The Busan Global Village has gained recognition from Koreans here over the last two years for its high-quality, low-cost English language education programs.

A total of 115,800 people have visited the village over that period and experienced effective ways of learning English.

For Choi Young-suk, a 35-year-old housewife, the Busan Global Village was a great educational opportunity for her children.

“I plan to participate in an event of the village, the English flea market, in November with my children. I expect it will be useful for my kids, who can learn about the economy at the market. Although their English level is not high because they are young, I can feel their English speech improving every time they visit the village,” said Choi. “Besides, BGV is accessible from the city center connected by various transportation means.”

There are also young students eager to participate in an English speech contest and show their improved English speech to audience and judges.

Moon Young-seo, fourth grader from Yong-moon Elementary School, has been waiting for the English speech contest this year, as he failed to advance to the final last year.

“This time, I will make it to the final,” Moon said.

Visitors to the Busan Global Village range from toddlers to 70-year-olds, who are pleased with its programs developed for different age groups.

“I take my 25-month-old son to the Happy School class every Thursday. This is a class my son and I attend together,” said Kim Ji-seon, a 32-year-old housewife from Dongrae-gu, Busan who has been taking the class over a year. “The Happy School has been far more satisfactory, and its price is very reasonable.”

Not only young kids but also gray-haired old men and women visit the BGV with enthusiasm for a good command of English.

Park Ki-young, a 70-year-old student, said the BGV English speaking course has become a booster shot for his life.

“When I come over here, my steps are always very light, as I feel very excited and happy for the class that I take at BGV,” Park said.

When it comes to English language education, the usual image is a group of young students talking with foreign teachers in English in a classroom. However, the BGV sets itself apart from other language institutes with a variety of intriguing programs developed to meet the different needs of various age groups.

BGV also runs free English camps for children from low-income households as part of efforts to help reduce the financial burden of private tutoring and ensure that as many children as possible benefit from the English village.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)