DUSHANBE, December 30, 2013, Asia-Plus – Korea.net, which is an official website of the Republic of Korea, notes that Tajikistan together with Malaysia and the Philippines will host new branches of the King Sejong Institute, a center that offers locals the opportunity to explore Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and Korean culture more broadly.
The branches are expected to be established in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Cebu, the Philippines in March next year.
In Dushanbe, the branch of the King Sejong Institute is expected to be placed at the National Library of Tajikistan.
Sejonghakdang is a brand name that the South Korean Government launched in order to comprehensively provide Korean learners and teachers with an integrated study and information service. “Sejonghakdang” has been developed as the brand for Korean-learning or -teaching Institutes around the world. Sejong was the fourth King of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea who created the Korean alphabet in 1446 and Hakdang means educational institutes in Korean language.
The last twenty years have seen a rise in interest and demand for the Korean language due to cultural and commercial globalization and the Internet/Communications Revolution. International interest in Korean culture such as dramas and music has increased tremendously, especially in Asia, leading to what has been termed the “Korean wave.” Related to this there has also been an increase in foreign students studying in Korea. Demographically there has also been an increase in marriages between Koreans and foreigners.
With the increase in international cooperation and business, the South Korean government has been striving to standardize the names of locations, people, and other proper nouns in Hangul (Korean alphabet). Also, there was a need for more up-to-date Korean dictionaries, as most were made during the 1990s.
With such demand, the South Korean government established the concept of “Sejonghakdang” so as to provide integrated and standardized information and service for learning the Korean language as well as to coordinate and expand the institutes where people can learn or teach it. The Korean government has launched its homepage at http://www.sejonghakdang.org in Korean and English.
