The inaugural award ceremony for the Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize took place on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the South Concourse of the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS). Faculty, staff, students, and members of Namhi Kim Wagner’s family gathered in recognition of Namhi Kim Wagner’s legacy as the first director of the Korean Language Program at Harvard University, and to celebrate the winner of the Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize.
The Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize was launched by the Korea Institute in collaboration with the Korean Language Program in 2022 and is supported by the Edward W. and Namhi Kim Wagner Memorial Fund at the Korea Institute. It is awarded annually to “an outstanding graduating senior who has demonstrated devotion and excellence in learning the Korean language and culture at Harvard University.” Eligible candidates must have completed six semesters or more of Korean at Harvard, and the prize winner is chosen by the Korean Language faculty. The prize is named in recognition of Namhi Kim Wagner, who taught at Harvard University from 1964 to 1995 and served as the University’s first Korean Language Program Director. The inaugural ceremony also honored her 100th birthday.
The event began with welcoming remarks from Nicholas Harkness, Modern Korean Economy and Society Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Korea Institute. Professor Hi-Sun Kim, Director of the Korean Language Program, then presented the annual Korean Language Achievement Awards which “recognize devotion and excellence in learning the Korean language and culture to the advanced level.” This year, four students received this recognition: Payton Kim, Jennifer Niemi, Helen Pang, and Savannah Rae Richard. The students each gave brief remarks about the value of their Korean language studies at Harvard.
Professor Nicholas Harness gives welcoming remarks to begin the ceremony.
Professor Hi-Sun Kim introduces the annual Korean Language Achievement Awards.
To transition to the second portion of the ceremony, Carter Eckert, Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History and former Director of the Korea Institute, gave memorial remarks. He spoke at length about Namhi Kim Wagner, calling her a “force of nature” who strived for “nothing less than perfection” as he detailed a brief history of her life in Japan and Korea and her experiences with the Korean language and Harvard. Yunghi Choi, the eldest daughter of Namhi Kim Wagner, then followed with remarks on the theme “An Immigrant’s Progress: Language and Identity.”
Carter Eckert delivers memorial remarks.
Yunghi Choi gives remarks honoring her mother.
Professor Kim and Ms. Choi then presented the inaugural Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize to the 2022-23 recipient, Kai Ford. Kai, a senior concentrating in East Asian Studies, took ten semesters of Korean over his time at Harvard. This remarkable achievement involved an intensive summer course between his freshman and sophomore years. In his last year at Harvard, he also proposed and co-hosted the school-wide Korean language table, which garnered widespread attention from students in the Korean Language Program at all levels. In his acceptance speech, Kai thanked his past and present preceptors and language instructors individually by name and concluded with a few sentences in Korean expressing his gratitude.
Inaugural prize recipient Kai Ford gives an acceptance speech for the Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests were invited to enjoy a buffet of Korean food at the reception in the Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room. The evening then concluded with the Korean Language Program’s end-of-semester student celebration, featuring karaoke and a talent show.
The student award recipients pose with the teaching staff of the Korean Language Program at Harvard University.
Written by Lina Cho, ‘23
Photographs by Ayumi Nagatomi, ‘26