The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF) on Jan. 9 announced the world's top five King Sejong Institute branches that led the way in promoting the Korean language and culture last year. Shown are students putting on a samulnori (traditional percussion music) performance at the branch in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. (KSIF)

By Park Hye Ri

The world's top five branches of King Sejong Institute have been honored for their efforts to promote the Korean language and culture.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and King Sejong Institute Foundation on Jan. 9 announced the selection of the branches in Bogota, Colombia; Brussels, Belgium; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Tainan, Taiwan; and Tallinn, Estonia, based on a performance evaluation jointly conducted by the ministry and the foundation.

The review was done on 140 branches that ran without interruption in 2022.

The Bishkek branch also received a ministry commendation for exceptional results, including a whopping 2,100% jump in the number of students—from 58 to 1,296—over the 10 years since its opening in 2013.

King Sejong is the nation's leading branded institute for disseminating the Korean language and culture overseas, with 248 branches in 85 countries. Since its launch in 2007, the cumulative number of students worldwide reached 700,000 as of 2022.

The top five branches will receive benefits like additional financial support and priority selection for specialized support projects. They can also serve as mentors for other branches.

"For King Sejong Institute, a leading institution for spreading the Korean language abroad, to continue its growth and development, operational internalization through evaluation and feedback is essential," said Jung Hyang-mi, director-general of the ministry's Regional Culture Policy Bureau.

"We hope that branches of King Sejong Institute worldwide build on its basis for self-growth based on excellent management practices and play a leading role in spreading the Hallyu (Korean Wave) and Korean-language boom."

hrhr@korea.kr