embassy and the Institute with the University of Zagreb and other Croatian institutions. He jokingly wished an end to COVID-19so that the Embassy and the Institute could organize future events and gatherings with students.

Another special guest of the ceremony stepped on the podium after Mr. Kim. It was the respected Rev. Anđelko Katanec. Reverend Katanec spoke in Korean for a bit to proudly show his knowledge of the language he’s been learning for 15 years. He is happy that students today have access to quality sources for learning Korean, something that he did not have when he started on the same feat. He is grateful that those who are interested in Korea finally have help on their path to learning Korean language and he’s convinced that the interest in Korean language and culture will continue to grow even more.