The 8th World Korean Educators Conference Successfully Held

Teachers at KSI Branches around the World and Education Insiders of Korea Cooperated & Shared Ideas

The 8th World Korean Educators Conference was successfully held on July 15. Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister: Kim Jong-Deok) and arranged by the King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF, President: Song Hyang-Geun), the conference was held at the National Museum of Korea and The K-Hotel from July 12 to 15 and was attended by 330 people including teachers from 87 KSI branches in 41 countries and Korean language educators in Korea.

At the Opening Ceremony, Jeong Gwan-Ju, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Talked about Reinforcing Support for KSI

At the opening ceremony on the 12th that was held at the main auditorium of the National Museum of Korea, some important figures were present such as Jeong Gwan-Ju (Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), Song Cheol-Eui (Head of National Institute of Korean Language), and Kim Cheol-Min (Head of National Hangeul Museum). At the event, Vice Minister Jeong promised more support for KSI such as enlarging the scale of ‘Sejong Culture Academy’. There was an appointment letter ceremony for 9 newly designated KSI branches in 8 countries. The festive mood was followed by a special lecture entitled <King Sejong’s Story – Creating the Korean alphabet for the people>, delivered by Seol Min-Seok, a famous Korean history lecturer and CEO of Taegun Edu and his special class was well received by the audience.

‘Sejong Culture Forum’, Inviting Experts from Various Fields, Well Received by Participants

‘Sejong Culture Forum’ that featured a debate on <Korean Language Drives K-Wave’s Powerful Progress> and a talk concert was enthusiastically attended by all the participants. In the 1st session, there was a discussion on ‘Korean language: Speaking in Korean Culture’ with expert debaters present including Joh Hyun-Yong (head of Institute of International Education at Kyunghee University), Jeong Yong-Sil, (announcer of Korea Broadcasting System) and Ahn Su-Wook (director of foreign relations and cooperation at SM Entertainment). The 2nd part featured a talk concert entitled ‘My Definition of Korean Wave 3.0’, participated in by Mark Tetto (TV presenter from U.S.A.) and Alberto Mondi (TV presenter from Italy) and hosted by Seo Gyeong-Seok (TV presenter of Korea), and Seo Gyeong-Deok (Professor at Sungshin Women's University).

Customized Korean Language Training Guided by Announcer

Starting from the 13th, the day after the opening ceremony, a customized training program was offered to foreign & Korean teachers as well as operating staff members of new KSI branches at The K Hotel and the program ran for 3 days. In particular, the ‘Korean Language Pronunciation Clinic’ hosted by Gang Seong-Gon, an announcer at KBS, was a real hit. Lkhamtseren Erdembaatar, a teacher at Ulaanbaatar 1 branch in Mongolia, said, “The class with Gang was a great help. I really hope that specialized training program for teachers will be more frequently provided.” At 2 pm, the participants visited The National Hangeul Museum and SM Town to experience Korean culture first hand.

Sharing Best Class Cases through Competition

‘KSI Best Class Competition’, where good teaching plans and class cases of KSI teachers around the world were shared, was held. The competition winners are as follows: Choi Bo-Ok (Taipei branch in Taiwan, Grand Prize), Eoljeu jareugal (Ulaanbaatar 2 branch in Mongolia, Excellence Prize), Youn Seok-Hwa (Montevideo branch in Uruguay, Best Prize), Kim Dong-Ik (Bursa branch in Turkey, Participation Prize), You Hee-Gyung (Maha Sarakham branch in Thailand, Participation Prize), and Cha Ae-Ryung (Yanbian 2 branch, China, Participation Prize). Sponsored by Banpo & Seorae Branch of Woori Bank (Head: Lee Seong-Gyu), gifts (laptop computer, beam projector and digital camera) were awarded to the winners.

Meeting for Enhancing the Capability of KSI Teachers Abroad

The foundation held a meeting with 80 KSI teachers who were locally recruited abroad on the 13th. They were grouped by regions in order to share ideas and discuss how they can provide better education as teachers to students. The participants came up with a wide array of opinions on subjects such as support for training programs, development of various textbooks, support of cultural interns and experts, as well as enhancement of the supply system for culture & experience materials. The foundation took note of their opinions and views and is going to reflect them in its business plans in the future.

The very first round table meeting with local teachers not only helped teachers better understand the projects of KSIF but also allowed for the sharing of information and building of networks between branches. The foundation will keep striving to take heed of what teachers and staff members have to say so that it can raise the profile of its branches around the world.

Korean Language & Culture Education Contents Displayed

The foundation unveiled the Korean language & culture education materials it has developed at a special exhibition space. Particularly, the educational materials of ‘Nuri-Sejong Hakdang (www.sejonghakdang.org)’, an online website where learners can learn Korean language and culture, drew much attention. Moreover, a variety of organizations such as The National Institute of the Korean Language, National Folk Museum of Korea, Korea Creative Content Agency and Korea Food Foundation also displayed their own contents related to Korean language and culture.

Continued Cooperation & Communication between Korean Language Educators at Home & Abroad

The event, where Korean language teachers around the world gather, drew much attention from various media outlets such as MBC, Arirang TV, Yonhap News Agency, Maeil Business Newspaper, and Korea Times. In particular, some enthusiastic Korean language teachers - Linda Stockelova (Prague branch in the Czech Republic) and Raina Borissova Beneva (Sophia branch in Bulgaria) were in the spotlight. The foundation plans to offer more opportunities for KSI insiders to cooperate and share opinions.