A total of 26 newly designated King Sejong Institutes in 2021

1. King Sejong Institute expands to 234 locations in 82 countries around the world
2. Opening in Nepal, Morocco, Bolivia, Slovenia, and Tanzania for the first time

While the demand for Korean language education in foreign countries is rising even amidst the changes in the contactless study environment, the King Sejong Institute Foundation (hereinafter referred to as KSIF, President: Kang Hyounhwa,) has designated 26 new King Sejong Institutes in 18 countries this year. Accordingly, the number of King Sejong Institutes increased from 13 in three countries in 2007 when it started, to 234 today in 82 countries around the world.

On June 9, KSIF announced the King Sejong Institutes newly designated in 2021, in the presence of Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Minister Hwang Hee encouraged the new KSI institutes, and communicated with teachers and students of Korean via video link.

A total of 85 institutions from 43 countries had applied for the public contest for King Sejong Institute this time (competition rate of 3.3 : 1), and institutes with excellent operation and conditions were selected through a six-month screening process including document reviews, video interviews, and final screening.

A total of 17 out of the 26 newly designated institutes are in New southern and northern countries, and a growing trend was showing especially in Vietnam and Uzbekistan, the countries that adopted Korean in their policies. On February 9, Vietnam has officially chosen Korean as the first foreign language and is operating a 10-year regular curriculum from grade 3 in elementary to high school. In addition, Uzbekistan has adopted Korean as a regular foreign language subject in the military academy training the army, naval, and air force officers on March 10, which is the first in the world.

Five countries are operating King Sejong Institutes for the first time. It is expected that the Korean language will be disseminated worldwide through the newly added countries: two in Africa (Morocco, Tanzania); one in South America (Bolivia); one in Europe (Slovenia); and one in Asia (Nepal).

Meanwhile, the 26 newly designated King Sejong Institutes will start their trial operations within six months, after the required procedures such as signing business consignment agreements, etc.

President Kang Hyounhwa of the King Sejong Institute Foundation said “(KSIF) has paid attention to the countries without KSI, so that Korean language can be dispersed evenly around the world, and made efforts to support the government policies in the new southern and northern countries which are strategic locations for the Korean wave. It will provide an optimal educational environment in the 234 King Sejong Institutes in 82 countries to help motivate the students to learn the culture and language of Korea.”



Newly designated King Sejong Institutes in 2021 (26 institutes in 18 countries)
※Country/region in Korean alphabetical order

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