Using Groups and Chat Platforms
More Foreigners Want to Learn Korean
Direct Conversations via Video Chat and Gaming
"More than half of the participants are foreigners. Most of them want to learn Korean," said Kim Young, 37, who runs the language exchange group 'Malbeot' in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Kim has recently noticed a significant increase in foreign participants. The group engages in free conversation via video chat every week and meets offline once a month to continue their exchange. There are currently 14 members, 8 of whom are foreigners. Kim said, "These days, it's common for foreigners to reach out first because they want to learn Korean."
As K-culture (Korean culture) spreads, more and more foreigners around the world are seeking out Koreans, saying, "I want to learn Korean." This trend has accelerated, especially following the release of the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (K-Pop Demon Hunters) in June.
According to the language learning platform Duolingo on the 17th, Korean rose from ninth place in 2019 to seventh place last year in the global language learning rankings. On the dating app Tinder, it is easy to find posts from foreign users expressing a desire to do language exchange with Koreans.
Ngoc, a 27-year-old Vietnamese national, juggles studies and a part-time job during the day and logs onto online games with real-time voice chat with Koreans via the chat platform Discord at night. This is to quickly acquire Korean language skills. Ngoc shared, "At first, I started teaching myself Korean because I wanted to understand K-pop lyrics, but I was able to learn expressions much faster by actually talking with Koreans while gaming."
This phenomenon is attributed to growing interest in the Korean language fueled by K-pop, Korean dramas, and other aspects of K-culture. According to the "2024 Global Hallyu Survey" released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 66.1% of respondents said their perception of Korea became more positive after encountering Hallyu content. The number of students worldwide learning Korean through the King Sejong Institute, an educational institution for Korean language dissemination, surged by 112% in three years, from 101,675 in 2020 to 216,226 in 2023.
In fact, more Koreans are experiencing Korea's elevated status while traveling abroad. Last month, a 30-year-old surnamed A who visited T?rkiye said, "Just being 'Korean' was enough to receive a warm welcome from locals. It was amazing to encounter Korean greetings from restaurant staff and to see how easily our language could be heard in the Middle East."
Commenting on this trend, culture critic Ha Jaekeun said, "With the global spread of Hallyu content, affection and interest in Korea are rising, which is boosting the status of both the Korean language and Hangeul. As proficiency in Korean becomes an international competitive edge, the enthusiasm among foreigners to learn the language continues to grow."
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