The National Hangeul Museum said on the 25th that it is stepping up efforts to spread the Korean language globally, including by deepening cooperation with Stanford University in California and the Minnesota-based Korean language camp "Sup sogui Hosu."
Museum Director Lim Seong-hwan discussed cooperation plans with Dafna Zur, a professor in Stanford University's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, who visited the museum, the institution said. Stanford's East Asian Languages and Cultures department has led Korean studies in the United States, launching its first Korean-language course in 1992 and introducing a Korean studies program in 2001. Zur, an associate professor in the department, has worked to translate Korean literature into English and received the Order of Cultural Merit (Hwagwan) in 2024 for contributions to spreading the Korean language and culture.
Particular attention has gone to "Sup sogui Hosu," a Korean immersion education program at the Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota, where Zur serves as village head. Launched in 1999 by Ross King, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, the program has drawn growing interest for its thorough immersion environment, in which participants communicate only in Korean from morning until bedtime, alongside a range of Korean cultural activities such as taekwondo, traditional music and Korean food.
Zur said she had wanted to visit the National Hangeul Museum as a place to encounter Hangeul without pressure while in Korea, according to the museum. At the Concordia Korean language camp "Sup sogui Hosu," she said, students are given an environment in which they can be fully exposed to Hangeul and the Korean language, and she asked for the museum's support and cooperation in connection with the 30th anniversary of Concordia's Korean-language education in 2028. She also said she hoped to build cooperative projects such as having Stanford students take part in internship programs at the museum.
Lim said the field-teaching experience that the U.S. Korean immersion program "Sup sogui Hosu" has accumulated over nearly 30 years holds significant lessons for the museum as well. Using this meeting as a starting point, he said, the museum would work to create meaningful and practical opportunities for cooperation in spreading Hangeul and Korean culture abroad, particularly in immersive language and cultural experiences.
The National Hangeul Museum plans to continue exchanges with Stanford University and the "Sup sogui Hosu" language camp. It plans to gradually flesh out cooperation on multiple fronts, including developing joint education programs, providing customized textbooks and content, and sharing online Hangeul education content. Professor Ross King is also scheduled to visit Korea in December, which is expected to give further momentum to discussions on spreading Hangeul culture abroad, centered on North America.
Separately, a total of 16 people, including Stanford students led by Zur, took part in the museum's "Hangeul Design Workshop," a Hangeul cultural experience program, on the 24th. The "Hangeul Design Workshop," which has drawn an enthusiastic response at home and abroad since last year, is an education program tailored to foreigners.
Participants made keychains featuring traditional Hangeul patterns by combining the 14 Korean consonants with recycled leather scraps. Through the activity, they learned about the principles behind Hangeul's creation and its value, and built special memories appreciating the beauty of the script.
