IUB set to become home to Korean govt's King Sejong Institute

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is all set to host the King Sejong Institute (KSI), a prestigious global language and cultural outreach centre of the government of the Republic of Korea.

The King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF) handed over the KSI designation certificate to IUB vice chancellor Tanweer Hasan, PhD, during a ceremony in the Korean capital city of Seoul on 9 August 2022, said a press release.

Earlier this year, IUB became the first private university in Bangladesh to receive the prestigious Window on Korea grant, also from the government of the Republic of Korea.

With this grant, as part of its community engagement strategy, IUB is setting up open-to-all Korea Corner on campus which is a community hub of knowledge and information on the rich culture, heritage and language of Korea.

As a continuation of that, IUB has received the designation as a King Sejong Institute. At this institute, which is currently awaiting approval from the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), there will be opportunities to learn Korean from native speakers.

IUB VC Tanweer Hasan, PhD, said, "Apart from this being a unique honour for us, the King Sejong Institute fits perfectly with IUB’s ‘going global’ and ‘community engagement’ strategies. At IUB, one of our key agendas is to develop students into conscious global citizens. An important way of becoming global citizens is to have multiple language skills. The KSI at IUB will be open to the general public and hence it will provide an affordable platform to learn the Korean Language to both IUB students and the outside community."

LEE Jang-keun, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, said, "We are extremely happy that our long-time partner Independent University, Bangladesh will be setting up the King Sejong Institute. IUB has been at the forefront of spreading Korean language and culture in Bangladesh for nearly a decade now. I hope this partnership will help strengthen the friendly relationship between the two countries for generations to come."

King Sejong Institute is the brand name of Korean-language institutes established by the government of the Republic of Korea in 2007. The name refers to Sejong the Great, the inventor of the Korean alphabet. So far, the Korean government has set up 234 KSIs in 82 countries.

The King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF), a public institution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the government of the Republic of Korea, oversees the activities of all KSIs around the world. The KSIs aim to promote the Korean language and culture to foreigners to help them grow interest in Korea.