In the global age, lots of people are interested in other counties’ cultures. Nowadays, Korean culture like K-pop (Korean popular music) and drama is gaining popularity in other countries. Therefore, many foreigners are trying to learn Korean to enjoy the culture more. For this reason, Korean language teacher has become a more important job than before.

Role

Korean language teachers teach Korean to foreigners. They work in many places. Most of them work in Korean language institutes. Some of them go abroad to work for government enterprises. They are attached to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism. In addition, Korean language teachers are different from teachers who teach Korean to Korean students. They teach Korean as a foreign language.

How to become a Korean language teacher

The Korean language teacher certificate has three different grades, and students have to complete courses. There are two types of courses, degree and certificate.
Korean language education majors can get the second level by completing courses in their major. They can be promoted to the first level with 5 years’ work and 2,000 hours’ work experience.

Students who don’t major in Korean language education have to complete 120 hours of courses in specified universities or institutions and pass a qualification examination to gain a certificate. The qualification examination consists of two sections, a written test and an interview. In the written test, students are examined in Korean language, linguistics, Korean language education for foreigners, and Korean culture. In the interview, interviewers evaluate whether students are fit to be a Korean language teacher or not. After these tests, students who are suitable obtain a third level certificate. They can upgrade their certificates to the second level with 5 years’ work and 2,000 hours’ work experience.

Foreigners are also eligible to be Korean language teachers. They can get certified in the same courses as Koreans. However, foreigners who obtain certificates by degree need to have TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) 6th level. Students can get more detailed information at the Website http://kteacher.korean.go.kr

Prospects

The number of foreigners who are interested in Korea has increased. In addition, visitors from other countries and foreign students have also increased. Because of this, teaching Korean to foreigners is more important than before.