By Nam Hyun-woo
The government plans to allow overseas Korean Schools to admit foreign students within 30 percent of each school’s maximum enrollment.
According to the Ministry of Education, Wednesday, a revised bill focused on enhancing education support for Korean nationals abroad was submitted to a subcommittee of the National Assembly.
There are 30 Korean primary and secondary schools in 15 countries including China, Japan and Brazil.
The revised bill stipulates that the schools primarily admit Korean nationals and ethnic Koreans but can admit foreign students.
The move came as many foreigners show a growing interest in Korean culture and language in line with the increased popularity of hallyu.
The number of global universities which opened Korea-related courses currently stands at 840, according to the ministry. But calls for basic- or intermediate-level education are mounting.
The ministry expects the revised bill to prop up hallyu and raise foreign experts about Korea.
“The revised bill allows foreign students to enter Korean schools and will promote such schools’ competitive edge through competition between Korean and foreign students,” said Lim Jin-dae, the executive director of the Assembly’s Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.
The revised bill also allows foreign education professionals to be appointed as principals of such schools and flexible changes of curricula based on the local educational laws of the respective countries.