Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies
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| Established | 2004 |
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| Type | Private |
| Principal | Nam Bong-chul |
| Faculty | 113 |
| Students | approx. 1050 |
| Grades | 10-12 |
| Location | Yongin, Gyeonggi province, South Korea |
| Website | www.hafs.hs.kr |
Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies or HAFS is a private high school located in northern part of Yongin, South Korea.
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[edit] Students and staff
The school received its first students in 2005, a total of 355 students: 153 boys and 202 girls. Currently the principal is Nam Bong Chul, former principal of Daewon Foreign Language High School, while the vice principal is Park Ha Sik, former vice principal of Korean Minjok Leadership Academy.
[edit] Academic staff members
The majority of the Korean teachers earned PhDs or Master's degrees. Non-Korean teachers in conversation-based courses have a range of qualifications, from Ed.D. in home countries to 10+ years of teaching experience. Native-speaking teachers include three from China, six from English-speaking countries, two from Japan, one from Germany and one from France.
[edit] Academic information
There are 5 language departments, which are often referred to as "majors": English, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese. One staff member is appointed as the head of each department. There are no such thing as "minors", although taking third language courses is required. In every grade, each department is designated ito numbers; class 1 - 3 are English major; class 4 is French; class 5 is German; classes 6 - 8 are Chinese; class 9 - 10 are Japanese. There are about 35 students per class. Each class has its own locker rooms, computer with the latest audio devices (3D sound available) and a projector screen.
[edit] The English Major
The English major is structured differently from all other majors since its aim is to prepare students for overseas studies, mainly in the US or UK. All courses are based on the American curriculum; however, students are still required to take courses that are either required by all other majors or by Korean educational regulations, including Korean History, Korean Language, and Korean Ethics. Because many students in this major have attended school abroad and received either a British-based or an American-based education, the major is comprised of courses pointed toward the U.S. school system. There are 3 English classes at each grade level, adding up to about 100 students.
Every student is required to spend 2 hours per week with "English Conversation" teachers, native English speakers, to enhance listening and speaking skills. The class size in these courses is limited to 15 to 20 students.
[edit] European-Asian Majors
Comprising the majority of majors, European-Asian Majors aim admission to Korean Universities, while a few seek foreign universities in Europe, Japan, or China.
- French Major (Class 4): Some of the students are beginners. Others have lived in France. There are [2008]two Korean French teachers and a French "Conversation" teacher from France. French Majors comprise one class (Class 4 at each grade level) ranging from approximately 30 to 38, depending on the grade level.
- German Major: Like the French major, there is a Korean teacher and a German native speaker. The German major consists of one class (Class 5 at each grade level) with student numbers ranging from approximately 30 to 38 , depending on the grade level.
- Chinese Major (classes 6, 7, and 8): Nothing special.
- Japanese Major (Classes 9 and 10): The best major in the school. In the first year, a student from Japanese major entered Major of Law in Seoul National University. Japanese Major has been achieving the best results in the school with a motto, Talent Above Talent.
- Spanish Language: This is taught by a Korean Spanish teacher, nicknamed Sancho, who also teaches Latin. There are no native speaker teachers for Spanish. There is no independent department for Spanish. The course is highly regarded for its student-friendly exam questions.
- Other Courses: Although this school focuses mostly on language studies it abides by the standard Korean high school curriculum and placed nine students in K.A.I.S.T. - Korea's most highly regarded science university - in 2008 (graduates from 2007).
As an official SAT, AP and ACT test center, HAFS provides a wide variety of AP and SAT preparatory classes. They include AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP English Language, AP Computer Science, AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, AP World History, AP Art History, AP Music Theory.
[edit] Other Features
According to the English Based Campus policy (the EBC policy), students are required to speak English or any of the other foreign languages taught at the school at all times. This includes classes in which the courses are supposed to be taught in English. Only Korean Literature, Korean History and Ethics are supposed to be taught in Korean. It is the second high school in Korea requiring students to speak a non-Korean language on campus, following Korea Minjok Leadership Academy (KMLA)
Global Leader team members are elected by their fellow students and are ratified by the teachers. The Global Leader Monitors regulate school policy. All the GLM members may attend the HAFS Student Council, the HAFS House of Representatives. The HAFS H.ofR. has two members from each class, a total of 30 members.
Another unique feature is the strike system. Students at HAFS are given a 'strike', a penalizing mark for misconduct on the premises of the school or in the dormitories. Three strikes lead to an 'out', unless the student participates in 'voluntary work' to remove the strikes. Otherwise, he/she will be expelled from HAFS upon gathering three outs. To remove a strike from his record, a student must perform special duties such as informing others not to break the school rules. But since the dorms have adopted a similar penalty system, the two have been confused by students in the first times of administration. Home-runs do not exist.
