KSIF holds the 2023 World Korean Educators Conference

> Korean educators from all around the world gather together, in the first face-to-face event in four years
> Encouragement for outstanding teachers with awards presented by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, featuring Korean education through advanced media

The 2023 World Korean Educators Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the auspices of KSIF, was held at InterContinental Seoul COEX from August 7 to 10. The World Korean Educators Conference, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, is a training event to encourage Korean educators from KSI locations, etc., around the world and to provide expertise such as the newest teaching methods, etc. This conference, in particular, is the first face-to-face event of overseas Korean educators in four years due to the COVID pandemic. About 250 people gathered, including KSI Korean teachers, KSI officials, and members of newly designated KSI locations in 2023.

At the opening ceremony on Monday, August 7, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shared the directions of Korean education through “Globalization Strategy for Korean Language (2023-2027)” and encouraged outstanding teachers by presenting awards to them. Instructor Kim Yeon-woong of KSI Tashkent 1, Uzbekistan, and Instructor Yi Su-hyeon of KSI Budapest, Hungary, who were selected as the outstanding teachers, were presented with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and the Chairperson of the Culture, Sports & Tourism Committee Award, respectively.

In addition, a talk concert with the learners and Korean educators at KSI was held under the theme of “Dreams of Future Generations realized with Korean.” Stories of four learners at KSI and three Korean instructors who worked hard for Korean education received a great response from the other participants in the contest, which was held with Lucky, who is an honorary ambassador of KSI, as the moderator.

In the afternoon, the President of KSIF Awards were given to the four excellent KSI locations in 2022, and the President of KSIF delivered the designation letters to the representatives of the 17 newly designated KSI operating institutions in 14 countries in 2023. The first day’s schedule ended with a special lecture under the theme of “Korean teachers standing at the center of future education,” and the time for outstanding teachers to share their field experiences.

On August 8 and 9, the second and third days of the conference, various training and practice environments were provided, focusing on teaching competency-skills. In addition to the revised Sejong Korean teaching methods, practical lectures were given on mother-of-pearl crafts and traditional food without using fire under the theme of “Beauty and taste of Korea in the world.” On August 10, the last day, the teachers presented the teaching plans they made themselves during the conference and concluded the training.

During the conference, the participants were able to experience various educational contents of KSIF, including Metaverse King Sejong Institute Campus, in the exhibition experience space inside the conference hall. They logged in to Metaverse King Sejong Institute Campus, took the classes given in Metaverse King Sejong Institute, and looked at the map of Metaverse King Sejong Institute which includes Campus Space and Village Space. They also enjoyed 14 realistic contents (360-degree video) provided by Metaverse King Sejong Institute, such as Korean food, traditional tea, and transportation, as well as game-type cultural experience contents such as traditional Korean music rhythm game, yutnori, jachigi, and jegichagi, using virtual reality devices. In addition, the teachers were able to check out the online contents such as KSIF web dramas, mobile learning apps, smart learning contents such as KSI AI Teachers, and an exhibition on Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA), which is a Korean assessment by KSIF.

Lee Hai-young, President of KSIF, said in her opening speech, “Korean educators are in a time of change when Korean language and culture around the world has become a channel for foreigners to communicate with people outside their own countries. KSIF will do its best to prepare for the future society, and lead education using new media.”