As the national and social functions of Korean language education have been expanded and its status as a national policy has been raised, Korean language education has achieved quantitative growth and development for a short period of time. Despite th...
As the national and social functions of Korean language education have been expanded and its status as a national policy has been raised, Korean language education has achieved quantitative growth and development for a short period of time. Despite this fact, it still has, however, many quality problems. In this regard, this study intends to analyze the legal and institutional tools for Korean language education in order to examine the current status of Korean language education policy and suggest ways to improve Korean language education.
To this end, agencies such as Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Ministry of Justice are participating in Korean language education. This study examined the grounds for the agencies’ participation in that education and their major projects, and analyzed Korean language education policies and laws pertaining to each agency. Based on this, this study identified problems in Korean language education policies and suggested specific measures to improve the policies.
First, it has been pointed out that Korean language education policies areoverlapping and confusing because several agencies conduct Korean language education based on different laws. So, there is a need for an agency that can be dedicated to Korean language education. Second, Korean language education institutions vary according to the target of education, and there is a need to cultivate brandsthat represent Korean language education.Third, the current Korean language education support policy is uniform without reflecting socio-cultural differencesby country. In order to increase the effect, it is necessary to develop customized policies for target countries. Fourth, Korean language education lacks diversity in education contents. It is necessary to develop national standardized curriculum and standard textbooks. Fifth, when it comes to Korean language education targets, there is sufficient support for female marriage immigrants in Korea, whereasthere exists an educational blind spot for foreign workers. It is necessary to establish Korean language education support policy for foreign workers.