The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea announced that the Korean government will award the Prime Minister’s citation to Dr. Rathi Jafer, Director of the Indo-Korean Cultural and Information Centre, InKo Centre, a non-profit society, supported primarily by TVS Motor Company, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Korean and Indian member companies.
The award is for her outstanding contribution to the development of the Korean language and its dissemination in South India. This is the first time a person from South India would be honoured with the Prime Minister’s Medal, a statement said. During her 14-year tenure as the Director of the InKo Centre for 14 years since November 2006, Dr. Jafer contributed significantly in enhancing the learning of Korean and in developing an interest in Hangul and other aspects of Korean culture for 250 million South Indians, it added.
On behalf of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Hon. Chung Sye-kyun, Consul General of Republic of Korea in Chennai Young-seup Kwon will physically deliver the prestigious medal to Dr. Jafer at the InKo Centre in the presence of Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, and Goodwill Envoy for Culture and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea.
Established in 2006, the InKo Centre is a nodal centre for learning about Korean culture, their language and for Indo-Korean intercultural dialogue.
Native teachers
Dr. Rathi ensured the induction of native teaching staff for the Korean language programme by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sangmyung University in June 2010.
The King Sejong Institute, Chennai, at the InKo Centre offers a structured, graded suite of courses from the beginner to advanced levels.
As many as 2,065 students graduated from the Korean language courses between 2007 and 2019, thereby creating a large Human Resource base proficient in the language in South India, according to the release.
