More South Koreans keen to learn Turkish as 'strategic' language
Interest in foreign languages in South Korea has jumped tenfold over last 5 years, says report
ISTANBUL
Interest in learning “strategic” languages, including Turkish, has been picking up among South Koreans, especially young people, a local report said Friday.
The desire to live and work abroad, as well as the aspiration to discover new cultures, is driving a growing interest in strategic languages such as Turkish, Persian, and Ukrainian, among young South Koreans, particularly those in their twenties and thirties, The Korea Times daily reported.
Oh Min-kyung, a 26-year-old student, said her foreign friends respond well when she talks to them in their native tongues.
“They loved it when I mixed in a few phrases,” she said about her friends from Ukraine.
Excited about learning foreign languages, Oh said: “I now want to take advanced classes and learn Turkish too. I’m planning to visit Türkiye again, and this time I want to communicate in the local language.”
Close ties rooted in history
Due to public demand, the South Korean Education Ministry’s National Institute for International Education in 2020 launched “Learn a Strategic Foreign Language” program.
It offers free courses in strategic languages, aiming to help South Koreans develop multilingual skills in a globalizing world.
According to institute data, the number of students learning foreign languages rose tenfold from just 627 in 2020 to over 6,300 this year.
The interest in learning Turkish language comes as the close ties between the two nations date back to the Korean War of the early 1950s.
Ever since then, many South Koreans visit Türkiye every year.
Türkiye contributed the fourth-largest number of troops to the Korean War, with four brigades and over 21,000 soldiers. Among the 16 participating countries, Türkiye also bore the third-largest number of casualties, with some 900 soldiers fallen or missing in action. The UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan is home to the remains of 462 Turkish soldiers who fell in battle.
"I am pleased that our two countries have continued to develop relations based on the historic bond formed during the Korean War," South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, after being elected in a June snap election.
