The Indian Embassy in South Korea celebrated World Hindi Day in Seoul on Saturday.
Observed annually on January 10, the day commemorates the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur in 1975. Indian embassies worldwide mark the occasion to promote Hindi language awareness through lectures, cultural events and discussions.
Speaking at the event, Indian Ambassador Gourangalal Das underscored the significance of Hindi, echoing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on the occasion.
Das referred to the rising interest in Hindi in South Korea, noting that the language “transcends borders, connecting hearts as a medium of emotion and cultural warmth.”
“When a Korean student recites poetry in Hindi, or when a researcher studies Hindi literature, the relationship between India and Korea becomes even deeper and stronger,” said Das.
In 2025, Hindi, India’s most widely spoken language, ranks as the world’s third most spoken language, with over 609 million speakers, according to analytics firm Statista.
As part of a linguistic exchange, India introduced Korean as a foreign language in schools in 2020, while South Korea designated Hindi as a critical foreign language for intensive government support from 2017 to 2024.
The event brought together Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Hindi students and faculty, members of the Indian community in Seoul, and embassy officials.
The celebrations featured cultural performances, a national song rendition marking its 150th anniversary and an awards ceremony.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
