Bridging the Gap between Chinese Character Literacy and Korean Literacy

This paper explores the disparity between Chinese character literacy and comprehensive Korean literacy among university students in liberal arts courses. It aims to propose educational solutions by redesigning Chinese character education to elevate students' literacy from a beginner to an intermediate level and integrating it into overall Korean literacy. This paper reflects on the course “Walking along Chinese Culture,” offered at University A from 2020 to 2024, and introduces a new framework called “Chinese Characters as Part of Korean” to enhance students' literacy. To address the issue of functional illiteracy in Chinese characters, this paper advocates for developing basic literacy by utilizing the concept of the Chinese character index component from the secondary education curriculum. This approach emphasizes learning the principles of synthesis and decomposition of Chinese characters, which can also apply to Korean vocabulary acquisition. By fostering active cognitive skills such as analysis, synthesis, and reasoning through vocabulary learning, this paper suggests practical exercises, including mind mapping, to bridge the gap between basic Chinese character literacy and Korean literacy. The transition from basic literacy to advanced critical literacy can be facilitated through engagement with Chinese character culture by designing courses focused on reading and rewriting cultural texts. This study argues that the issue of “weak literacy” extends beyond basic and advanced categories, necessitating the active integration of multiliteracy and critical literacy in liberal arts education. In conclusion, the research recommends restructuring Chinese character education to encompass multiliteracy skills alongside reading and writing courses, promoting a holistic approach to literacy that includes a wider array of skills and competencies.