The most significant change in the latest survey conducted by "The Modern Language Association" is the rise of Korean. For the first time, Korean was listed in the top ten and was, the fastest-evolving language among the most taught languages. American Sign Language, which ranked third in popularity, grew slightly, but Korean ascended by 38 percent. All other leading languages dropped, including well-established ones such as Spanish and French, while German declined by 34 percent. Among East Asian languages, Japanese, which ranked fourth, declined by five percent and Mandarin Chinese, which ranked sixth, declined by fourteen percent.
Korean language learning gained popularity during the past 15 years because of K-pop. The Korean Wave of the 2000s centred on Asia, and universities in the region saw an increase in the number of students learning Korean. As K-pop swept the globe, including the United States, the number of students interested in learning Korean escalated around the world. Ultimately, the appeal of Korean is closely tied to the image of South Korea. If its image remains positive and expands into new areas, then Korean will stay popular and could smoothly rise several ranks shortly. On the other hand, if the positive image begins to fray, interest in Korean will decline accordingly.
The innovative and technological energy that is behind the improvement in South Korea’s image, attained strength as the country transformed itself into the prosperous, forward-looking, democratic society that it is today. Protecting and building on these achievements is therefore important to maintaining South Korea’s positive image.
