Contents
  • National Institute of Korean Language has promoted the educational work for overseas Korean language teachers for over 15 years, from 1992 to 2007, in order to improve the quality of overseas Korean language teachers. This educational work is classified into two programs: the Korean Language Specialist Dispatching Program, by which the Korean language specialist educates Korean language teachers in foreign countries; and Overseas Korean Language Teachers Invitation Program, by which overseas Korean language teachers were taught in Korea.


  • teacher

Original purpose: the diffusion of the Korean language and grammar criteria

The educational work is aimed at spreading the Korean language and grammar criteria to the Korean community in China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in which Korean residents spoke the Korean language influenced by North Korean language and local foreign language, and to retrieve linguistic commonality. The targeting areas of the educational work started from 1992 were Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the three north-east provinces in China.


In the Korean Language Specialist Dispatching Program, Korean language specialists (one professor and one researcher) introduce Korean language and publicize the differences between North and South Korean language to not only local Korean language teachers, but also proofreaders proficient in the Korean language and grammar criteria of North Korea, journalists, announcers, and educational researchers in charge of the Korean language. Meanwhile, in the Overseas Korean Language Teachers Invitation Program, 15~20 overseas Korean language teachers or Korean language-related workers from China or the CIS who were not able to visit Korea because of political or economical reasons, are invited to Korea. They learn Korean teaching methods, Korean language and grammar criteria, language and etiquette, and explore cultural and industrial sights for two weeks.


As a result of the dispatch and the invitation program, Korean language criteria were used in periodicals and Korean language institutes in China and the CIS for about 10 years. Since the beginning of 2000 the number of people who want to study Korean language has increased in Asia. As the environment of the overseas Korean language education changed, the purpose and the content of the education should be verified and the targeting area should be expanded. Because the yearning for Korean language was higher in Southeast Asia as well as the rest of the world, the targeting area for the educational work was expanded throughout Asia and to North and South America from 2000. In addition to the Korean language and grammar criteria, various courses and activities for the education of overseas Korean language were added to curriculum. The dispatch program is currently operated by exchange among the Korean Cultural Center, the Korean embassies and the association of Korean language teachers. Korean embassies select people for the invitation program. Thus, by the education under the construction of network with overseas Korean institutes, the education of the overseas Korean language is supported; therefore, the situation of the overseas Korean language can be understood.


145 dispatched and 286 invited.

The Educational Work for Overseas Korean Language Teachers Program dispatched 145 Korean language specialists who educated 3,679 people 73 times from 1992 to 2006. Also, by the Overseas Korean Language Teachers Invitation Program, 286 overseas Korean language teachers from ten countries were invited and educated. In addition, because of the desire to study Korean language as a part of the Korean Wave phenomenon, people from all walks of life, in addition to the teachers, were invited this year. Korean culture and language will be expanded by the invitation of the Korean language learners.


Summary of The Educational Work for Overseas Korean Language Teachers

Korean language specialist dispatching program
- 145 Korean language specialists were dispatched at all 73 times and 3,679 people were educated.
Overseas Korean language teachers inviting program
- 286 overseas Korean language teachers from 10 countries were educated
Support with additional dispatching and inviting programs