LOS ANGELES -- Stephanie Baldonado first came across Korean food in 2006 during her deployment at a US military hospital in Afghanistan, where she shared a camp with counterparts from the Korean military. She instantly fell in love with it. Years later, her daughter Marlene “fully immersed” herself into the world of K-pop and Korean dramas. Marlene is the captain of a K-pop dance group at San Diego State University. The mother and daughter are both taking online Korean language lesso

Seoul's support welcome, but tighter monitoring of funds for overseas Korean Studies program necessary, professor says

Popularity of K-dramas and K-food drives demand for Korean language learning

Students' club members at Inalco share their passion, Korean dreams

Professors call for program expansion amid surging number of applicants

Instructors asked to work for free outside class hours, with many on short-term contracts with no benefits

Complexity of speech levels, honorifics and emphasis on age in Korean culture often overwhelm learners

VANK chief highlights the meaning behind success of pure Korean name generating website

'Only a few graduates remain in universities or pursue careers as webtoon or drama script translators. It is essential to establish career paths that link Korean language learning in universities to employment opportunities.'

Singapore National University professor Chi Seo-won says knowing what path learners take after completing education is crucial for enhancing Korean language education

'It would be better if the testing methods are revised to assess learners’ actual ability to use the language.'

Lee Eun-jeung, director of the Institute of Korean Studies at Free University of Berlin, calls for textbook diversification to meet evolving spectrum of Korean learning needs