Earticle

This paper aims to link language and culture in a sociocultural context by incorporating a TV drama series [Misaeng (‘incomplete life’) 2014] into the curriculum of an advanced Korean language course, in order to enhance the learners’ socio-languacultural competence. Sociocultural competence can be defined as various aspects of communicative ability and knowledge that involve sociocultural conventions and norms shared by members of society (Cohen & Olshtain, 1981; Celce-Marcia, Dorneyi, & Thurred, 1995; Ek & Trim, 2000). In this context, the language curriculum should help students understand and explore sociocultural aspects of the target language, which play an increasingly important role in foreign language education, at the same magnitude of importance as acquiring linguistic competence. This paper illustrates details of a design process, using a TV drama series as a valuable resource of multiliteracies, to bridge the gap between textbook learning and real-world language use. To assess the outcome, data were collected from a survey questionnaire. The project outcomes and their pedagogical implications are discussed as they pertain to students' advancement in cultural competency.