The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on Aug. 22 the King Sejong Institute (KSI) Innovation Plan (2024-27). Shown above are participants of an event held from July 19-20 at the KSI Center in Paris taking a commemorative photo. (KSI Center)
By Charles Audouin
An online King Sejong Institute (KSI) will be established so that people anywhere in the world can receive the same education as that offered by local KSIs. Support will also be provided for KSI students' studies and employment in Korea.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on Aug. 22 the KSI Innovation Plan (2024-27) at the 44th ministerial meeting on state affairs chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
KSI is the forward operating base for disseminating the Korean language abroad. Back when the first ones opened Korean language courses in 2007, they had 740 students in 13 KSI branches in three countries. The number has increased by 300 times over the past 16 years, as this year marks 210,000 students in 256 branches in 88 countries.
The culture ministry has established "i-KSI" based on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to consolidate accessibility to Korean language courses.
The "i-Sejong Institute" is a platform that has upgraded the former academic app "KSI AI tutor" into the "Generative AI Korean tutor" app.
Users can receive customized courses without going to local KSI branches, and without time or space restrictions.
KSI from next year will regularly research the status of Korean language education. Based on current demand, predictions, status quo of the operation of the private market and local KSI branches, it will boost the number of KSIs to 300 by 2027.
The KSI Foundation will increase the number of KSI Centers to 10 by 2027. KSI Centers serve as KSI headquarters' intermediate management agencies to support regular branches abroad. There are currently five, with one each in Vietnam, the U.S., France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Indonesia.
Customized education services will also be provided. The number of places that offer Sejong Korean Language Assessments (SKA) will be expanded to 100 by 2027. The "iSKA," an adaptive program based on the internet and divided into levels, will also be implemented.
Re-education for Korean language instructors and curricula to cultivate local teaching personnel will be expanded. The percentage of personnel who have teaching certificates will be raised from the current 50% to 70% by 2027.
KSI will strengthen support so that its students' Korean language learning will lead them to study abroad. It will also operate advanced Korean language curricula so that studies abroad will lead to employment.
Culture Minister Yu In Chon said, "KSI is a forward operating base of Hallyu (Korean Wave) that allows students to access various aspects of Korean culture via the Korean language to better understand Korea."
He said he will lead in widely spreading and disseminating the Korean language worldwide, based on innovative measures.
caudouin@korea.kr
