Korea ‘breaks new ground’ with Latin American courses deal

South Korea is forging closer academic ties with Latin America, hoping to capitalise on growing cultural links and students looking for new destinations to study after shunning the US.

The Korea Foundation (KF), founded in 1991 to further South Korea’s soft power abroad, has announced it is expanding its Korean studies consortium into Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia.

Universities including the Central University of Chile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the National University of Colombia are all set to join the programme.

The initiative will allow students at participating institutions to enrol in online Korean studies courses for academic credits.

The KF’s Global e-School works to offer courses related to the Korean language, culture, and within the humanities and social sciences.

Korean universities can apply to provide the lecture material, with Kyung Hee University in Seoul one of those to participate previously in the scheme, while those in other countries sign up to receive the learning material.

Universities in Indonesia, Australia and Russia have previously partnered with the scheme.

Sojin Lim, a reader in Asia-Pacific studies at the University of Lancashire, told Times Higher Education (THE): “From my understanding, there has been a growing interest in Korean culture across Latin America. For example, in Brazil, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Korean restaurants in recent years, while [Korean boyband] BTS attracted enormous crowds of fans during their visit to Mexico.”

“Historically, the KF has invested a significant proportion of its funding in regions such as the United States, Europe, and Australia, where many universities offering Korean studies have benefited,” Lim continued. “Recently, given its limited budget, it appears that KF is now adopting a more selective approach in these regions while directing a greater share of its remaining resources towards areas such as Latin America.”

Theodore Jun Yoo, professor of Korean language and literature at Yonsei University, told THE the move was certainly “breaking new ground”.

He called it Seoul’s “strategic push into a region where Korea has had little academic presence before”.

But the academic suggested the partnership was also about building trade links. “This isn’t just about K-cultural diplomacy. It’s tied to Korea’s bigger strategic interests…The Korea Foundation is basically the soft arm of the state, building cultural and educational ties that make these harder economic and security deals possible.”

Another factor is potentially the declining appeal of the US for those looking to emigrate after studying in the Latin American region.

“The US is no longer a popular destination for students from many developing countries, whether due to cost, visa restrictions or political concerns,” Jun Yoo said.

“Korea offers another option, more affordable, culturally engaging through K-culture, and with better pathways to work after graduation. This partnership positions Korea as a viable alternative for Latin American students who might previously have looked only to the US or Europe.”

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com