▲ These photos, provided by KF, show studetns of Sheffield University taking the Korean language course at e-school and textbooks used for the course. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

 

SEOUL, Jan. 18(Yonhap) - Online Korean language courses using mega-hit boy group BTS videos have been selected as best practices of public diplomacy.

 

The Korea Foundation has announced that an online Korean language course project using "Learn! Korean with BTS" has been selected as an excellent case of public diplomacy in the collaboration sector of central administrative agencies, on Wednesday.

 

Learn! Korean with BTS is a Korean language education content created by an educational corporation BigHit Edu, now Cake, in 2020, using video content such as “RUN BTS,” “BANGTAN BOMB,” and “BTS Episode,” featuring BTS

 

It is a video that reconstructs the actual speaking of BTS members to suit the purpose of Korean language education so that fan club "A.R.M.Y." can learn Korean while copying the expressions of the members.

 

A research team of Professor Heo Yong of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has participated in content development and supervision.

 

KF has started to open Korean language courses using the content at foreign universities by investing its budget into one "e-school" project.

 

In the first year, 280 students took seven courses opened at six universities in four countries, including the United States, Vietnam, Egypt and France.

 

In 2021, 37 courses from 12 universities in 9 countries increased to 877 students and 52 courses from 16 universities in 13 countries increased to 1,200 in 2022.

 

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has introduced it as an excellent example of public diplomacy in a report titled "Korea's Soft Power" in 2020.

 

The Hangul Proclamation Day commemorative video produced by the Embassy of the United States in Korea based on the motif of the BTS Korean language course at Middlebury University in the same year recorded 238,000 YouTube views.

 

"The online Korean language course project using BTS content has naturally led to interest in Korea and learning Korean," official from KF said, adding, "We will establish this project as an edutech-based public diplomacy project."

 

 

 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)

 

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