The government said it will extend by six years its support for an ambitious project to transform the country’s southernmost island of Jeju into a global English education hub.

During a committee meeting for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Friday, the central government decided to continue its support for the project to create a global English education town on the resort island until 2021. It was supposed to be completed by 2015.

In 2008, the government launched the eight-year project with a budget of 1.78 trillion won ($1.56 billion) to build a town in Jeju where elementary, middle and high school students will be taught almost entirely in English, bringing top-notch schools from overseas.

The project aims to provide a desirable language education environment for local students eager to learn English amid high demand for English education. As of 2007, more than 27,000 Korean primary and secondary school students were studying abroad, a jump from 705 in 2000, according to government data.

In Jeju’s Seogwipo city, three international schools ― Korea International School, North London Collegiate School Jeju, and Branksome Hall Asia ― are up and running, with more than 1,000 local and international students combined. Two more schools are set to open, one next month and the other in 2015.

The government also plans to build additional facilities there.

A training center for both teachers and students, a community complex and other cultural facilities will be established, according to the government.

“To help Jeju become the superior center for English-language education, the government needs to lend additional support and devise measures on how to effectively push for the project,” Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said, presiding over the committee meeting. (Yonhap News)