The Asia-wide popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music known as hallyu has caused a boom in Korean language learning in foreign countries, the culture ministry said Monday.

As hallyu has increased people’s interest in Korea and its language, there have been noticeable increases in the number of foreigners taking courses at state-sponsored Korean language institutes abroad or taking the official Korean language proficiency test, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Starting with only 13 in three countries in 2007, the number of King Sejong Institutes offering Korean language education programs has risen to 90 in 44 countries all over the world.

The number of students attending classes at the institutes also rose steadily from 740 in 2007 to 2,906 in 2008, 4,301 in 2009, 6,016 in 2010, 9,348 in 2011 and 16,590 last year, the ministry said.

King Sejong Institute was named after the Joseon (1392-1910) king who invented the Korean alphabet of Hangeul.

The government plans to increase the number of the institutes to 200 by 2017 to meet the high demand for overseas Korean language education, the ministry said.

The cumulative number of applicants for the state-managed Korean language proficiency test topped the 1 million mark this year, according to government data.

The ministry said a total of 82,881 people applied for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) for non-Korean natives interested in school admissions and job searches in South Korea in 2007, but the figure jumped to 151,166 last year.

Launched in 1997, TOPIK is offered four times a year ― twice in South Korea and twice in South Korea and 60 other countries ― for people preparing to work or study here as well as those wishing to work for South Korean firms’ overseas branches and plants.

About 840 foreign universities have Korean studies or Korean language departments, officials said.

“The government needs to pay consistent attention (to overseas Korean language education) as foreigners’ interest in Korean pop culture creates demands for Korean language study,” a ministry official said. “The government plans to prepare a variety of programs at King Sejong Institutes so students there can learn overall Korean culture as well as language.” (Yonhap News)