SEOUL, May 21 (AJU PRESS) - Sao Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil, will adopt Korean as a second foreign language for elementary, middle and high school students, the Korean Education Institute in Sao Paulo (KEISP) said Tuesday.
The language institute signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday (local time) with Sao Paulo's education department and the Korean Consulate General to incorporate Korean language education into the regular school curriculum in the city. Korean has been taught experimentally at a language research center run by Sao Paulo's municipal government.
To support the initiative, KEISP will provide instructors, teaching materials and programs through which Brazilian students can experience Korean culture.
"I hope Korean language education will continue to expand and be supported and that Sao Paulo will be able to nurture its own Korean language teachers," Fernando Padula, the director of the Sao Paulo Department of Education, was quoted as saying during the signing ceremony.
According to Korea's Ministry of Education, Korean has been designated as a second foreign language subject in 23 countries and included as a subject in college entrance exams in 10 countries as of 2023.
