South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visits VNU and interacts with students

The visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to VNU is of great significance, creating momentum to promote educational and training cooperation between the two countries, while also creating opportunities for Korean language students to exchange, interact and discuss about Korea and the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Korea.
Attending the reception for President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea at VNU were Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, VNU President Le Quan and Vice Presidents; leaders of the Office, functional departments, member units and affiliated units of VNU. Expressing his joy and honor to welcome the President of the Republic of Korea to visit VNU, Director Le Quan said that as the leader in the Vietnamese higher education system, VNU is the first public training institution to open a major in Korean language and Korean studies since 1993, right after the two countries established diplomatic relations. Over the past 30 years, most of the heads of Korean majors (heads of Departments/Faculties) in the Northern region have come from the University of Foreign Languages ​​and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU. Currently, the team of lecturers and experts of VNU are also actively participating in projects to popularize and develop training and research on Korean language and culture in the Vietnamese education system.
The number of people studying Korean in Vietnam is more than 50 thousand people. The number of universities and colleges teaching Korean is nearly 60 schools and currently Vietnam is the country with the largest and most comprehensive scale of training and research on Korean language and culture in Southeast Asia as well as Asia. VNU Director Le Quan hopes that the Korean Government will continue to support Vietnam in education, transfer of scientific and technical technology in general as well as in teaching and researching Korean language and culture, and training human resources related to Korea in particular.
Speaking at the reception, President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam and VNU. He commented that VNU has similarities with Seoul National University of Korea and both are important higher education institutions in training talents for the country.
In response to Director Le Quan’s sharing about the new campus of VNU in Hoa Lac, President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his impression of the vision of VNU’s leaders. He hoped that VNU would soon complete the construction of facilities and campus at Hoa Lac campus to be worthy of the position of Vietnam’s leading university.
On this occasion, the President of Korea and his wife interacted and answered questions from young Vietnamese people about the beauty of Korean culture and the Korean wave in Vietnam. Speaking to Vietnamese students studying Korean, President Yoon Suk Yeol affirmed that his visit to Vietnam this time took place in the context of the good development of the relationship between the two countries. The two sides upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the relationship between the two countries has developed comprehensively, spanning many fields from politics, economics, diplomacy to culture and society. The President expressed his joy that more and more young Vietnamese people are learning Korean.
“I know that Korean has become the choice of many young people in Vietnam, not only students but also many middle and high school students have studied Korean. I am also very impressed when I hear you pronounce Korean correctly. As the leader of Korea, I feel even more responsible to promote the relationship between the two countries, especially in educating the younger generation about the relationship between the two countries,” said President Yoon Suk Yeol.
President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea was pleased to see that Vietnam has organized many cultural exchange activities between the two countries and he believes that these are favorable conditions to help young Vietnamese people understand more about Korean culture. He hopes that there will be more activities not only in culture but also in education so that young people can study more deeply and learn Korean at a more in-depth level. The Korean government will introduce more policies to support young Vietnamese people to access Korean language as well as Korean culture.(Photo: https://www.president.go.kr)
 
VNU has had many cooperations in training and scientific research with leading universities in Korea such as Seoul National University, high-tech corporations of Korea such as Samsung, LG, Huyndai, SK, ... Students of science, technology and engineering majors of VNU have always been highly appreciated and accepted to work in important positions in Korean technology and industrial corporations in Vietnam. Cooperation between VNU and Korean corporations is a model for training quality human resources, training with addresses - serving the economic and scientific and technological development of the two countries.
At VNU, the Asian Research Support Center – ARC is the unit that carries out many research cooperation activities, supports scientists inside and outside VNU, conducts scholar exchange activities, publishes scientific and technological publications, etc. in cooperation with Korea.     (Photo: https://www.president.go.kr)
     

The situation of Korean language teaching at university level in Vietnam Currently, there are nearly 60 universities and colleges nationwide offering language and culture training, or Korean studies as a full-time program. The total number of people studying Korean as a full-time program is about 25,000. The total number of Vietnamese lecturers teaching at universities and colleges in Vietnam is about 300. Korean was first taught at VNU (University of Social Sciences and Humanities and University of Foreign Languages) and VNU-HCM since 1993. Regarding postgraduate training, currently, the University of Foreign Languages, VNU, Hanoi has been implementing a master's program in Korean language since 2018; the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM City has opened a master's program in Korean studies since 2022. The University of Foreign Languages ​​has taught Korean as a second foreign language since 1994. Currently, the University is the largest and most diverse training and research unit on Korean language and culture among nearly 60 universities and colleges in Vietnam that are opening this training program. The total number of students studying Korean in the full-time program at the University of Foreign Languages ​​is nearly 2,000, including programs from the Foreign Language Secondary School (50 students studying Korean as a second foreign language), the Foreign Language Specialized High School (263 students studying Korean as NN1 and NN2), the university system (full-time, dual degree, second foreign language with a total of 978 students), and the Master of Korean Language (about 20-30 students per year). The total number of King Sejong Institutes under the Sejonghakdang Foundation sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea in Vietnam is 23, of which King Sejong Institute Hanoi 1 (under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU) and King Sejong Institute Hanoi 2 (under the University of Foreign Languages, VNU) are the two earliest established institutions (in 2011) and have many outstanding achievements. The University of Foreign Languages ​​is also the first unit in Vietnam to register and successfully implement the research project "Building a key university in Korean Studies" sponsored by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) since 2019, currently implementing the 5th year of the project. The situation of teaching Korean in high schools in Vietnam - Korean has been taught in Vietnamese high schools as a second foreign language since 2018, and then as a first foreign language since 2021. Currently, Vietnam is the only country in the world that implements Korean language training as a first foreign language at high schools (from grade 3). - The total number of high schools that are teaching Korean as a second foreign language is 79 schools. Some schools have introduced Korean as a specialized foreign language (NN1), including: Foreign Language Specialized High School of the University of Foreign Languages, VNU (from the 2017-2018 school year), Tran Phu Specialized High School (from 2021)... The total number of students studying Korean as a second and first foreign language in high schools is about 10,900. Korean has been included in the high school graduation exam in Vietnam since 2020. Currently, the general Korean textbook series (foreign language 1 and foreign language 2) compiled by authors from the Faculty of Korean Language and Culture, University of Foreign Languages ​​and the Department of Korean Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU (Dr. Tran Thi Huong, editor-in-chief, Dr. Luu Tuan Anh, editor-in-chief) has completed the draft from grades 6-12 (NN2 series) and from grades 3-6 (NN1 series), in which the Korean textbook series for grade 3 NN1 has completed national review and is ready for printing. The remaining drafts are being prepared for national review and have a sample print.