Last month, South Korea commemorated the 60th anniversary of its founding as an independent, democratic state. Although the country is now a wealthy, stable democracy, things were very different for Korea back in 1948. The infant republic was just recovering from years of brutal Japanese colonization and struggling with widespread poverty, political instability and crumbling infrastructure. Sixty years later, after years of intense industrialization and political liberalization, South Korea is now a highly modernized economic and cultural powerhouse rising in rank within the developed world.

Until now, the small, de facto island has never wielded so much power in world affairs. The popularity of the Korean entertainment industry in Asia and even in the West has piqued global interest in Korean culture and its language, also known as Hangeul. Many of its citizens are living abroad and finding a collective voice for representation. Its homegrown companies, such as Samsung, LG, POSCO and Hyundai have turned into formidable, global competitors and respectable, international brands. Just last week, London-based FTSE Group has promoted South Korea, the world's 13th largest economy, from advanced emerging market status to the elite, developed market category.

Many top universities, in keeping up with globalization and the rise of Korea, offer elementary to advanced Hangeul language classes and even interdisciplinary Korean majors where students of Korean ancestry and those who are interested could learn about Korean culture and language. For instance, Emory, Georgia Tech, Duke, Harvard, Yale, etc. have added Hangeul to the list of foreign languages, and some even have established institutes for studying Korean traditions and society.

However, for the growing number of students who are discovering the importance of Korean culture and language, Vanderbilt is not the place to be. Although the university offers study abroad programs in Korea, there are currently no classes in Hangeul and no courses devoted to Korean studies on campus. Vanderbilt's East Asian studies department even admits its program focuses mainly on Chinese and Japanese culture. This would be acceptable for a high school curriculum. But for a university of our ranking, this is an embarrassment. There really is no excuse for not providing the students with top-notch international education. There is neither a shortage of money for starting a new foreign language nor a lack of Korean-speaking professors in the market. Furthermore, the need and the interest for learning Hangeul have never been greater on campus. According to the admissions Web site, South Korea sends more international students to Vanderbilt than any other country besides Malaysia, and even more students of Korean-American heritage attend the university. Thus, offering courses in Korean studies will foster understanding and dialogue between different cultures and equip the students with skills to compete in the global market.

For a large part of its past, Vanderbilt has lagged behind other universities in providing its students with a broad international undergraduate experience. However, in recent years, our university has made significant improvements by building partnerships with foreign schools, increasing studying abroad options and recruiting more international students. If Vanderbilt truly seeks to establish itself as a global institution of higher learning, the university must continue to intensify its efforts to globalize the campus, and offering courses in Korean language and culture would be a step in the right direction.

Soo-Ryum Yang is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. He can be reached at soo.r.yang@vanderbilt.edu.