Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon speaks during the opening ceremony of the World Korean Educator Conference 2023 at a hotel in southern Seoul on Aug. 7, 2023. The conference will run until Aug. 10. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The government on Monday unveiled a plan to further enhance its global infrastructure and networks for Korean language education, including increasing the number of overseas outlets of the government-run King Sejong Institute brand to 350 by 2027.
The announcement was made during the World Korean Educator Conference 2023 that kicked off at a hotel in southern Seoul earlier in the day.
Hosted by the culture ministry, the event brought together about 250 teachers from the King Sejong Institute and officials that manage the language centers across the world.
The King Sejong Institute, which started in 2007 with just 13 language centers in three countries, now has 248 centers in 85 countries. Still, about 110 countries are without a center, according to the ministry.
In response, the ministry said it will prioritize designating language centers in countries currently lacking them, while also strategically establishing additional hub centers in regions with significant potential for Korean language learning.
The government also aims to send out 350 Korean language instructors to international posts, while producing 500 local educators by 2027. The corresponding figures were 270 and 215 as of the end of last year.
To foster overseas Korean language education, the ministry will continue to develop various educational materials using globally popular Korean pop cultural content, such as K-pop and dramas.
Through these initiatives, the government aims to increase the total number of Sejong Institute students worldwide, both online and offline, from last year’s 147,000 to 500,000 by 2027.
“Language holds the power to connect nations with nations, and people with people, laying the foundation for solidarity and collaboration,” Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon, was quoted as saying in a release.
“We will continue to support the challenges and dreams of future generations, who play a role as attractive cultural bridges,” he stressed.
(Yonhap)
