Busan seminar pushes Vietnamese education in southeastern RoK

With the Vietnamese community in the RoK now topping 350,000 and still growing, keeping the language alive must become a long-term team effort, not something left only to individual families.

Consul General Doan Phuong Lan (L) introduces the book at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Busan (VNA) – A seminar pushing Vietnamese language lessons for the growing Vietnamese community in southeastern Republic of Korea (RoK) took place at the Vietnamese Consulate General in Busan on April 14.

Co-hosted by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Busan and the Global Network for Teaching Vietnamese Language and Culture, the event pulled in both in-person and online attendees, including experts, teachers and representatives from the Vietnamese communities in Busan, Ulsan, Daegu, Jeju, and Gyeongsang.

The gathering also celebrated Vietnamese Language Day among overseas Vietnamese and gave everyone a chance to size up the current situation, pinpoint the biggest needs, and hash out real-world solutions to spread Vietnamese language education in the locality.

In her opening speech, Consul General Doan Phuong Lan made it clear that the Vietnamese language is not only a means of communication but also a repository of cultural identity and the glue holding generations of Vietnamese together with their homeland. With the Vietnamese community in the RoK now topping 350,000 and still growing, she said keeping the language alive must become a long-term team effort, not something left only to individual families.

Several presentations pointed out that tackling the challenge of opening and keeping classes running will take tight teamwork between diplomatic missions, community groups, teachers, and parents. They pushed for flexible models like weekend classes and Vietnamese clubs mixed with fun cultural activities. Real-life examples from Japan’s Fukuoka and Malaysia showed just how important strong community engagement is to making these classes stick.

Experts also called for renewing teaching methods with a kid-focused approach, tying language lessons to cultural experiences to keep children interested even when they’re growing up surrounded by multiple languages.

During the event, the “Vui hoc tieng Viet” (Fun Learning Vietnamese) book series was rolled out and handed out to teachers and parents.

Lan also revealed a plan to set up a coordinating body that will roll out a full-scale project for Vietnamese language education across southeastern RoK. The goal is to slowly but steadily grow community-based classes into something more organised, stable, and easy to expand./.

VNA