Korean Language Courses Expand Across U.S. Universities
Duolingo Sees 22% Increase in Korean Learners
Recently, with the popularity of the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (K-Pop Demon Hunters), the number of Americans learning Korean has been increasing.
On January 31 (local time), The New York Times reported that Americans captivated by Korean pop culture, including "K-Pop Demon Hunters," are diving into learning Korean. The original soundtrack (OST) "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters played a key role in this trend. Although most of the lyrics in "Golden" are in English, some Korean phrases, such as "eternally unbreakable," appear in the middle of the song. As a result, many videos explaining the pronunciation and meaning of the Korean lyrics have been uploaded to platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and most of these videos have garnered high view counts.
Back in 2012, Korean culture made a full-fledged entry into the United States when singer Psy's "Gangnam Style" surpassed one billion views on YouTube. Since then, BTS has sold out stadiums, and Blackpink performed as headliners at Coachella. Director Bong Joon-ho's film "Parasite" became the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The power of such pop culture has led to the current Korean language learning boom. According to a report by the Modern Language Association (MLA), while overall college foreign language course enrollments in the U.S. dropped by 16% from 2016 to 2021, Korean increased by 38%, recording the highest growth rate.
In fact, the number of Korean learners in the United States on the foreign language learning app Duolingo increased by 22% last year. In addition, universities across the country, including UC Berkeley and the University of Arkansas, are expanding their Korean language and culture courses. Language institutes are actively recruiting Korean language instructors.
Brecken Hipp, a 35-year-old American, said, "While watching a Korean game show on Netflix, I just thought, 'It would be so much easier if I understood what they were saying,'" adding that he spends about 6 to 8 hours a week studying Korean. Bob Hersey, who teaches Korean to Black and Latino students at a high school, said, "When students take the introductory class, they already know basic conversation and slang," and added, "My students know more about K-pop than I do, even though I grew up in Korea. Now, in order to keep up with the trends, I listen to K-pop every day."
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