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Korean language boom prompts Seoul to add 29 new King Sejong Institutes worldwide
A global map detailing the distribution of the 273 King Sejong Institutes across 89 countries, highlighting the network’s latest expansions in Europe, Africa and South Asia. Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Lee Kyung-min
Korea is aggressively expanding its state-backed language schools worldwide to keep pace with an unprecedented global surge in demand for Korean language and cultural education.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the King Sejong Institute Foundation unveiled 29 new institute locations across 23 countries Tuesday. This latest expansion pushes the total global network to 273 institutes in 89 countries, broadening the reach of the government’s flagship cultural export program.
The rollout follows a milestone year for the language network.
In 2025, total enrollment across all King Sejong Institutes hit an all-time high of 239,020 students across both online and offline learning platforms. International interest from foreign educational institutions wanting to host the schools has also peaked, with 102 organizations across 45 countries applying to open branches this year — marking the highest application volume the ministry has seen in five years.
The latest selection establishes a permanent presence for the state-funded language program in Greece, Rwanda and Sri Lanka for the first time. In Greece, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki will anchor the program, while the International Covenant College will lead operations in Kigali, Rwanda. In Sri Lanka, where demand for Korean literacy is exceptionally high among workers applying for Korea’s Employment Permit System, a new hub jointly operated by the University of Ruhuna will address a critical shortage of structured local language training.
The new deployment also signals deeper institutional backing from within Korea.
Nineteen of the newly designated overseas branches will be managed in direct partnership with domestic higher education institutions. Notably, nine elite local schools, including Seoul National University, are participating in the program for the first time. Ministry officials anticipate that this direct involvement will help domestic universities boost international student recruitment and enhance their overall global competitiveness.
"Reviewing the record number of applications this year made it clear just how intensely the demand for Korean language learning is growing globally," a ministry official said, adding that the government intends to continuously scale the network to match the expanding footprint of Korean culture abroad.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.