Seoul to open 10 more Korean language centers worldwide

SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will establish 10 more state-run Korean language institutes across the world, including one in France, within this year, to meet rising demand for learning the Korean language and about the country's culture, the culture ministry said Monday.
The "Sejong Hakdang (School)," named after King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), who invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, runs language education programs for foreigners learning Korean as a second language.
The first Sejong Hakdang in France, which put on two Korean pop concerts last month, will be built inside the University of Marine La Vallee in the suburbs of Paris, the ministry said in a release.
The language center will try to fully use Korean pop cultural contents such as films, TV dramas and pop songs as education materials to draw the attention of young people fond of Korean culture, the ministry said.
The government will open five other language schools in five Asian countries that export manual workers to South Korea in a bid to offer them language and culture training in advance.
The five countries are Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Cambodia.
South Korea imports around 40,000 foreign workers annually from the 15 countries, including Vietnam, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.
Seoul currently has 28 Sejong Hakdangs in 16 nations, including the United States, Japan and Russia, according to the government tally.
sshim@yna.co.kr