On the 4th floor of C-building, there are four departments. Among them is the major German Language and Literature(GLL). Hongik Tidings interviewed the department head, Jeon Dong Yeol to get to know GLL.

HT: Can you introduce yourself, professor?

DY: I have worked for the GLL in Hongik University as a full-time professor since 1991. An influential part of my life is Hongik University. Not only am I in charge of GLL but I also supervise the dissertation of masters and doctoral degrees and visual design lectures. I also have close ties with Graduate School of Film and Digital Media.

HT: As you mentioned, you have worked for a long time in Hongik University. What does it mean to you?

DY: Hongik University is a savior to me. It is a place that makes me have beautiful relationships. I am in a good mood every time I see my pupils and they visit me every Teacher’s Day. I also have a deep connection with the department of the Visual Communication Design. My relationship with Professor Ahn Sang Soo, who left Hongik University a few years ago and established a design school in Paju is very precious to me. Thanks to him, I could study a lot about typography and semiotics. My identity is basically German Literature, but at the same time, it is semiotics. Hongik University opened the way for me to do these. It made me have enthusiasm about various fields so that I could see the literature through many different eyes.

HT: Why did you decide to become a professor of GLL?

DY: When I was a senior in high school, my homeroom teacher was German language teacher. As I like his teaching, I could study German harder than ever. After that, I applied to GLL based on my score. After graduating university, I went to graduate school and at the same time had chance to work in Hanseong High School as a German teacher. It was not easy to do both things. So, I gave up the teaching and focused on my graduate school program. Around that time, my close friend recommended that I go to Germany. I went there without a clear goal. I had no particular plan to be a professor. In retrospect, the pleasure I felt during my undergraduate years in studying in the library and studying abroad was the reason I decided to become a professor.

HT: Can you introduce the department of German Language and Literature to students?

DY: It puts great value on humanities. This department teaches not only German language and literature, but also the values of literature, anthropology, and so on. This major contributes to other majors in Hongik University and various fields in society. I think GLL’s goal is contributing to society and having one’s own perspective.

HT: Is there any German literature that you want to recommend?

DY: I can’t recommend only one book because what you read depends on how you feel in the moment. Many students regard German literature as difficult to study, but it is a priceless experience that provides the chance to access the joy of uninteresting things. It is bland but has deep charm. It is necessary to read boring books which are not easily accessible. Being fond of these, you can become fascinated by German literature.

HT: What do German Language and Literature mean for you?

DY: German language and literature have been intriguing to me since I went to graduate school. I study them until 2-3 a.m. even now.

HT: I heard that Germany is a representative country and many countries, including Korea, make an example of it in the fields of politics and law. What aspects should Korea emulate from Germany?

DY: Germany culture regards people as the most important thing in society. Capitalism has its meaning when it is based on humanism. During my study abroad days, I realized that people came the first in Germany. If an individual is in trouble, society helps him or her, so people have faith in others and the government. I think this is a driving force that made nowday’s Germany. When I studied in Germany, the medical insurance was free, and students received a lot of benefits even if they paid little money to the government. The resources were shared to the poor, and the government did its best to take responsibility for the nation in general. The system that emphasizes the welfare and humanity, called the “social state”, should be emulated. The first article of the constitution specifies the dignity of human beings, and Germany has fulfilled its values by assisting refugees actively. Even if there are no immediate gains, Germany gives greater significance in helping refugees. Germans reelected their prime minister to keep their strategies for helping refugees, therefore, they have built solid relationships with each other. Like this, since social trust can reduce unnecessary costs, so Koreans should emulate the positive direction that their public institutions carry out their roles well.

HT: Can you tell me the visions of GLL?

DY: This department has a high employment rate. Employment itself regards attitude as the most important thing, more than the major. In this aspect, GLL can help people devote for the society by nurturing the viewpoint for society. Many students in GLL worry about their identity because they think they can’t display their knowledge of German language and literature in the employment market. But they have done well by keeping their faith and I believe they can do well in the future based on their liberal arts education. GlL’s value can be maintained by remaining closely connected with other majors.

HT: What is your educational philosophy?

DY: I think that it is important to carry out one’s perspective faithfully regardless of one’s major. Hence, my philosophy is devoting to study itself, not clinging on one subdivided field. By doing so, I hope students will study enthusiastically.

HT: I know that you are interested in various fields such as philosophy, art, and history. Why are you interested in those fields?

DY: There are many things we don’t know about in depth. There are unimaginable things that rationality can only estimate. It is hard to explain, but I believe everything is from the same place. If you come to deeply understand something you want to do, you can realize that everything is from the same root. This is why my every day is a lot of fun through learning , and every field, including mathematics, politics and system theory, are very attractive to me.

HT: What is your goal as a professor and a scholar for the future?

DY: I think that students should be familiar with their chosen field, having their own “sense”. Every education is the matter of how to save people but ways that Korea takes to educate young generation are disregarding its radical value. I want to change this. In addition, these days majors that combine more than two fields are becoming more common. The combination itself is important; however, learning each field individually come first. I hope that GLL’s uniqueness is preserved as a major, not just as a section of the combination of majors or as subsidiary study.

HT: Do you have any words for Hongik students?

DY: I want to say that they should do something new and uncomfortable, and move their bodies. Recovering one’s physical and mental sensations is the source of everything. It is also one’s ability to choose something unrelated to their interest. Human beings need community and can’t be survive on her or his own. Pursuing one’s interest just means winning of the competition, not one’s ability to achieve their goals. I tell myself t to choose something that makes me happy, and not to consider possible loss. You can experience that something you regard as disadvantageous as not truly disadvantageous. So, I think the challenge over interest saves human being’s value. In this respect, one should take care of others, especially the weak. A person who abandons their own self interests can earn other’s trust.

Han Suji  suzyhan96@gmail.com

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