Vietnam has designated Korean as one of its main foreign-language electives, and the language will be taught in elementary school from August. The photo shows participants of a calligraphy workshop on Oct. 15 last year at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Hanoi. (KCC Vietnam)

By Elena Kubitzki and Lee Hana

Korean is now one of Vietnam's major foreign-language electives and will be taught from August in elementary school.

Yonhap News of Korea on March 4 said the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training added Korean and German to the list of major options in foreign language. Korean will be taught to third graders starting this summer.

Students in Vietnam learn their first foreign language in elementary school and then another in middle and high school. 

The Southeast Asian nation now has seven options among first foreign languages, including Korean. 

In 2016, Vietnam offered Korean as a second foreign language in middle school in a pilot program; the status was made permanent in 2019. Over 1,500 students are enrolled in Korean-language classes at six middle and high schools across the country. 

elenakubi@korea.kr