The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday it will launch a language and cultural education program in March to assist international middle and high school students struggling with communication in the Korean language.
The program is designed for young people from multicultural backgrounds, particularly those who moved to Korea during their adolescence and face difficulties with the Korean language and cultural adaptation. The initiative, dubbed “Korean Language Prep School,” will provide language education, cultural diversity training and guidance on school life to help them integrate into the education system.
The initiative comes as Seoul sees a rising number of multicultural students while Korea as a whole faces a demographic crisis as student numbers decline annually.
Over the past 10 years, the number of students from foreign backgrounds has increased by a factor of 2.7, while the number of students with foreign citizenship has grown by a factor of 8.6. The growth rate of multicultural students in middle and high schools has surged by 173.7 percent, significantly outpacing the 85.7 percent increase among elementary school students. This trend underscores the urgent need for targeted support at higher education levels.
Despite these trends, a May 2024 survey revealed that 18.9 percent of multicultural students in middle school could engage in daily conversations but struggled with literacy and classroom comprehension. Additionally, 6.9 percent reported having minimal or no communication skills in Korean, making academic participation significantly challenging. The survey identified language barriers as the primary difficulty for multicultural students in South Korea's education system.
The new education program will be implemented at schools attended by these students, officially recognizing their academic credits, attendance and progress, and connecting the language course with the school curriculum so that the students are managed systematically and taken care of.
Certified Korean language instructors will conduct the lessons, focusing on middle and high school students. The classes will be small, with a maximum of 15 students per class, ensuring tailored instruction according to proficiency levels.
In response to growing demand, the Seoul education office plans to expand the Korean Language Prep School program by recruiting more students in 2025 and 2026, particularly focusing on multicultural students in middle and high school.
Seoul Education Superintendent Jung Keun-sik expressed his commitment to supporting these students, stating, "We will continue to closely monitor and improve the program to serve as a strong foundation for multicultural students and schools in high-density areas."
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
