Uzbekistan expands Korean language education to regional areas
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South Korea’s Education Ministry established a Korean language department and training center at Bukhara National Pedagogical Institute in Uzbekistan to broaden access to Korean language education beyond the capital city of Tashkent.
Previously, Korean language education in Uzbekistan was largely concentrated in Tashkent, with only one of the country’s thirteen national pedagogical institutes offering a Korean language program.
The new department in Bukhara, located about nine hours by car from Tashkent, will train 60 Korean language teachers annually, with a total capacity of 240 students. The Education Ministry also opened a Korean language training center at the institute to serve as a hub for regional education. This center will offer Korean language courses and cultural events for local residents and provide training for Korean language teachers in regional schools, with the ministry providing funding for operations.
Korean language education is growing rapidly in Uzbekistan. The number of schools offering Korean language classes increased from around 40 in 2022 to approximately 200 this year. Korean is taught as a second foreign language in local elementary and middle schools and became an option for university entrance exams in 2022. Both the Uzbekistani and South Korean governments are increasing the number of Korean language teachers they send to schools, including vocational schools.
Seol Se-hoon, Planning and Coordination Director at the Korean Education Ministry, stated that providing equal opportunities for Korean language learning to students in local cities is important, and pledged continued cooperation with the Uzbekistani government to develop Korean language education in Central Asia.
