It is estimated that about 77 to 78.8-million people around the globe speak the Korean language. That places Korean somewhere between the 12th and 20th spots on the list of the languages with the largest number of speakers around the world. Currently, the number of people who learn Korean as a second or third language is on the rise.



The South Korean government has been striving to spread the Korean language to anyone who wants to learn Korean or the Korean culture. Thus King Sejong Institute was founded in 2007, with 13 institutes in 3 countries. The numbers have now reached 117 institutes in 51 countries. The sharp rise in the global interests in the Korean language is a gauge that clearly shows the stature of Korea and the Korean culture.



This year marks the 567th year since King Sejong the Great created Hangul, the official alphabet of Korea, in the year 1446. Today, Korean is not ours and ours only, but a bridge that helps the people of the globe communicate. As the leader of the Korean language boom, and the headquarters of the global Korean language education, it is hoped that King Sejong Institute will continue to grow and aid the spread of Korean and the Korean culture.