The number of King Sejong Institutes has now reached 120 locations around the world.

Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of Culture, Sports and Tourism promised to ramp up support for the Korean language and culture schools. “Our ministry plans to bring the number to 200 by 2017,” he said at the opening ceremony of the 5th World Korean Educators Conference, an annual event for Korean educators who spearhead efforts to spread the language and culture of Korea worldwide.

“To keep the Korean language schools running effectively, we will strengthen systematic support through localization of textbooks, development and distribution of cultural programs, and training and expansion of high-skilled teachers.”
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Korean teachers who will be sent to 14 newly established Sejong schools in 13 countries take an oath in front of the culture minister (right in front) (photo: Jeon Han).

 

On July 8, nearly 260 personnel involved in the field including directors, teachers, and administrative workers from the global Sejong Institutes participated in the opening ceremony for the World Korean Educators Conference running until July 11 to share their experiences disseminating the Korean language and culture on the global education scene.

At the opening ceremony of the four-day event, appointment certificates were awarded to representatives of 23 schools, excluding those set to be established inside four new Korean Cultural Centers (KCC), out of 27 institutes to open in 20 countries.

The KCC recently opened its 25th center in Bangkok, Thailand on July 4 and is scheduled to open three more centers this year in Brussels, Belgium' São Paulo, Brazil, and Cairo, Egypt.

There was also a starting ceremony held for 24 teachers who will be sent to 21 newly opened Sejong schools in 15 nations.

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On July 8, president Song Hyang-keun (right) of the Seoul-based King Sejong Institute Foundation presents an appointment certificate to Portuguese Ambassador to Korea António Quinteiro Nobre who represents the Portuguese King Sejong Institute set to open (photo: Jeon Han).


“It is very important to spread Korean language all around the world as a means of communication,” the culture minister told the teachers. “You are at the center of the cause. I am grateful to all of you for working every single day outside of Korea to enrich our culture.”

Yoo also brought up a TV program where he saw some foreign students typing phone text messages in Korean, who turned out to be students studying at a King Sejong Institute.

“Behind their stunning Korean skills are your sweat and toil,” he added.

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Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong delivers a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony for the 5th World Korean Educators Conference on July 8 (photo: Jeon Han).

 

“Korean is very popular in Iran as evidenced by the fact that the University of Tehran offers Korean language courses,” director-to-be of a Teheran-based Sejong Institute Kim Nam-yeon told Korea.net. “People in Teheran are showing keen interest in the Korean school set to open this year. We will work hard to satisfy their desire to learn more about Korean language and Korean culture.”

The King Sejong Institute started with only 13 schools in three countries in 2007, but now has grown into the biggest Korean educational body with 120 schools in as many as 51 countries around the world.

The culture ministry plans to increase the number of Sejong schools to 200 by 2017 to live up to the ever-hungry demand for education in Korean language and culture.
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Representatives of the new King Sejong Institutes and teachers who will soon leave to teach Korean in other nations pose for a group photo (photo: Jeon Han).

 

 

[Source: Korea.net]