Overseas Korean language provision expands to meet demand

The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the 11 new centers last month, bringing the total number of King Sejong Institutes (KSI) to 252 in 87 countries.

Two new centers will open in Egypt where there is currently only one KSI in Cairo, which has a wait list of more than 1,200 students. The two centers will open at Ain Shams University and Alexandria University and will accommodate learners eager to study Korean for academic, professional, and cultural reasons. The expansion reflects the growing presence of Korean businesses in Egypt, which has increased local demand for Korean language skills for employment.

Uzbekistan, which already hosts seven KSIs, will gain an additional center at Ajou University in Tashkent, responding to rising demand among students preparing for study in Korea and seeking Korean language proficiency for employment opportunities. The country now sends over 12,000 students to Korea each year, the fourth highest after China, Vietnam and Mongolia.

In Asia, new KSIs will open in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Dubai in United Arab Emirates, Shenyang in China, Taipei in Taiwan, and Munoz in the Philippines, while Europe’s expanding Korean language demand has led to new centers in Bonn in Germany, Turin in Italy, and Miskolc in Hungary.

A total of 210,374 students studied Korean both online and offline at King Sejong Institutes worldwide in 2024. The ministry said that it planned to gradually expand the number of King Sejong Institutes to more than 350 by 2030 to ensure that Korean language learners worldwide can access classes as demand continues to grow.

Last month, Seoul in Korea was named QS Best Study City for the first time, overtaking London, UK to the top spot. The Korean government announced Study Korea 300K project in 2023 which aimed to increase the number of international students studying in Korea to 300,000 by 2027.

In 2024 new immigration initiatives were launched including longer post-study work periods for international students, expanded opportunities for permanent residency, a new youth mobility visa, and a new visa stream for graduates from the world’s top-ranking universities.

As of 2023 there were 207,125 international students enrolled in Korean education institutes.