The making of Korean language textbooks, some of which feature BTS

SEOUL - In 2021, the South Korean Education Ministry took a proactive step to create a government-managed Korean language curriculum. This was in response to the growing international demand for the learning of the language.

Before the central government’s involvement, the selection and distribution of courses and textbooks were primarily handled by local Korean language education centres.

This led to concerns about the lack of structured content that could cater to the diverse language proficiency levels and ages of foreign learners.

The government’s initiative, which was launched two years ago, has attempted to encompass the development of textbooks and supplementary educational materials so far.

The complimentary textbooks are distributed globally to children and teachers at elementary and high schools that have adopted the Korean language as an official subject.

A total of 201,788 textbooks have been distributed to 28 countries as at 2022, according to the ministry’s overseas education support division.

The type and number of textbooks are issued annually in September – since many schools start their academic year that month – after carrying out a demand survey, the ministry explained, adding that about 7.2 billion won (S$7.4 million) had been spent each year since 2021.

The textbooks are made based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – an international standard that describes language ability on a six-point scale, from A1 for beginners, up to C2 for those who have mastered a language.

Currently, the Korean language textbook levels are divided into eight groups – Pre-A1, A1, A2 and A2+ for beginner levels and B1, B1+, B2 and B2+ for intermediate levels – and the materials consist of textbooks, workbook papers and a teacher’s guidebook.

In 2021, the ministry teamed up with Hybe Edu, the education technology division of Hybe, the K-pop agency that houses BTS, to develop supplementary learning materials for Korean classes at local schools.

This helps students delve into the Korean culture and its language more effectively.

The textbook package featuring BTS is mostly video-based and contains practical phrases and expressions that are useful in everyday situations. Apart from the BTS content, the supplementary materials also cover South Korea’s history, culture and society.

The ministry has also teamed up with education authorities, teachers and language education specialists both at home and abroad to curate tailor-made Korean language textbooks.

This aims to better address the needs of targeted learners and cater to those at different proficiency levels. The learners are based in countries including Brazil, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

However, linguistic experts pointed out that more efforts are needed to enhance the quality of Korean language education worldwide.

Chungnam National University Korean language professor Yun Suk-jin noted that bilingual textbooks are needed for beginners and would help foreign learners overcome barriers.

“(Using) the local language is necessary, especially for beginners... because their mother tongue would help them better grasp the nuances (of the Korean language) in the initial phase and use (their native language) as a reference to understand Korean,” Prof Yun said.

Professor Lee Eun-jeung of the Free University of Berlin, meanwhile, emphasised the necessity of textbooks on Korean grammar, stressing the need for advanced-level education.

Materials that enhance the comprehension of idioms and words connected to Chinese characters are also needed.

“The teachers in our Korean Studies department believe that our students most need textbooks for the advanced level... We also need grammar textbooks,” she said.

“There is a lack of materials that can help learners understand idioms and Korean words based on hanja (Chinese characters), which is essential for learners to be able to dig deeper into the Korean culture and history.”

South Korea’s technological expertise, combined with the government’s commitment to developing digital textbooks, has the potential to push up the education quality, experts said.

“There are so many parts of Korean language textbooks that have yet to be digitalised. Other language textbooks allow learners to download e-textbooks on Kindle and provide educational video clips online.

“But many Korean language textbooks are still offered in hard copy. We have a long way to go,” said National University of Singapore professor Chi Seo-won. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK