A Q&A with HANA School of Arts in Seoul

Following our Teach Inspire Create Conference in November, we spoke to HANA School of Arts attendees, Yena Oh, Academic Director, and Jisu Kwon, Fashion and Textiles Tutor, about why they travelled all the way from South Korea to attend, their highlights from the day and why they would encourage other international centres to deliver our qualifications.

Thank you for joining us at the Teach Inspire Create Conference in November. What were your highlights and what did you take away from the day?

The memorable moments were the exchanges of conversations with different tutors from various programs, realising how important education is for young and talented students and how it, directly and indirectly, changes their lives.

Listening to their stories made me feel that we were doing something valuable, and it was a time to take pride in my profession with a sense of responsibility. Our attitude towards teaching students before and after attending the conference has become significantly more positive.

We were so grateful that you made the effort to travel all the way from South Korea to join us for the Conference and we'd love to know more about what made you want to travel all that way.

Please can you tell us which UAL Awarding Body qualifications you deliver and what made you choose to teach these courses?

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Yena: UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design is a university preparatory course that acts as a bridge between general art education and the more specialised art education we study at art school or university. UAL Awarding Body’s Foundation course provides a great opportunity to help students explore their interests and ultimately decide which is the right degree course for students. And this is becoming increasingly important as art degree courses become more specialised. Therefore, I thought that the educational direction that the course pursues, which requires an attitude of independence, individuality, and open-minded experimentation, is essential for Korean students.

This is a course that helps students gain self-confidence, improve critical thinking, and become self-motivated through interactions with each other in a free and comfortable atmosphere. We believe that this process will enable them to fully realise their potential and serve as a cornerstone for their activities in culture, art, and various fields of knowledge.

Jisu: When I first decided to study abroad, I studied on the International Introduction to the Study of Fashion, a Level 3 course at London College of Fashion. It was a time when I was very young and everything was new, and this program served as the starting point of my education in the UK, providing support to navigate the unfamiliar and fostering understanding. The feedback from the tutor who taught me at that time, particularly developing and focusing on the independent/critical thinking, self-evaluation, and self-directed learning abilities, played a vital role. It not only served as a stepping stone when entering the BA course at Central Saint Martins but also greatly aided in grasping the education system in the UK. Feeling that this course was crucial for students accustomed to the rote learning approach in Korea, I started thinking how beneficial it would be to implement such education in Korea. Eventually, this led me to the decision to teach this course.

As one of the first international centres working with us, why would you encourage other international centres to deliver our qualifications?

1) Systematic Support:

- Providing a systematic support framework that facilitates a clear understanding and effective implementation of the qualification system
- Detailed training and support are offered to empower international centres, ensuring the delivery of qualifications within a structured framework.

2) Sense of Belonging:

- Allowing international centres to seamlessly integrate into a close-knit community, akin to a supportive family
- The shared sense of growth and mutual support creates an environment where international centres, while delivering qualifications, can truly experience a strong sense of belonging.

Why do you value creative education and how do you think it helps students to develop both personally and academically?

Creative education opens up endless possibilities for students and nurtures their growth. It allows them to encounter both failures and successes, instilling in them strong determination and a spirit of challenge. This educational approach cultivates the confidence to stand independently even after graduation, empowering them to seamlessly enter the professional industry and excel in their roles. Moreover, it encourages students to reflect on their core values in personal life, serving as a driving force to overcome any challenges they may encounter.