KSIF Successfully Concludes the
2025 World Korean Educator Conference

> Over 300 Korean language education professionals, including 162 teachers from 107 KSIs in 49 countries around the world, attended

> Field-oriented training provided on the use of the Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA), textbooks, and learning apps

The King Sejong Institute Foundation (Acting President and Secretary General Choi Hyun-Seung, hereafter referred to as KSIF) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereafter referred to as MCST) successfully concluded the 2025 World Korean Educator Conference, held over four days from July 21 to 24 at The Shilla Seoul. Now in its 17th year, the World Korean Educator Conference invites teachers from KSIs worldwide and Korean language educators from both Korea and abroad to provide the latest teaching methodologies and strengthen professional expertise. This year’s conference was attended by over 300 Korean language teachers, including 162 instructors from 107 KSIs in 49 countries around the world.
 
 

First Lady Kim Hea-kyung, wife of President
Lee Jae-myung, delivering a congratulatory video
message at the opening ceremony KSIF Secretary General Choi Hyun-Seung
delivering a welcome address to
conference participants

On the first day of the conference, July 21, the opening ceremony began with a congratulatory video message from First Lady Kim Hea-kyung, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, followed by a welcome address from KSIF Secretary General Choi Hyun-Seung. In her message, First Lady Kim remarked, “The Korean language and Korean culture are communicating with the world today with a resonance that is stronger and deeper than ever before.” She went on to encourage attendees by saying, “Thanks to the dedication and commitment of KSI Korean language teachers, the seeds of the Korean language and Korean culture are spreading across the globe, allowing us to envision a brilliant future for our culture.”
 
 

The awards ceremony for the Outstanding Teacher Contest at the 2025 World Korean Educator Conference followed. First, Lee Jung-woo, Director General for Culture and Arts Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), presented the Minister’s Award (Grand Prize) to Park In-sun of KSI Budapest, who took first place in the contest, expressing deep gratitude for her years of dedication. KSIF Secretary General Choi Hyun-Seung then presented the KSIF President’s Award (Excellence Award) to second- and third-place winners, Lee Bo-hyun of KSI Luxembourg and Lee Seul of KSI Manama, respectively.
 
 

Next, plaques of appreciation were awarded to four KSIs selected as Outstanding KSIs for 2024: KSI Qingdao 2 (China), KSI Sokuluk (Kyrgyzstan), KSI Bogota (Colombia), and KSI Tainan (Taiwan). This was followed by the presentation of designation certificates to 11 newly designated KSIs this year.
 
 

Professor Seo Hyuk of Ewha Womans University
delivering a keynote lecture on the theme “Literacy
in the Age of AI and Korean Language Education” Teacher Park In-sun (KSI Budapest), recipient of
the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award,
presenting her award-winning case from the
Outstanding Teacher Contest

Part 2 of the opening ceremony began with a keynote lecture by Professor Seo Hyuk of the Department of Korean Language Education at Ewha Womans University on the theme “Literacy in the Age of AI and Korean Language Education.” In the subsequent presentations from the Outstanding Teacher Contest, attendees heard from the three winners announced in Part 1. Park In-sun of KSI Budapest, recipient of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, shared an educational case under the theme “Korean Language: Stepping Out of the Classroom and Connecting with the World,” which combined social media writing classes with a language–culture exchange program involving Korean international students.
 
 

Excellence Award winners Lee Bo-hyun of KSI Luxembourg and Lee Seul of KSI Manama also presented their cases. Lee Bo-hyun introduced a multilingual cultural class using AI interpretation applications and Korean films, while Lee Seul shared an audio book class utilizing Hangeul.
 
 

On the first and second days of training (July 22–23), KSIF conducted field-oriented training programs aimed at strengthening the professional expertise of Korean language teachers. On Day 1, participants attended a lecture by Professor Jeong Myeong-sook of Busan University of Foreign Studies on “The Direction of KSI Korean Language Education and the Role of Teachers,” and a lecture by KSIF Content Business Division Director Choi Yun-jeong on “Introduction and Utilization of New KSI Curriculum Content.” The program also included practical workshops in breakout sessions on Korean language teaching methodologies, KSIF-developed textbooks, and KSI learning apps, as well as consulting sessions and group discussions for Korean language teachers.
 
 

On the second day of training, lectures were held on “The Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA) and the Incremental Computerized Adaptive Test (i-SKA)” and “How to Use the Sejong Korean Culture Textbook.” In the afternoon, practical breakout sessions were conducted to strengthen participants’ teaching skills in Korean culture, including making Korean food (K-desserts), traditional crafts (mother-of-pearl bookmarks), and samulnori (traditional Korean percussion ensemble).

On the final day of the conference, July 24, the program concluded successfully with presentations of lesson plans created by teachers during the training sessions, followed by an awards ceremony recognizing the best teams in the lesson plan presentations.
 
 

Meanwhile, throughout the conference, participants were able to explore a variety of content at the exhibition space set up at the venue, including KSIF-developed textbooks and learning apps, the Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA), and the Metaverse KSI.

One participating teacher shared, “It was very helpful to see vivid, outstanding examples of what KSI teachers are doing in the classroom, and it was a valuable opportunity to learn effective methods for teaching Korean language and culture.”