• Big Hit’s Korean textbook—Learn! KOREAN with BTS—is chosen by universities in the USA, France, and Egypt
• Middlebury College, École Normale Supérieure, Ain Shams University open lectures for the 2020 fall and 2021 spring semester

HUFS signed an MOU with Big Hit Entertainment’s educational company (Big Hit Edu) and KF (Korea Foundation) for overseas Korean education programs. The three institutes involved in the deal will cooperate based on each institute’s strengths to meet the increasing demands of Korean education and interests in Korea and the Korean language.
Accordingly, the partner universities will open Korean classes, titled “Learn! KOREAN with BTS” using the KF e-school system starting this fall semester.

“Learn! KOREAN with BTS” is Korean educational contents created by Big Hit Edu to help the global fans of K-POP who experienced a language barrier to learn Korean in a fun and easy way. The contents feature the frequently used expressions by members of BTS, a global superstar idol group, that users can follow and learn basic Korean expressions and naturally learn the Korean culture.

HUFS professor Heo Yong (Korean Language Content Institute) participated in the development and editing of “Learn! KOREAN with BTS,” which was released on August 24, 2020. Prior to the full release, Big Hit Entertainment released a 3-minute educational video on a weekly basis since March on Weverse, a global fan community platform service.

The USA’s Middlebury College, France’s École Normale Supérieure and EDHEC Business School, Egypt’s Ain Shams University, and Vietnam’s University of Languages & International Studies and Thang Long University will open “Learn! KOREAN with BTS” as accredited classes this fall. HUFS plans to expand the business relationships with Big Hit Edu and KF.

HUFS President Kim In-chul, who participated in curriculum development and global partnerships, said that many foreign universities are interested in “Learn! KOREAN with BTS.” The global interests are not just from HUFS foreign partner universities but also numerous universities that have Korean language programs. When the COVID-19 situation gets better, President Kim In-chul plans to expand the offline classes with KF at other universities.

The Executive Manager at Big Hit Edu Choi Yeong-nam said he was excited that foreign universities are selecting “Learn! KOREAN with BTS” as textbooks. In addition, he commented that HUFS and KF are partners with a great understanding of the contents and that he expects a synergy effect and plans to contribute to the Korean language learning environment.

The Chairman of the Board of KF Lee Keun has been providing online lectures on Korean history and Korean language through e-school business models since 2011. On the deal, he commented that K-POP’s BTS and director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite have shown the global popularity of Korean contents. He added that his goal for “Learn! KOREAN with BTS” is to generate more interest in overseas Korean language learning and promote the appeal of Korean culture.

In the future, HUFS plans to partner with Big Hit Edu and KF on more projects, such as Korean Fellowship, and expand overseas Korean programs on a global scale.