Hello all.
Thank you for taking the time to read about this petition. Your contribution is immensely appreciated by the current EALC Korean department and its students, and by all language students at Wellesley College, past, present, and future.
As previously stated, it has come to the attention of myself and other current students that Professor Eun Ha Hwang, 황 선생님, is facing contract termination at Wellesley College.
Eun Ha Hwang is one of only three professors and lecturers of Korean at Wellesley College. Since arriving in 2020, she has played a central role in teaching and developing our Korean language program, especially for the 201, 202, and 232 courses she is teaching this academic year.
Both within and outside of the classroom, Professor Hwang has shown immense care for not only her students but all of those in the department and affiliates. She is a warm and constant presence at the weekly Korean Language Table and an enthusiastic supporter of KSA events and culture shows. Her passion for teaching can also be seen in her research and publications centered on the betterment of Korean language programs for non-native learners. She even gave a lecture on this topic at the New England Association for East Asian Studies Conference hosted in Wellesley in late 2023, which many students had the honor to attend.
But this is not just about one professor—it’s about the future of Korean language education at Wellesley. If Professor Hwang's contract is terminated, the Korean major and minor programs are at serious risk of being dismantled due to a lack of faculty. This decision would rob current students and future generations of the chance to explore and immerse themselves in Korean language and culture, a program that has transformed lives and broadened horizons.
After years of fighting for Korean at Wellesley, in 2005, Professor Sun-Hee Lee came and started the Korean department from the ground up. 20 years of hard work, not just by Professor Lee, but by the entire EALC department, would be wasted if Wellesley's decision to limit the department were to go through.
The termination of Professor Hwang's contract by Wellesley College is likely due to budget cuts in non-STEM departments, especially the under-appreciated language departments. However, over the past half a decade that Professor Hwang has been at Wellesley, demand for Korean Language courses has only been on the rise. The Korean, and EALC departments as a whole, have also helped students and the school forge greater connections with other celebrated institutions around the world through opportunities like conferences, exchanges, contests, and even the buddy/mentor system of the language courses.
The loss of Professor Hwang would set a dangerous precedent—that Wellesley can undervalue and dismantle non-STEM disciplines at will, disregarding the crucial role these fields play in fostering global awareness, empathy, and cultural understanding. Language and culture programs like those led by Professor Hwang are not luxuries; they are lifelines to a more connected, informed, and compassionate world.
Below you can sign your name and your affiliation with Wellesley College. You can also write a personal statement reflecting upon your interactions with Professor Hwang, her importance within the department, your interactions with the Korean department as a whole, as well as your opinions on the importance of language learning in higher education. These statements will be attached to a letter to the Provost's Office which will further display our grievances and hopes for Professor Hwang's reinstatement.
Thank you all for reading. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me at am145@wellesley.edu
