Academic writing in South Korea and the problems of teaching it
Authors:   Novosibirsk State Technical University, Kolesnikova Natalia I. , Nevostrueva Daria S. ,   Novosibirsk State National Research University
Published: December 2024

The pertinence of the article comes from the fact that most studies on teaching academic writing to international students from Asia usually examine the difficulties in working with Chinese and Japanese students, and studies addressing methodological problems of academic literacy formation and academic writing instruction for Korean students are much less frequently presented.
The status distinction between academic literacy and academic writing is emphasized. Academic literacy is defined as the ability to acquire, evaluate, and disseminate new knowledge using a variety of communicative tools and techniques. The structure of academic literacy includes communicative, cognitive, and regulatory-behavioral components, each of which ensures the acquisition of certain knowledge and the formation of a specific set of skills. Academic writing is considered as the core of academic literacy, a higher-order ability involving the creation of new knowledge.
The analytical review of the problems of teaching academic writing in Korean education is conducted based on the works of Korean researchers (Tan Nana, Han Yeonhee, Lee Geumhee, Kim Sohyo, Jeong Daeun, Park Eunseong, Park Misook and Ban Hyunhee, Choi Joohee). The main topics of the works are highlighted: analyzing the linguistic features and mistakes of Korean language students, analyzing the genre features of foreign students' theses and dissertations, analyzing their activities in the process of writing dissertations. It is noted that all the works are devoted to the study of the genre system of exclusively Korean language without comparison with genres in other foreign languages demanded in teaching academic writing at the higher level of education.
A brief history of the formation of academic writing in the Republic of Korea is presented. It is concluded that an understanding of the many complex institutional, political, and individual factors that influence students writing academic texts in a foreign language is critical to the effective teaching of academic writing in Korea. Traditional models of Korean writing as presented by foreign English-speaking researchers and Korean researchers are described. The comparison of such genres of Korean academic writing as thesis, report, abstract, review, and summary with similar genres of English- and Russian-language academic discourse reveals certain differences in the interpretation of these terms, leading to language interference. The similarity is seen in the fact that academic writing in Russian and Korean should ideally have a logically simple structural organization of the genre without excessive narration.
Analyzing the works on academic writing in the Asian region and comparing the results with our own findings and observations, we conclude that the creation of a logical and well-reasoned text occurs in the process of following universal logic rather than the Western way of reasoning. Thus, it refutes the notion common among foreign English-speaking researchers about the unclear structure, indirect and imprecise nature of narrative in the traditional model of Korean writing. The assertion that the lack of clarity and brevity in texts written by Korean students is not a cultural feature, but rather an indication of their low level of proficiency in academic writing is confirmed.
The feasibility of using a genre-based approach in the teaching process is justified. The main attention is emphasized on the difficulties that prevent Korean students from independently and successfully coping with writing academic texts of different genres
in Russian.
The article substantiates the expediency of using the genre approach in the teaching process. The main attention is emphasized on the difficulties that prevent Korean students from independently and successfully coping with writing academic texts of different genres in Russian. A survey conducted among first-year undergraduate and graduate students at Hankuk University of Foreign Languages and among first-year Korean undergraduates at Novosibirsk State University revealed the difficulties they experience at different stages of genre skills formation: Korean students' lack of systematic education in academic writing; passive attitude to academic writing; insufficient academic reading; Inability to write distinctive original texts; lack of background knowledge related to their specialty; different understanding of genre specificity in the Russian and Korean educational system, and, as a consequence, difficulties in academic writing; lack of formed genre competence (even in their native language).
The results of the survey prove the expediency of introducing the Russian language course of scientific style of speech into the curriculum at the higher level of education for Korean students studying in Russian universities and explain the popularity of this
course among Korean students studying in their home country.
The popularity of the Russian language in the Republic of Korea and students' interest in studying in Russian at Russian universities in the Russian language have been noted. However, Russian teachers of Russian as a foreign language constantly face various problems in their teaching, as most of them are not familiar with Korean methods of teaching academic writing genres. It has been proved that Russian teachers' incomplete understanding of the cultural peculiarities of foreign students can lead to the use of ineffective teaching strategies, which also determines the relevance of this article and the need for teachers' awareness of this issue.