The first Conference for French Language in Northeast Asia at the Convention Hall of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday drew some 300 teachers of French from China, Japan, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Moderated by Choi Jung-wha, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, it included Catherine Tasca, former French minister of culture, French Ambassador to Korea Francois Descoueyte, Renault Samsung CEO Jerome Stoll, Belgian Ambassador to Korea Victor Wei, Cho Byung-joon, a professor at Inha University, and entertainer Ida Daussy.

Discussions were vociferous. When Stoll said English was vastly more useful than French in the business world and French companies would be well advised to use English if they wanted to succeed in Korea, another participant, a linguist, shot him down. “I can agree with the fact that French is behind English and Arabic, but it cannot justify French enterprises for not trying to encourage the use of French overseas," he said.

Tasca based her support for the French language on contempt for English, which she said was "not a quality language." She added the hegemony of Hollywood movies had brought no improvement to the quality of films.

The luxury goods industry was able to offer an incentive. “We plan to hire over 1,700 French-speaking Koreans in the near future,” promised Daniel Mayran, the president of the Korean unit of Comité Colbert, a confederation of 69 French luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Cartier.

But Descoueyte brought the discussion back to Earth by saying even in the European Union, where French is an official language, most informal discussions were carried out in English. The French ambassador said more must be done to encourage the use of French in all fields of commerce, not just food and luxury goods.

(englishnews@chosun.com )