Photos - DACF

Faculty of Ukrainian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

04.04.2011

Library of Ukrainian Studies.

Ukrainian language seminar room.

Modern Ukrainian.

Denys with students studying Ukrainian.

Easter in Korea

Become a real Korean. The kitchen from the inside

Denis near Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, South Korea

Festival "Expo-2011"

Denys on the platform next to KTX (Korea Train Express) high-speed trains at Seoul Station in South Korea.

05.06.2011

In less than a year, Ukraine will need Denis' knowledge.

In 2011–2012, Ukraine received the first batches of high-speed electric trains HRCS2 from Hyundai Rotem (South Korea). It was a major project for Euro 2012 — it was necessary to quickly prepare Ukrainian drivers, engineers and personnel to operate the equipment. Documentation, instructions, training and technical support were conducted in Korean (or English with a Korean accent).

It was in the context of the launch of flights to Donetsk (and other first routes: Kyiv - Kharkiv, Kyiv - Lviv) that Denis Antipov, as a young Korean language specialist, was involved as an interpreter for Ukrainian train drivers and specialists of Ukrzaliznytsia. He provided oral consecutive/simultaneous interpretation, accompanied groups during training and briefings from Korean Hyundai Rotem engineers, test trips and commissioning work, as well as the direct launch of the connection, including preparation for flights to Donetsk (where technical nuances were particularly important due to the length of the route and the specifics of the sections).

This was the peak of his early career: 2012 was the year he graduated from the KNU Master's degree, and the Hyundai project became the first major practical application of his knowledge of the Korean language in a real large infrastructure project between Ukraine and South Korea.

His contribution to this project is not only linguistic assistance, but also an example of how a rare specialty (Korean philology) immediately found practical application on a national scale. This was his first serious professional experience after university — even before he became a Korean teacher at KNU. It was thanks to such projects (Korean railway cooperation) that the specialty of the Korean language in Ukraine received a “push” and became more in demand.

And as a thank you and as a keepsake, Denys received his Hyundai train key. After Denys died in 2022, his parents donated this key to the Museum of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv for eternal preservation.