The number of foreigners studying the Korean language is increasing every year thanks to the growing popularity of Korean pop culture.

The Education Ministry says foreigners studying Korean at schools abroad increased from 39-thousand-400 in 2010 to 76-thousand-300 last year.

The number of foreign schools that teach Korean as a foreign language also increased from 525 in 21 countries in 2010 to 799 in 23 countries last year.

Japan has 303 schools teaching Korean, accounting for 38 percent of all foreign schools teaching the subject. The United States is at 14 percent, followed by Thailand, Taiwan and Australia.