NK News has recently become the forum for an important discussion regarding the Korean linguistic skills of North Korea-focused scholars. As someone who has spent the majority of his time studying the Korean language abroad, I felt a need to chime in and address some of the structural issues facing those who want to learn Korean.

I agree that learning Korean is important for those studying North Korea but there are many obstacles that impede scholars, especially those not living in South Korea or in areas highly populated by members of the Korean diaspora, from intensively studying Korean. Specifically, issues of accessibility to Korean language classes, funding, quality of instruction, and the usefulness of learning other languages in addition to Korean, should all be considered.