[School of Hallyu] International talent eye Korea National University of Arts

K-campus

Published: 23 May. 2022, 17:24 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 17:39

[School of Hallyu] International talent eye Korea National University of Arts

Performance "Amore, Amore Mio" by Jeon Misook Dance Company affiliated with the Korea National University of Arts [KOREA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ARTS]

Hit Netflix drama “Squid Game” (2021) did more than just spotlight Korean content globally. Thanks to the show’s Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, who’s been building his acting career in Korea after graduating from Korea National University of Arts as a scholarship student, international talent now dreams of taking their first step into the acting world via local arts schools.

“Anupam really is an inspirational figure for me,” said Amarbold Gansukh from Mongolia, a senior majoring in acting at the School of Drama at Korea National University of Arts and also an artist managed by entertainment agency YG KPlus. “So many who have heard what he wanted to do were skeptical, but he made it work and he helps us dream that we can also break the glass ceiling and shine.”

The inspiration Tripathi has provided for international students in Korea aligns with the goals the Korea National University of Arts has had ever since it was established in 1992 as a state-run arts school. The school’s two major goals are to offer an educational service so that people in Korea don’t need to consider studying abroad when they want to study arts, and to become a place where students from overseas want to come for their education. Currently, of the university's 3,096 undergraduate students, 62 are international students.

Actor Anupam Tripathi of "Squid Game" (2021) on Netflix, center, studied at the Korea National University of Arts. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

After it opened with its School of Music, the university continued to add more fields of studies. It now has six different departments — School of Film, TV and Multimedia, School of Drama, School of Dance, School of Visual Arts, and School of Korean Traditional Arts, in addition to the School of Music.

A scene from performance "Riverrun" by Cha Jin Yeob and Vakki of the Korea National University of Arts [IRO]

Thanks to its graduates who have been active in films and TV drama series, young kids and teenagers dream about entering the same school where their favorite stars studied and trained. The school was initially better known as where talents in classical arts like classical music or ballet trained, but with Korean movies proving popular in theaters overseas, the School of Drama and School of Film, TV and Multimedia have been earning more attention.

Actor Park So-dam of 2019 film "Parasite" is a graduate of the Koprea National University of Arts [ILGAN SPORTS]

Tripathi is not the only famous graduate of Korea National University of Arts. Actor Park So-dam of award-winning film “Parasite” (2019), Kim Go-eun of TV drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (2016-17), actor Lee You-young of 2021 film “Perhaps Love” and musical performer and actor Lee Sang-yi of 2021 TV show “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” are also among the university's alumni.

“The bigger changes seen in the arts scene recently are that people opt for unique works over what fits the model stereotype, and that people think more about whether creativity is an ability that can be fostered without any inherent talent,” said Kim Dae-jin, president of Korea National University of Arts.

“Since we have schools touching six different genres of arts, students have more chance to experience fields outside their majors in order to try converging different ideas and forms. The school also continuously works on setting an educational system that can help students harmoniously come together.”

A scene from the video "Nipple War 3" made by Baek Siwon of Korea National University of Arts [KOREA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ARTS]

It's not just the people that attract attention to the university, it's their works too.

With more channels to distribute creative works popping up, the barriers to film directing, TV directing and screenwriting are coming down.

“What multiplayers can do is getting bigger in the entertainment industry,” said Sngmoo Lee, a professor at Korea National University of Arts and film director. “Instead of having students become an expert in one area of studies, we focus more on training them to be content creators who can set their own identity.”

Lee has been working with online platform TikTok to help students produce vertical videos fit for smartphone users, and found that many students were intrigued to see instant feedback from people commenting in different languages online.

Actor Kim Go-eun of TV drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (2016-17) is a graduate of the Korea National University of Arts [ILGAN SPORTS]

“The attitude you have to make content that can be watched by anyone in the world is different from the attitude you have when thinking about making a piece targeting the [smaller] 10 million audience,” said Lee. “Students now have a new market and an audience that the generations before didn’t have. Not all should aim to go global, but expanding school programs and systems further so that students can see the bigger picture and then choose their own path is important.”

The university is trying to restart a global project it had planned to launch prior to the pandemic. Part of the project will see current students and alumni travel to overseas festivals or government events in order to find more job opportunities. Recently, some students who are specializing in traditional Korean performance, visited to Colombia and participated in a workshop with the 2022 Bogota International Book Fair. Korea was guest of honor for the event.

Actor Lee Sang-yi of 2021 TV show “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” is a graduate of the Korea National University of Arts [ILGAN SPORTS]

When it comes to creative projects at the university, it is all about teamwork. Communication between students and professors, and even outside help is crucial. So far the university only offers classes in Korea so international students must be proficient in the language.

“Since our school's programs aren’t about just sitting in a lecture but more about making creative pieces in class — and some pieces take an entire year to produce — we need all the students to cooperate with one another and continuously communicate,” said Kwon Yu-won, an international relations officer for the university. However, the school imposes a bit more of a relaxed language requirement for international students entering the school on a scholarship program than those coming through regular admission.

Students working at a glass studio at Korea National University of Art's School of Visual Arts [KIM KYOUNGSOO]

The school is particularly popular in the international scene for its AMA+ Scholarship, also known as Art Major Asian Plus Scholarship, which has welcomed talents like Tripathi to Korea. The state-run university has been recruiting talents from developing or less-developed countries since 2005. The program is an Official Development Assistance project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism aimed at providing support to struggling artistic talents. At the moment 35 of the 62 international students studying for an undergraduate degree are on the scholarship program. An additional 33 on the program are working for a certificate that’s equivalent to a master’s degree.

Since 2005, 325 students from 32 countries have availed of the AMA+ Scholarship. Not only is their tuition covered, they also received monthly allowance of 800,000 won ($631.60), a Korean language training program for four months before school started, medical insurance, one-time settlement allowance upon their arrival to Korea, as well as airline tickets to come to Korea and go back to their home country after they graduate.

For the next academic year, the school will take online applications from May 30 to June 10. The school usually awards the scholarships to 20 students.

“The university has given me financial comfort so that I can fulfill my desire to live and study abroad, while learning acting,” said Gansukh from Mongolia, who first came to Korea in 2017 and started his college education in 2019.

“The school focuses a lot on teaching you how to express your emotions and how to build a humane connection with others. I find myself growing and understanding who I am better so that I will learn how to direct my desire.”

Actor Han Ye-ri, front, of 2021 film "Minari" studied at the Korea National University of Arts. [PAN CINEMA]

Jin Honglin, a Korean-Chinese economics graduate of Tsinghua University, decided to enroll at Korea National University of Arts as a first-year student to study for her master-degree-equivalent in arts management.

She thought it made more sense for her to study in Korea than other foreign countries that she had originally considered for her masters degree, so she could become an expert in cultural exchanges in Asia.

A performance scene from "The First Crisis" by Korea National University of Arts alumnus Um Daeyong [KOREA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ARTS]

“I have seen the power of Korean content, which mixes something specifically Korean very well to instigate interests from the global community with a format that is already familiar to the eyes of the global population, especially during the pandemic, so that foreigners can find Korean content very fresh yet comfortable,” said Jin.

“After all, the scene is all about exchanging different cultures and discovering the common ideas anyone can enjoy. So, studying in Korea could help me develop the eyes to make such exchanges happen smoothly.”

BY LEE SUN-MIN [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]