Han Sang-shin, left, president of the National Institute for International Education, and Henri de Rohan-Csermak, director general of France Education International, pose after signing a letter of intent at Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Education
Korea and France will begin exchanging youth language assistants as early as the second half of this year, placing Korean instructors in French secondary schools and French instructors in Korean classrooms under a new bilateral education program.
The agreement was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Seoul, Thursday, commemorating the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Ministry of Education said the two sides signed a letter of intent — a preliminary agreement expressing willingness to cooperate.
Under the program, aimed at strengthening educational ties between the two nations, Korea will send young Korean language assistants to France while France dispatches French language assistants to Korea. The assistants will support regular teachers in foreign language classes but will not lead classes independently or assess students.
In its first year, the program will begin with one assistant exchanged in each direction with plans to gradually expand the number of participants.
Korean language assistants dispatched to France will be assigned to local middle and high schools offering Korean language courses. In France, Korean is offered as an elective foreign language in secondary schools and as an optional subject in the national college entrance exam, the baccalauréat. As of last year, about 1,800 students were studying Korean across 69 schools.
Korea also offers French as a second foreign language in schools and as an optional subject on the country’s College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung.