Paraguay's middle and high schools also adopt Korean as a second foreign language

The South American country of Paraguay has also adopted Korean as a second foreign language subject, allowing students to study the language. The Korean Ministry of Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Science on Korean language education cooperation.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 19th that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). "With this memorandum of understanding, Korean will be recognized as a regular second foreign language subject, Korean language grades will be used for admission to advanced programs, and Korean will become a second language," the ministry said.
"We expect the number of local schools adopting Korean as a foreign language to increase," he said. With the signing of this memorandum of understanding, graduates from the Korean Language Education Department of the National University of Teachers of Paraguay will be able to teach Korean at local schools.
According to the Ministry of Education, as of the end of last year, 23 countries had adopted Korean as a second foreign language.
The number of countries adopting Korean as a second foreign language has increased to 24. The number of Korean language learners in Paraguay's secondary schools is expected to increase from 1,900 students in 16 schools in 2017 to 4,795 students in 23 schools by the end of 2023.
The Ministry of Education has been supporting Korean language education in local schools through the Paraguay Korean Education Institute for about 10 years. As a result, the Korean Language Education Department at the National University of Teacher Education of Paraguay was opened in 2013.
The first class graduated in 2017. Currently, Korean language courses are being offered at the Paraguayan Military Academy, Columbia University, Universidad Unidas, and the Paraguayan Ministry of National Defense.
Park Sunmin, director of the planning and coordination office at the Ministry of Education, said, "We plan to use this memorandum of understanding as an opportunity to expand our educational cooperation with Paraguay, including Korean language education."
"I hope that the Korean language will spread throughout South America, including Paraguay, and that the countries from which students come to Korea to study will become even more diverse," he said.