Ahn Byong-man

In this Korean name, the family name is Ahn.
Ahn Byong-man
President of
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
In office
1994–2004
Succeeded byPark Chul
Personal details
Born(1941-02-08)8 February 1941
Keijō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died31 May 2022(2022-05-31) (aged 81)
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Seoul National University
Korean name
Hangul
안병만
Hanja
安秉萬
Revised RomanizationAn Byeongman
McCune–ReischauerAn Pyŏngman

Ahn Byong-man (8 February 1941 – 31 May 2022)[1] was a South Korean academic, and the former President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Seoul National University in 1964 and 1967, and went on to the University of Florida for doctoral studies, graduating in 1973. In 1975 he joined the faculty of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, South Korea. While at this institution he served as the Dean of Student Affairs, Dean of the Graduate School, and in 1994 he was named president. He served in this capacity until 2004.

Ahn was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Delaware, and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Delaware in 2004.[2] He was also a visiting professor at the university. He also received a University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus Award in May 2005.[3]

A non-party politician, he served as Minister for Education, Science and Technology in the Lee Myung-bak government from 6 August 2008 until 30 August 2010.[citation needed] During his tenure, he pushed through an ambitious reform of English-as-a-foreign-language education in South Korea to reduce the reliance on hagwon in teaching the language.[4] One of the first steps he took in this regard was to begin the development of a new English proficiency test modeled on Japan's STEP Eiken test, the National English Ability Test, with the aim of replacing the TOEIC and TOEFL for domestic purposes such as university admissions and job candidate selection.[5] Around the same time, he also requested the resignations of seven senior officials in the Ministry.[6]

  1. ^ 안병만 전 교과부 장관 별세 (in Korean)
  2. ^ Hutchinson, Becca (2005). "Korean university president visits UD". University of Delaware, USA. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  3. ^ "UF Distinguished Alumnus Byong Man Ahn Lectures About North Korea March 23". University of Florida, USA. 22 March 2006. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Can Ahn's English Education Overhaul Succeed?". The Korea Times. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Korean Version of TOEFL to Debut". The Korea Times. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. ^ "High-ranking Education, Tax Officials Tender Resignations". The Dong-A Ilbo. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2013.