<W commentary> World's growing enthusiasm for learning Korean = day when the number of Japanese learners surpass soon?

According to the results of a survey conducted by the global language learning app Duolink on January 17th (local time), CNN reported that Korean was the 7th most-learned language on the app last year. With the global popularity of K-pop and Korean TV series, more and more people are trying to learn Korean these days. CNN also analyzes that "the influence of the Korean wave is also large."

With 500 million Duolink users, English was the most learned language on the app, followed by Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Italian. Korean in 7th place surpassed Chinese and Russian.

The number of Korean learners around the world is increasing, and it is especially popular in West Asia and Southeast Asia. Korean is the most learned foreign language in four countries, including the Philippines and Brunei. It also ranks high in Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan. India, with a population of 1.3 billion, added Korean as a second foreign language in its curriculum since July 2020.

The growing enthusiasm for learning Korean can be seen from the number of people taking the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) around the world. TOPIK is sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Education and the National Institute of International Education. The test is divided into beginner TOPIK I (grades 1 and 2) and intermediate and advanced TOPIK II (grades 3 to 6), and grades are determined based on scores (the higher the number, the higher the grade). In Japan, it is currently held three times a year. In addition to listening and reading comprehension, only TOPIK II will require writing. In 1997, there were 2,692 applicants, but in 2019 there were 27,715.

TOPIK is held five times a year in Vietnam. If you speak Korean in Vietnam, you can double your salary. In Myanmar and Nepal, there are many people who want to find a job in Korea, and there are many TOPIK test takers. On the day of the test, accommodation facilities around the venue are said to be fully booked.

One of the instructors who teaches Korean in Timor-Leste previously told the Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo, "Korean content is popular, so I used the music of (a popular Korean group) 'BTS' and Korean TV series in class. It makes me proud to see him studying Korean in order to work in South Korea where wages are high."

In 2021, the South Korean civic group VANK, which conducts private diplomacy on the Internet, announced that it would launch a campaign to request that Korean be designated as the official language of international organizations such as the United Nations. By the way, the six official languages of the United Nations as stipulated in the United Nations Charter are Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic. The official languages of the United Nations are determined by a vote of the Member States of the General Assembly at the request of a country.

The popularity of Hallyu stars and content is one of the reasons why people around the world are enthusiastic about learning Korean. The world-famous BTS, the 2012 hit of singer PSY's "Gangnam Style", the 2019 movie "Parasite", and the 2021 TV series "Squid Game", are the hallyu of the Korean wave. The works were very successful one after. According to the "Report on the Global Hallyu Wave" published by the Korea Foundation for International Exchange in March last year, there will be 1,470 Hallyu clubs around the world as of 2021, with a total of 156.6 million members. The report states that the Hallyu boom, which began in Northeast Asia such as China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, has spread to Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, and has expanded to Europe, North America, and South America a few years ago due to the influence of SNS.

60% of Netflix users watched Korean works streamed last year by the US video streaming giant Netflix. TV series and movies were among the top 10 viewers in over 90 countries last year. The number of Korean works scheduled for streaming this year is 34, the largest number ever, and the Hallyu wave is also expected this year.

The rise in interest in learning Korean around the world can be seen as a derivative of the popularity of such Korean content. CNN also analyzed that the South Korean government's efforts to expand its cultural influence through music and media since the 1990s also played a role.