First lady Kim Jung-sook on Aug. 9 sent a congratulatory video message to the event "2021 K-Educator Union." (Screenshot from Cheong Wa Dae's official YouTube channel)

By Min Yea-Ji and Joung Haseung 

First lady Kim Jung-sook on Aug. 9 sent a congratulatory video message to the event "2021 K-Educator Union," encouraging educators of Korean and Hangeul worldwide. 

"I pay my respects to teachers at elementary, middle and high schools and King Sejong Institutes worldwide, as well as those who instill Korean pride and identity in ethnic Korean teenagers abroad through teaching the Korean language and about Korea," she said. 

Mentioning how she recited poems by Korean poet Yun Dong-ju in June with students at the Barcelona branch of King Sejong during her state visit to Spain, she said she always makes sure to visit Korean-language classes and attend related events when visiting other countries. 

"The world's passion for Hangeul and Korean continues through goodwill and friendship toward Korea and Koreans," she added. "All of this is thanks to the hard work and dedication of all you Korean-language educators." 

The first lady said the rapid growth of Hallyu such as K-pop has expanded the influence of Korean culture, thus global interest in Korean culture has grown heated. 

An estimated 76,000 students learn Korean every year at 234 King Sejong branches in 82 countries. The number of applicants for Korean-language proficiency tests also jumped from 250,000 in 2016 to 370,000 in 2019. 

"Many Korean-language students abroad are acting as bridges between Korea and their home countries through studying abroad and finding work here in Korea," the first lady said. "I hope that more people around the world can connect and find solidarity through the Korean language." 

2021 K-Educator Union was the opening event of the annual World Korean Educator Conference, a training program for the Korean language and culture launched in 2009 for raising the professionalism of Korean-language educators worldwide. Now in its 13th year, the event this year was held online because of COVID-19, with 1,070 such educators worldwide participating.

jesimin@korea.kr