Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park New Delhi commemorated Hangeul Day, a day that celebrates the unique Korean script. Chief Guest Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, Chang Jae-bok, along with Mr Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India, Dr Neha Berlia, Executive Director, Stya and Svran Group, India graced the occasion. The event was attended by around 700 students and staff members.
On October 9th, Korea will celebrate 578th Hangeul Day, which marks the invention and proclamation of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, by the 15th-Century King Sejong the Great. Hangeul, designated as a UNESCO Memory of the World in 1997, is a superior writing system praised by linguists worldwide for its scientific nature and systematic structure. The consonants and vowels of Hangeul were designed to mimic human vocal organs. This scientific principle allows Hangeul to express the pronunciation of any language in the world almost perfectly.
Addressing the students at the event, Ambassador Chang Jae-bok, emphasized on the significance of learning the Korean language in the modern-day world. “Hanguel is the only writing system in the world whose creator, time, purpose, and method of creation are precisely known. Moreover, Hangeul’s unique feature of being both a phonetic alphabet and a syllabary makes it exceptionally convenient for reading and writing. These characteristics make Hangeul one of the most suitable writing systems for the age of computers and smartphones. In fact, many IT companies are expanding their Korean language services, and Korean plays a crucial role in developing artificial intelligence language models,” he said.
He further added, “With the spread of the Korean Wave, interest in and demand for the Korean language is increasing significantly worldwide. Korean language skills have become an important competitive edge. On behalf of our government, Korean Cultural Centre India will continue to support your Korean language learning and understanding of our culture and will strengthen its network with Korean companies to help you get one step closer to the future you dream of. I hope that those of you who are dedicated to learning Korean will become leading figures in the bright future of bilateral exchanges between Korea and India.”
With language being an important medium to experience Korean culture, Korean Cultural Centre India provides Korean language courses throughout the country through local schools and King Sejong Institutes. This year, 39 regular classes and 28 hobby classes are being operated in 42 schools, and approximately 2,572 middle school students are learning Korean. In addition, there are 8 King Sejong Institutes located across the country in cities such as New Delhi, Patna, Imphal, Chennai, Barasat, Pune and Bengaluru, where Korean is taught to participants who have enrolled in the course.
Reflecting the growing demand and enthusiasm for the Korean language in India, a total of 1,248 people took the 93rd Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) held in April this year, and 735 people have applied for the 96th Test of Proficiency in Korean scheduled for October 13 this year. When studying abroad in Korea, general universities require TOPIK level 3 or higher for new students and level 4 or higher for current students, so having an official language proficiency score is important.
Similarly, youngsters in India have shown great interest in learning Taekwondo and this has resulted in an increase of 50 percent in the number of schools teaching it to their students. There are 47 secondary schools in India that train 3,939 students in Taekwondo.
Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “I hope this event will increase interest and understanding of Korean culture and Hangeul in India. There is a saying that learning a language is the key that opens the door to that culture. I hope that in the future, more people in India will be able to deeply understand and embrace Korean culture by learning Korean.”
