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| A scene from the "K-Wave Korean" series for learning Korean / Courtesy of the King Sejong Institute Foundation |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The rising global popularity of Korean content ― K-pop, K-dramas and films ― is fueling a boom in learning the Korean language, and government agencies, as well as institutions abroad, are taking advantage of the trend to develop and expand Korean language education programs.
Korean is the 14th-most widely used language in the world and is the second-fastest growing language in the world after Hindi, according to language learning app Duolingo.
A study by the University Council of Modern Languages showed that between 2012 and 2018, the number of U.K. university students taking Korean language courses more than tripled.
The growing interest in studying Korean can be attributed to the growing popularity of hallyu, or the Korean Wave. A report by the Korea Foundation showed that the number of global hallyu fans has increased 17 times in the last decade to 156.6 million as of last December.
Another indicator of the global rise of interest in Korean is that the number of King Sejong Institutes ― the government-run Korean language learning institute ― has increased since 2007, when the organization started, setting up 13 institutes in three countries. As of 2021, there were 234 King Sejong Institutes in 82 countries. The government hopes to boost that number to 270 branches by the end of 2022.
The number of students enrolled exclusively in the King Sejong institute's online courses exceeded 56,000 and the number of subscribers grew to over 400,000. The number of mobile app downloads in 2021 amounted to 1.2 million.
The King Sejong Institute Foundation said Tuesday it will unveil new Korean learning programs using popular K-pop and K-drama content.
The series, titled "K-Wave Korean," carries 40 five-minute video clips that will help viewers learn daily Korean expressions, grammar and culture with scenes from popular Korean dramas, such as KBS' "Are You Human?" (2018), "Dr. Prisoner" (2019) and "Meow, The Secret Boy" (2020).
"K-pop groups A.C.E, LUMINOUS and DreamNote will appear in videos to familiarize viewers with basic words and phrases as well as Korean culture," a foundation official said.
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| The "BLACKPINK in Your Korean" language learning materials / Courtesy of YG Entertainment |
Earlier this month, HYBE EDU, an education technology affiliate of HYBE, released new Korean language learning materials for international fans of BLACKPINK. These materials are a follow-up to the BTS-themed Korean-language material, "Learn! Korean with BTS," which sold over 300,000 copies across 30 countries.
Titled "BLACKPINK in Your Korean," the language learning materials are comprised of two textbooks, a pocket book and Korean computer keyboard stickers. The books were published in English and Mandarin Chinese while the video content is available in five languages: Korean, English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Indonesian.
"We analyzed the vocabulary and expressions that BLACKPINK members frequently use and applied them to the curriculum," the company official said.
Colleges and universities in the U.S., France, Vietnam, Russia and other countries have launched BTS Korean language classes to help students learn Korean through Korean cultural content. Last year, Vietnam began teaching Korean at its elementary schools as a "first foreign language."
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