"Ministry of Education to Expand Korean Language Education Programs, Aiming for Korean as a Second Language"

Training Over 200 Korean Language Teachers for Locals

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Korean language education project targeting ASEAN countries will be further expanded.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 1st that starting this year, it will establish a support project to train local regular elementary and secondary school Korean language teachers (instructors) through overseas universities and other educational institutions. In cooperation with seven overseas universities and educational institutions, it plans to train about 200 elementary and secondary Korean language teachers.

Korean language education has been operating in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia following the bilateral talks held with the Ministry of Education in July last year. Support is provided so that Korean can be adopted as a regular subject and a second foreign language within the formal education system of foreign countries. In addition, the Korean Education Centers in Thailand, Ho Chi Minh, Rostov-on-Don, and Tashkent have been designated as key education centers, and four experienced education professionals will be dispatched as dedicated Korean language education personnel.

Choi Eun-hee, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Education, said, "We will systematize overseas Korean language education cooperation projects to link Korean language education between elementary and secondary education and higher education, and actively expand online courses such as K-MOOC in response to COVID-19."