Students at the King Sejong Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The state-run King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF) plans to expand the number of Korean language institutes overseas and train local residents in foreign countries as Korean language instructors.
The foundation plans to expand the number of institutes by 187 percent. Last year, the foundation built 16 new institutes worldwide.
The KSIF is a Korean language institute built to promote cultural exchange across the world. Each institute is supported with finance, curriculum, and staff training programs.
“In response to a worldwide craze over the Korean language sparked by K-pop boy band BTS, we plan to build 30 additional institutes,” said Kang Hyoun-hwa, president of the KSIF.
“BTS Army, the boy band’s fan club, goes beyond their enthusiasm for BTS. They actually want to understand them by learning the Korean language,” Kang said.
“We plan to focus on building our institutes in Africa and South America where infrastructure is relatively lacking.”
The foundation has already developed basic curriculum for Korean language, six applications, online study platforms using augmented reality, and other content using a variety of information technology services.
“We plan to offer all of these materials in local languages to enable easier access by people worldwide,” Kang said.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
Por favor habran un instituto de Kim sejong en el Perú