Sejong Institute pledges to expand global programs

South Korea’s Korean language foundation plans to expand its global program which is currently available at 244 institutions across 84 countries, as it looks to the next decade.

“This year, we celebrated our 10th anniversary,” King Sejong Institute Foundation President Lee Hai-young at an event honoring the foundation’s scholarship recipients held in Seoul on Monday.

The foundation has been assisting students worldwide seeking to learn Korean language and culture with its scholarship programs since 2015.

Winners of its annual Korean speaking and writing contests are given the scholarship to study in South Korea. Scholarship winners are also eligible to apply for a separate program for stipends during their study here.

At Monday’s event, Paul Carver, former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Seoul Global Center, shared his experience in learning Korean and adapting to the Korean culture.

“There is no right answer in successfully adapting to Korean culture,” Carver, who was born in the UK and first came to Korean 1992, said to the attendees in Korean.

“It’s all about how much effort you put in when learning the language and the culture.”

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)