Latest Korean Language News
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I Europe

Germany

On October 2, German publisher Tintenfass released the “Chungcheongnam-do Dialect Edition” of The Little Prince as part of its Little Prince Translation Project*. The book is now available for purchase on Amazon Germany’s online bookstore.

* The Little Prince Translation Project aims to honor linguistic diversity and preserve indigenous cultures by translating The Little Prince into unique languages from around the world.
 

Russia

On October 8, the Faculty of Oriental Studies at St. Petersburg State University launched a Translation Practice Center. The center provides translation training for fourth-year undergraduates and graduate students majoring in Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, and Arabic. It also offers opportunities for hands-on practice at publishing houses, public libraries, and other institutions.
 

Sweden

The Nobel Committee, in its official social media announcement of author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature win, included the author’s name and works written in Korean.
 

Austria

The Leopold Museum, a prominent art museum in Vienna, began offering Korean-language audio guides for its permanent exhibition, featuring works by Klimt, Egon Schiele, and others, on September 24.
 

France

• Le Petit Larousse 2025, the flagship dictionary published by France’s renowned Larousse publishing house, will include new entries for Webtoon* and Kimchi*. This edition commemorates the 120th anniversary of the dictionary’s first publication in 1905.

* Webtoon (WEBTOON): Defined as “Korean comics available on smartphones; more broadly, serialized comics in digital format.”

* Kimchi (KIMCHI): Described as “a dish made by seasoning and fermenting vegetables (especially cabbage and radish) with chili peppers and salt water.”
 

• On October 1, the Rodin Museum became the third museum in France, following the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, to offer Korean-language audio guides. The guides provide professional explanations and museum information for 73 artworks.

* Korean has been added as the seventh language for audio guides, joining French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Chinese.
 
 

I Americas

Canada

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Lifelong Learning Foreign Language Department will offer high school credit courses in 10 foreign languages, including Korean, for students in grades 9–12 residing in Ontario. These classes will run from October 2024 to May 2025.
 

Paraguay

As of October, 23 elementary, middle, and high schools, along with three universities in Paraguay, have adopted Korean as a second foreign language. Including school classes and courses offered by the Korean Education Center in Paraguay, approximately 5,720 students are currently learning Korean.
 
 

I Asia

Vietnam

As of September 24, the number of schools in Vietnam offering Korean as a subject increased from 25 to 64 compared to the previous year, a rise of 156%. The number of students learning Korean also grew from 6,904 to 14,819, a 114% increase. Korean classes are now being actively conducted in Da Nang and Can Tho, in addition to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat.

* Korean language expansion in Vietnam: Adopted as a second foreign language (2020)
→ Adopted as a first foreign language and included as a subject in university entrance exams (2021)
 

Uzbekistan

On October 8, Hancom Academy, a subsidiary of Hancom Inc., launched an online platform for Korean language education called “Smart Class.” This initiative began Korean language education for 1,600 students at 41 schools in Uzbekistan
 
 

I Sources

(Germany) Report by JoongAng Ilbo
(Russia) Report by Russia’s state news agency Tass
(Sweden) Report by Kyunghyang Shinmun
(Austria) Report by Yonhap News
(France) Report by French comprehensive news outlet Actu.fr
(France) Report by Yonhap News
(Canada) Toronto District School Board website
(Paraguay) Report by Yonhap News
(Vietnam) Press release from the Korean Education Center in Ho Chi Minh City
(Uzbekistan) Report by Yonhap News