King Sejong Institutes look beyond language to build bridges between Korea and the world

HANGZHOU, China — In a modest but newly opened classroom in Hangzhou, China, rows of desks and whiteboards sit alongside displays of Korean culture, including colorful hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and musical instruments like janggu (double-headed drum). At the center of the room, a student listens intently as a passionate instructor introduces him to the Korean language and culture.

The classroom may be small, but the curiosity behind it reflects a much broader phenomenon: As interest in Korea spreads through popular culture, more people are seeking ways to pursue academic and career-related opportunities and build connections between Korea and their own countries.

Sheng Tianjia, a student in the pilot program at the Hangzhou King Sejong Institute ahead of its official opening, is learning Korean not only because of his interest in K-pop and dramas, but also because he sees the language as a gateway to deeper exchanges between Korea and China and to new academic and career opportunities.

“I had only had this cool image of Korea that I had seen in the media. But as I learned the Korean language and culture, I came to see broader things,” Sheng told the Korea JoongAng Daily, recalling his first trial class at the institute.

“Now, I’m seeking opportunities to pursue academic opportunities in Korea through exchanges with Korean universities and to explore other possibilities for my future as I learn more deeply about Korea.”

Sheng’s experience offers a glimpse into a broader evolution in the way people engage with Korea.

For many learners, Korean pop culture remains the gateway. But what starts as curiosity is increasingly developing into a desire to learn Korean culture more deeply and build sustainable connections with Korea.

From Korean Wave to deeper ties

The first King Sejong Institute opened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 2007, with 13 institutes cutting the ribbon across three countries, including China and Japan, that first year.

The early expansion reflected a relatively straightforward need: As more people encountered Korean dramas, pop music and other cultural content, they needed accessible places to learn the language and gain a deeper understanding of Korea, according to the King Sejong Institute Foundation.

Riding on this momentum was the Shanghai branch, which was launched during the second expansion of King Sejong Institutes in the early 2010s.

Officially designated as a King Sejong Institute at the Shanghai Korean Cultural Center in January 2011, the Shanghai branch has spent more than a decade combining Korean language education with cultural programs.

“The Hallyu influence from K-pop and dramas has been among the main reasons many people initially decided to learn Korean and came to our institute,” Ren Wendi, the Shanghai King Sejong Institute’s lead director, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

But over time, institutes such as Shanghai have also sought to broaden learners’ understanding of Korea beyond contemporary popular culture.

“On top of mainstream trends, we have also been incorporating traditional culture, such as traditional music and hanbok, as well as contemporary art and other diverse Korean cultural content into our programs for local learners,” Ren said.

“Today, while cultural interest remains a major gateway, more and more students from various age groups, from teenagers to people in their 60s, come to our classes with many different motivations.”

That evolution mirrors the broader growth of the King Sejong Institute network. The network had grown from the original 13 locations in 2007 to 248 sites in 85 countries by 2023, while more than 216,000 students studied at the institutes that year.

The foundation has also noted that more than half of its offline learners in 2022 were studying Korean for purposes including studying in Korea, pursuing academic opportunities or finding Korea-related employment — a sign that learners were increasingly moving beyond simply consuming Korean culture.

New direction, broader vision

If the first phase of the King Sejong Institute network was largely about responding to the Korean Wave and expanding access to Korean language and culture, its latest expansion points toward a broader role.

On June 30, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the King Sejong Institute Foundation designated 29 new King Sejong Institutes across 23 countries, including Greece, Rwanda and Sri Lanka for the first time.

The latest expansion is significant not only because of its scale but also because of how some of the new institutes are being established.

Nineteen of the newly designated institutes are being created through direct partnerships with Korean higher education institutions, bringing Korean language education closer to universities and potentially creating new pathways for academic exchanges.

“These partnerships are designed not only to stabilize the operation of local institutes, but also to create stronger links between Korean universities and students overseas,” a spokesperson for the King Sejong Institute Foundation told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The approach builds on an idea that has long accompanied the institute network’s expansion: Korean language education can serve as gateways to broader exchanges among young people, universities and businesses in Korea and China.

The newly established King Sejong Institute in Hangzhou is one of the clearest examples of that approach.

Jointly run by Chosun University in Korea and the Hangzhou Gongshu District Institute of Engineering and Technology Future Technology Research Institute, the Hangzhou King Sejong Institute is operating on a pilot basis through December before moving into full-scale operations.

“We want to build a platform that connects young local talent with university exchange programs and cross-border networks,” Li Tao, director of the institute, said during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. “Language instruction is the foundation, but from here we aim to cultivate sustainable mutual understanding and create tangible opportunities for our students.”

During and after the pilot period, organizers plan to develop exchange classes and special lectures with partner universities, while also exploring ties with companies and other opportunities for young people to build connections across borders.

“We are seeking to leverage our partnerships with Korean universities and open special lectures for local students,” Li said, emphasizing that the Hangzhou branch also hopes to facilitate and promote exchanges between Korean and Chinese businesses.

“Hangzhou is a city where advanced technology and major global companies come together,” he said, noting that the city shares characteristics with Korea, including its strong technology sector and industrial base. “We hope to use these similarities to create more opportunities for young people in Hangzhou and Korea to learn from each other.”

Other instructors and organizers at the institute share this broader vision, seeing language and culture as a starting point for connections that can grow into wider forms of exchange.

“Our Hangzhou institute will seek ways to leverage the characteristics of our region and the shared connections between Korea and China to create value beyond language and cultural learning,” Wang Yiwen, an instructor at the Hangzhou institute, said.

“In line with the broader vision of the King Sejong Institute Foundation, we hope to go beyond simply promoting language and cultural exchange and create opportunities for educational and business exchanges as well.”

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]