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| Indian Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" speaks as other participants listen, Jan. 6, during an online symposium titled "Hindi in Korea: Current State and Future Directions," to mark World Hindi Day which fell Jan. 10. Hosted by the Indian Cultural Centre, the symposium was held in cooperation with the Center for Hankuk University of Foreign Studies' Critical Foreign Languages Education (CCFLE) that will conduct the Hindi language proficiency test twice a year beginning in 2021. / Courtesy of Indian Cultural Centre |
By Yi Whan-woo
Korea will increase the frequency of Hindi language proficiency testing starting this year, according to the Indian Cultural Centre in Seoul last week.
Operating under the wing of the Embassy of India in Korea, the center said the test will take place twice a year.
The tests will be organized by the Center for Critical Foreign Languages Education (CCFLE) at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS). It did not give any further details.
The move comes after the CCFLE in 2020 conducted its first Hindi language proficiency test, which the Indian Cultural Centre called "historic as it has not happened anywhere in the world ever before."
"It is heartening to know that this Hindi language proficiency test will be conducted twice a year from 2021," it said in a statement.
It appreciated the CCFLE for "making efforts on the development of educational contents" in accordance with India's endeavors to promote Hindi language worldwide and Korea's cooperation accordingly.
One of India's two official languages along with English, Hindi was listed on the 53 "critical foreign languages" as designated in a presidential decree here in August 2016.
Among the 53, Hindi was included in the first group of 12 languages which the Korean government has sought to nurture intensively under its program during the 2017-24 period.
HUFS was chosen as an academic institution specialized in offering the relevant training courses. Accordingly, the school launched the CCFLE in 2018.
The CCFLE also cooperated with the Indian Cultural Centre to host an online symposium, titled "Hindi in Korea: Current State and Future Directions," to mark World Hindi Day.
It is celebrated every Jan. 10, marking the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held on the same day in 1975 and serving its purpose of promoting the language around the globe.
The symposium was held on Jan. 6, with a goal of bringing attention toward Hindi in Korea.
Among the dignitaries from the Indian side were Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank," Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan, Indian Cultural Centre Director Sonu Trivedi, and Rajneesh Kumar Shukla, vice chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalay, a university specialized in Hindi language instruction.
Korean participants included CCFLE Director Koh Tae-jin and Lee Eun-gu, dean of HUFS Department of Indian Studies.
"This event was a part of our continuing efforts for teaching, learning and promoting Hindi language and literature worldwide," Trivedi said, noting participants underlined a need for more visible and active collaboration in the future between academic institutions of India and Korea.
"The symposium underlined how Hindi language also plays an important role in keeping overseas Indians and people of Indian origin connected with the language and culture of India," Trivedi added.
World Hindi Day has been observed since 2006, with Indian diplomatic missions around the world joining hands to celebrate the language.
Hindi is the most-spoken language in India. It is also one of the world's top five most-spoken languages.
Meanwhile, India introduced Korean as a foreign language at schools in 2020 under the country's National Education Policy.
