Students who took Korean classes through the King Sejong Institute Foundation last year reported high satisfaction, with new textbooks introduced to support various learning objectives.

According to a survey of 17,622 students enrolled in the foundation’s Korean classes in 2024, respondents gave an average satisfaction score of 92.5, up 1.4 points from the previous year and the highest recorded score for the foundation.


The foundation operates 256 King Sejong Institutes worldwide, offering Korean language courses, cultural programs and online classes. It also runs training programs for Korean language instructors.

To assess student satisfaction, the survey examined areas such as overall experience, curricula, facilities, textbooks and the institute’s social responsibility.

Overall satisfaction received a score of 93.7, while curricula, facilities and textbooks averaged 90.5. Social responsibility earned the highest rating at 94.2.

Among the institute’s offerings, students expressed the highest satisfaction with cultural activity programs with a score of 92.2, followed by Korean language classes at 90.9, class environment and facilities with 90.4 and textbooks at 90.3.

Textbook satisfaction saw the biggest improvement, rising from 86.5 in the previous year's survey.

The foundation attributes this increase to the introduction of new advanced level textbooks in 2024, designed to accommodate students of varying proficiency levels. The “KSI Interpretation and Translation” textbook was also introduced to support aspiring translators, along with “Easy Korean for Agricultural/Fisheries Workers,” which focuses on industry-specific terminology.

Students cited diverse motivations for learning Korean, where 39.8 percent were driven by an interest in Korean culture, 32.8 percent pursued it for academic purposes and 14.5 percent studied Korean to enhance job prospects.

"Our foundation will not settle for simply improving student satisfaction but will strive even harder to help students achieve their dreams through the King Sejong Institute Foundation," said Bae Jong-min, the foundation's secretary general.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]