Blog Post #7 - Should Korea Have More Than One Official Language?

             As you know, we are living in the global age. In this era, many people insist that Korea should have more than one official language like many other countries. Especially, some of them say we have to adopt dominant global language, such as English and Chinese as our official language. However, Korea should not have more than one official language because the current language system of Korea is operated well, having more than one official language will bring confusion in Korea, and Korean culture can be in danger by using dominant language.

             Korea doesn’t need to adapt another language as its official language because the current language system of Korea, which has a single official language, is operated well. The official language of Korea is Hanguel. According to statistics collected by the OECD in 2015, Korea had the second lowest illiteracy rate in the world after Japan. It shows that Korea doesn’t need to have another official language. While some people may think that they can promote Korea to other culture around the world by adapting new official language, it is uncertain whether Korean people could adapt the sudden change. Rather than promoting Korea, it will destroy the current stable language system of Korea.

             Another reason Korea should not have more than one official language is that it will bring confusion in Korea. Language is not just a means of communication. It is an important part of the culture. Also, it expresses its own way of seeing the world. For these reasons, if we have another official language, it would give rise to disunity and conflict among Korean people. Some people may think if having more than one official language brings confusion and conflict as I say, there is no reason that many other countries like Canada have more than one official language. However, if they considered that most countries that have more than one official language have many different races, they would see that unlike these countries, Korea, which is a homogeneous country, does not need more than one official language.

             Finally, Korean culture could be in danger, if Korea adapts dominant global language as official language. As we know, many smaller languages are disappearing because of dominant language all over the world. Although we must learn the dominant global language in order to compete in the global economy, we should preserve our native languages in order to retain culture and history. If dominant global language, such as English and Chinese becomes Korean official language, the government will promote that language, and many young people will probably abandon Hanguel like many people in different countries did. If so, Korean may lose Korea’s unique spirit contained in Hanguel, not to mention information about the history and culture.

             The fact that the current language system is operated well, adapting new official language will bring confusion, and there is a risk that Hanguel and Korean culture is proof that adapting new official language is not a good idea for Korea. However, it doesn’t mean that we can ignore other dominant world language. As already mentioned, learning dominant language like English is essential in the global age. Then what should we do? The answer is not so difficult. If the government maintains the current language system and make effort to give people a good foreign language education, Korea can improve its international competitiveness without having to worry about risk of losing our language. I am sure that if Korea can have its cake and eat it, Korea can be a strong country in the future.