Student Maureen Kuijs about receiving the 2020 Global Korea Scholarship
Maureen Kuijs, third-year BA Korean Studies student, is one of the students that received the 2020 Global Korea Scholarship this year. With this scholarship, Maureen can pursue a Master's degree in Korean Language and Literature at Yonsei University, receiving financial support from the South-Korean government.
Solving a puzzle
Maureen: 'When I was just getting interested in Korea, it often happened that I wanted to watch a Korean film or TV series, but that that were no English or Dutch subtitles available. This was one of the things that motivated me to learn the Korean language and study Korean Studies.'
During the Korean Studies Bachelor, Maureen actively pursued the linguistics specialization. 'The course Korean Language in Culture and Society, taught by Dr. Jinhee Park, made me realize what it is that I enjoy most: translating. To me it feels a bit like a game to create a good translation, like solving a puzzle. In order to delve even more into the field of translation, I applied to the Korean Language and Literature Master programme at Yonsei University. This programme is not offered in English. I will thus take all of the courses in Korean. The fact that I am able to do so is thanks to the language courses that I took during my Bachelor.'
'It brings me closer to my dream of becoming a translator'
It wasn't a simple task to receive the scholarship. 'During my bachelor I worked hard on obtaining a good average final grade and applying for the scholarship was quite a lot of work. I even submitted the motivation letter in Korean, which wasn't mandatory. I am very happy that I succeeded, because using this scholarship I can independently continue my studies in South-Korea and learn more about linguistics and the Korean language. It will bring me one step closer to my dream of becoming a translator.'
The Global Korea Scholarship is a scholarship provided by the South-Korean government that aims to stimulate international educational exchanges.