By Choi Jin-woo

The King Sejong Institute (KSI), which teaches the Korean language and culture to people worldwide, has earned a comprehensive satisfaction score of 91.1.

The King Sejong Institute Foundation on March 29 released the results of the 2023 KSI Satisfaction Survey based on responses from 15,325 KSI students abroad collected between October last year and January this year.

The score of 91.1 matched the record-high figure posted last year. All categories in the survey saw high scores: social satisfaction (92.7), overall satisfaction (92.6), satisfaction with cultural education courses and programs (92.5), curriculum satisfaction (90.3), facility and environmental satisfaction (89.1), and textbook satisfaction (86.5).

On why students learned Korean, interest in Korea and its culture (34%) was the most cited reason, followed by interest in the language (24%).

The number of respondents intending to learn Korean for academic purposes such as studying in Korea rose from the previous year.

The foundation said 49% of respondents cited learning Korean for six months or under, the most of any period, concluding that growing interest in the language and Korean culture fueled an influx of new students.

Growth of the learning period was expected to increase the objectives of learning Korean like for use in studying in Korea or working for Korean companies.

paramt@korea.kr