KSIF to Expand 2025 Sejong Culture
Academy Operations

> In 2024, successfully disseminated specialized courses in traditional and contemporary Korean culture through 92 operating institutions across 50 countries, recording the highest number of participants to date with 60,073 attendees

> Plans to select approximately 100 locations, including KSIs, overseas diplomatic missions, and overseas educational institutions, to further spread Korean culture courses in 2025

From January 24 to February 14, the King Sejong Institute Foundation (acting President and Secretary General Bae Jong-min, hereafter referred to as KSIF) conducted a recruitment drive for operating institutions for the 2025 Sejong Culture Academy, receiving applications from 139 institutions across 65 countries to run Korean culture courses. Since 2016, KSIF has been dispatching experts in Korean culture abroad to operate the Sejong Culture Academy. By 2024, over 184,100 individuals have experienced Korean culture through the Sejong Culture Academy, fostering interest and motivation in learning the Korean language.

Notably, starting in 2024, KSIF expanded its scope beyond KSIs to include overseas diplomatic missions and educational institutions (such as Korean language schools, local secondary schools, and universities). This expansion provided learning opportunities in regions without KSIs or KSI Korean Cultural Centers, allowing them to experience specialized Korean culture courses through the Sejong Culture Academy. Throughout 2024, 60,073 KSI students and local residents participated in traditional and contemporary Korean culture courses, with a satisfaction rate reaching 97.6%.

Building on last year’s enthusiasm, the 2025 Sejong Culture Academy plans to assess local demand in 12 areas: Korean cuisine, samulnori (traditional percussion quartet), vocal music (pansori, folk songs, gagok), K-pop, hanbok (traditional clothing), Hangeul calligraphy, K-beauty, film and drama, literature, arts (traditional crafts, fan dance, minhwa - folk painting), traditional instruments (gayageum, haegeum, taepyeongso), and traditional martial arts and games. Around 100 institutions will be selected to offer a variety of hands-on lectures and performances, each lasting between two and five days.
 
 

This year, 139 institutions from 65 countries have shown strong interest in operating the Sejong Culture Academy. The KSIF plans to select 100 operating institutions through a rigorous evaluation process. The Sejong Culture Academy is set to launch full-scale operations in April, and KSIF plans to recruit foreign supporters in Korea to provide business operation updates via social media. Information on the schedule and details related to the Sejong Culture Academy can be found on the dedicated website (http://sejongcultureacademy.or.kr/).

As global interest in Korean culture continues to rise, KSIF is preparing this year’s program in close collaboration with domestic organizations such as the Amorepacific Foundation and Nongshim Co., Ltd. Through Korean culture, KSIF hopes that not only KSI learners but also people around the world can engage, communicate, and enjoy together throughout the year.