Writing Advice From South Korea’s Presidential Speechwriter

With the rise of the “Korean wave” worldwide, more and more people are exposed to the Korean language. Many of them even tried to learn the language to enjoy Hallyu fully. While most learning apps and courses often focus on improving learners’ speaking skills, not many learning institutes target learners’ writing skills. There are a few courses and books you can use for references. One is a course by Kang Won-guk, South Korea’s presidential speechwriter for eight years.

Kang Won-guk worked at Cheongwadae as a speechwriter under President Kim Dae-Jung and President Roh Moo-hyun. Besides working for presidents, he also worked for CEOs. He used to write speeches for the CEO of Daewoo Corp. and Hyosung Corp. His writing career also branches out to the tech field. He has three years of experience as a technical writer for a startup company. Now, he writes books and gives lectures on writing. The lecture “Presidential Speechwriter Kang Won-guk’s Writing Course” is one of his lectures accessed by many. Here are some tips from the course that you can apply when writing in Korean.

His lecture covers two aspects writers have to deal with—technical and non-technical—when writing. On the non-technical scope, Kang Won-guk suggests learners look in and reflect on the message to be conveyed. Enriching and deepening the knowledge before writing is mandatory. A lot of reading is ideal, but you can use the modeling method and try to incorporate the model’s structure into your writing. Kang also emphasizes the importance of the environment in developing better writing skills. He recommends that learners seek positive feedback from people. Brainstorming and collaboration are also mentioned as methods to grow ideas.

In the technical aspect, Kang provides ways to elevate learners’ works. The first one is to enrich vocabulary by searching for synonyms of words in the vocabulary. He also advises novice writers to find an efficient way to construct sentences. Second, he consults writers to outline writing. A more detailed checklist is also needed to keep track of the objectives. Third, he recommends learners look at forms and how good writers write. Kang encourages learners to set a model and try to replicate it with their own words.

Kang Won-guk’s writing course is a resourceful source to gain knowledge on how to write better in Korean. Not only he covers technical and non-technical aspects of writing, but he also brings various examples in every session.

*This article was initially published in Honorary Reporters Korea.net’s old Website.