Korea will open 14 more
government-funded institutes offering Korean language courses in the second
half of this year, the culture ministry said Monday in a bid to
make them
overseas bases for increasing the world”s awareness of Korean culture.

The rising
popularity of Korean pop music known as “K-pop,” and TV dramas in other Asian
countries,
the Americas and Europe has attracted international interest in Korean
culture, according to government officials. They say such an interest has led to rising
demand for learning the Korean language.

The 14
locations newly designated to house King Sejong Institutes included Santiago,
Chile; Venice, Italy; Auckland, New Zealand; Ulan Bator, Mongolia and Bogota,
Colombia, the
ministry said. Eight of the 14 locations will have the first Sejong
Institute in
their country, it added.

Named after
the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) king who invented the hangeul
script, King Sejong Institutes offer language education programs teaching
Korean as a second language. Currently, there are 76 such institutes, with about half
run directly by the government and the rest
run by civilian organizations with support from the government.

With the new
designation,
the number of Sejong institutes will rise to 90 by the end of the year.

As part of efforts to improve the quality of the language
education,
the ministry said it will send 20 licensed Korean language teachers to
Sejong Institutes in 11 countries, including Mongolia, Vietnam and Turkey, in the second
half.

It would mark
the first
dispatch of licensed Korean language teachers to foreign countries, the ministry
said.

(Yonhap)