South Korea’s network of government-backed Korean language schools just got noticeably bigger. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on June 30 that it has designated 29 new Sejong Institutes across 23 countries, bringing the worldwide total to 273 locations in 89 countries. For anyone who has tried to find a decent, affordable Korean class abroad, that expansion is a big deal.
The scale of interest driving this growth is striking. According to the ministry, a record 102 institutions from 45 countries applied to become new Sejong Institutes this round, the highest number of applicants in five years. A review committee evaluated each applicant’s teaching capacity, facilities, and local demand before making final selections, and even then more than two-thirds of applicants had to be turned away simply because there wasn’t room to accommodate them all.
Perhaps the most symbolic part of this year’s expansion is the arrival of Sejong Institutes in three countries that never had one before: Greece, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka. In Thessaloniki, Greece, Aristotle University will run its new institute in partnership with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. In Kigali, Rwanda, the International Covenant College is teaming up with the Korean embassy there. And in Sri Lanka, where demand for Korean has been especially high thanks to the Employment Permit System that sends Sri Lankan workers to Korea, Ruhuna University in Matara and Dongwon University of Science and Technology will jointly manage instruction.
The ministry also highlighted a shift in who is running these institutes domestically. Of this year’s new sites, 19 are operated in partnership with Korean institutions back home, and nine Korean universities, including Seoul Natinal University, joined as operating partners for the very first time. That marks a deepening tie between Korea’s own higher education system and the classrooms teaching Korean overseas.
Behind the numbers is a simple story: more people than ever want to learn Korean, and last year proved it. The ministry reported that 239,020 students studied at Sejong Institutes worldwide in the past year, combining in-person and online enrollment, an all-time high. A ministry policy official said the record number of applications made clear just how much “global enthusiasm for the Korean language” has grown, and pledged continued expansion to meet demand.
For the growing number of foreign fans of K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean culture more broadly, the message is straightforward: wherever you live, the odds of finding a Sejong Institute nearby just got a little better.
Source: Hwang Min-ju, eToday, June 30, 2026.
