VietNamNet Bridge - An agreement on a pilot Korean language program at schools in Vietnam from 2016 to 2023 has been signed between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the South Korean Embassy in Vietnam.

The signing ceremony.

Under this agreement, Korean will be the second foreign language to be taught at high schools throughout the country. After the pilot period, Korean may become the first foreign language at Vietnamese high schools.

At first, Korean will be introduced at two secondary schools in Hanoi and two in Ho Chi Minh City, said Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien.

Each selected class will learn the language for two years, with three periods of 45 minutes per week.

Students may continue learning the language in high school if they satisfy the necessary conditions.

One high school in Hanoi and another in HCM City will be chosen to implement pilot Korean programs during the 2020-2021 school year, at one 10th grade class.

"The Ministry of Education and Training sees the development of the Korean language is necessary to provide human resources to serve Korean businesses in Vietnam and Vietnamese students and workers in South Korea. I also believe that the pilot program will be a success and be welcomed in accordance with the actual demand. If the demand for Korean language is really necessary, in the future teaching Korean will be expanded further," Deputy Minister Hien said.

Mr. Jun Dae Joo, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam, said he highly appreciated the support of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam to pilot the teaching of Korean language in some schools.

He said, since 1993, the Korean language has flourished in Vietnam with more than 100,000 students, 14 universities with Korean Faculty, more than 2,800 students majoring in Korean language and 10 organizations offering Korean teaching classes.

As the leading foreign investor in Vietnam, about 4,100 Korean businesses in Vietnam now employ about a million Vietnamese workers. Last year, more than 13,000 Vietnamese people participated in the Korean exams, ranking fourth in the world for the number of contestants, doubling the figure in 2014.

Le Ha