Korea doubles budget for language training overseas

South Korea has ambitious plans to expand its overseas education offerings, at a time when its universities are struggling to fill seats with domestic students and Covid restrictions are keeping international students away from language courses.

The Ministry of Education will nearly double the budget for overseas Korean language courses to 23.6 billion won (£15 million) in 2021, according to the Yonhap news agency. The long-term plan is to open courses at 1,800 universities in 43 countries.

This plan comes after a January announcement by the education ministry and the Academy of Korean Studies, which would give additional new funding to Korean studies research and education, via “global hubs”, over the next 10 years.

A spokesperson from the education ministry’s division of overseas Korean education told Times Higher Education that there was no specific time frame for the course expansion announced in March, because the plan needed to fit the academic calendars of 43 different countries.

He said that the ministry would be working with overseas universities, some of which already had their own plans and curricula. However, “some universities would like advice and support from other experts, and would be matched with Korean universities”.

“The long-term goal is to develop the next generation of Korean-friendly, global and talented people,” he said.

While the new plan does not seem to involve opening stand-alone schools, its scope of 1,800 courses is notable. By comparison, there are about 530 Confucius Institutes and 830 Alliance Française centres worldwide.

Terri Kim, professor of comparative higher education at the University of East London and academic visitor at St Antony's College, Oxford, said that a pre-Covid practice was for foreign students to travel to South Korea for language courses first, before transferring to degrees at universities.

She explained that the rise in K-pop, including Korean music and film, had sparked student interest in the country’s language and culture.

“Universities wanted to recruit more international students, but there was the language issue, and this was one pathway,” she told THE. “But now, language courses are facing closures due to Covid.”

Professor Kim, who has been publishing predictions of Korean enrolment drops since 2008, said that international students could help offset the country’s troubling demographic trends, including one of the world’s lowest birth rates.

She also said that an expansion of overseas courses could be seen as a form of “cultural diplomacy”.

“The government may be providing language courses so students can acquire a better understanding of the Korean model of development and culture,” she said. “Growing economic interests and cooperation may also be a motivation.”

The plan seems to target developing or smaller counties where it claims “demand for the Korean language is strong”. These include Jordan, Laos, Cambodia, Ecuador and Belgium. The government will also dispatch Korean teachers to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Professor Kim explained that Korean studies were already established in many Western nations. Meanwhile, the Korea Foundation, a non-profit organisation affiliated with the foreign affairs ministry, already supports language teaching at major universities in advanced economies, which could explain the new plan’s focus on the Global South.

She put the language education push in the context of South Korean diplomacy.

“It’s because of our history – because we developed so rapidly into an advanced economy and democracy,” she said. “Now, Korean people are eager to be recognised internationally.”

David Tizzard, assistant professor in Korean studies at Seoul Women’s University, told THE that, while few of his international students were physically in the country, his online K-pop classes had been well attended.

“While it’s becoming more difficult for students coming to Korea, the country’s cultural value and brand has never been higher,” he said. “So, while some doors are definitely closing, it seems new ones are opening and presenting opportunities previously not considered.” 

joyce.lau@timeshighereducation.com